Why Your Home Isn’t an Investment, Unless it Saves You Money

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Why isn’t a home an investment?

The home you live in is an investment in your comfort, lifestyle, and family, however, it’s not an investment in the traditional financial sense. The truth is, most homes are liabilities.

The home you live in is a liability because it costs you money to service, to maintain, and to operate. Even once your mortgage is paid off, you will still have to pay utilities. This is the debt most homes carry forever.

If you sell your house for a profit, you’ll still have to buy or build another home to live in. And remember, if your home has greatly appreciated in value, other homes in your area will have also greatly appreciated.

If you think we’re trying to talk you out of building a home, we’re not. We just want to highlight the importance of building the right home.

At some point, your mortgage ends, and if you build the right home, your utilities will be marginal. If you want a financial return on your investment, your home must save you money.

Let’s elaborate.

Some homes need much less maintenance, and will cost much less to operate. Some homes will appreciate greater than inflation, and sometimes you can create immediate equity that otherwise wouldn’t exist, via a green certification. All of this is possible by building green.

A high-performance, energy-efficient home will need less maintenance because they are simply more durable.

A properly-constructed, high-performance home will also cost you less to operate because it will require less energy, and it because it will not require any gas at all. Gas may be inexpensive for the time being, but those hefty administration fees are not, so, you might as well scrap that bill from your budget.

Better yet, you can get to Net Zero by producing your own renewable energy on-site.

Before your 25-year mortgage is paid off, your solar PV panels will have paid for themselves, two or three times.

Another benefit of building a Green home, is that you’ll also be building a healthy home. High-performance homes will have superior air quality, and will eliminate sicknesses caused by homes. Could Your Home Be Making You Sick?

Not being sick and not being at risk of radon poisoning, the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer in Canada, will surely save you time and money.

Pairing proper building science with on-site energy generation will actually garner you a real return on your “investment”.

This is how investing in the right home will save you money:

  • You won’t need to call in contractors to make frustrating repairs
  • Your mechanical systems will have longer lifecycles, meaning less maintenance costs
  • You will never pay a gas bill again
  • Your electricity bill will be marginal, or completely off-set by your solar PV panels
  • You will have freedom from utility companies and volatile energy prices
  • Your home will immediately be worth more, because of a green certification
  • You will be eligible to save 15-25% on mortgage insurance with a BUILT GREEN® label
  • Your home won’t be at risk of mould or radon, and your home won’t make you sick

The same just cannot be said for a typical, run-of-the-mill home.

If you want a real investment on your home, build green, and make sure it’s 3rd-party verified.

Healthy Sustainable Living

At Greener Homes, we build for future generations. Our homes offer unparalleled comfort, energy efficiency, and lasting durability. Choose Greener Homes for excellence in every step of your building journey.

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