Buying a Home

Warning: Don’t Buy a Home Until You Read This:
Looking for a home can be one of the most stressful times of your life. There’s the pressure to find the right home, the extra added stress of submitting a bid, scouting the local community, and absorbing as much information about a home you’re interested in buying before meeting with your realtor.One detail that is always overlooked when shopping for a new home is the condition of a home’s insulation. One of the things on your to do list when researching a home that you’re interested in buying is to ask your agent what type of insulation is in the home. You might want to also ask for the gas and electric bill history. This kind of information will give you some insight into how well the insulation is working for the current homeowner. If the owners are serious about selling their home, they should have this information readily available for you and the realtor. If they don’t have access to this information, the home inspector can provide it to you at the time of inspection.

Fiberglass Insulation Is Yesterday’s News
There are a few signals that will let you know that it’s time to either replace the insulation entirely or to upgrade the existing insulation. First, if there’s fiberglass insulation in the walls cavities, crawlspace, or attic, you can guarantee that an insulation upgrade is definitely in order. Fiberglass insulation deteriorates over time because its R-value diminishes by nearly 50 percent. When outside temperatures plummet below 20 degrees in some regions of the country fiberglass insulation loses its ability to keep a home warm.

Cellulose Insulation
Cellulose insulation isn’t the ideal solution to your problems, but it’s a suitable replacement option. However, cellulose insulation requires constant upkeep. There must be at least 12 inches of cellulose insulation in the attic area for it to work efficiently. Cellulose insulation has an R-Value of 3.7 per square inch, but the R-value is less effective over time due to shifting and settling.

Home Energy Assessment
As you progress through the home buying process, and a date has been scheduled for your home inspection, you may want to consider contacting Cameron Home Insulation and scheduling some time with one our certified professionals to perform a home energy assessment. The home energy assessment will detail where and how a home is losing energy. It is an excellent way to evaluate how effective the current state of the existing insulation will work for you after moving in a house, if you do decide to purchase it. The home energy assessment also gives you time to research which insulation options will give you the most bang for your buck.

Preparation is Key
Buying a home is about preparing yourself for the unexpected repairs that occasionally happen before or even after moving into your new dream home. If you’re on a tight budget and need to consider all of the potential costs that come with upgrading your insulation, you’re in luck. For those of you that have registered through the Energy Star program, you may qualify for tax credits, rebates, or even financing options. It’s best to know what insulation options are available to your upfront, so that you invest your money wisely.