Solar and Geothermal in flips

[Doug Danoff]

I was curious if any folks who flip houses in the north have considered incorporating solar panels and / or heat pump technologies such as geothermal or air-source in their rehabs.  To install solar panels and a geothermal heat pump in the Boston area might cost about $100K retail, which seems like a non-starter UNLESS 

1. incorporating these into a mortgage made financial sense for the buyer, and...
2. appraisers factored this into the appraisal value

So in other words, if the additional amount on a 30 year mortgage were offset by energy savings & programs, AND the buyer was able to live carbon-free, it seems that this might attract a savvy and enlightened buyer.

[Ann Bellamy]

Yup, @Brian Adzadi is right - you cut your pool of buyers down to almost nothing.  Definitely not the way to do a flip when you are starting.  And experienced flippers, for the most part, know this and don't incorporate features that limit their buyer pool.