Energy costs in the Northeast are the highest in the country and the U.S. Energy Information Administration says they’re only going up in the foreseeable future. That’s one of the biggest factors driving the increase in energy efficient homebuilding and remodeling, but the proliferation of these houses can make for tricky transactions for homebuyers and agents.

Craig Foley is a Realtor and chief of energy solutions with RE/MAX Lineage in Somerville. Through the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Foley trains Realtors from across the country in that organization’s green designation, which consists of three, two-hour courses on the energy efficient components of residential homes.

Foley says agents need more training in the basics of energy efficient features to market those features more effectively. He said he has yet to meet an agent who can accurately tell him where to find the EnergySTAR certification on homes built after 2000 – and they’re always in the same place.

“It’s inside the electrical panel door on the bottom right,” Foley said.

Foley published a study in 2014 that looked at Massachusetts home sales in 2013 and found some alarming data. When inputting data into the MLS, many agents either didn’t fill the data fields having to do with energy efficiency correctly, thus under-reported these features, while others overemphasized them, a practice known as “greenwashing.”

“For every single-family home listed that was green certified, 1.5 were not correctly listed,” Foley said. “The evidence suggests that 200 additional single-family sales should have been reported as green-certified properties.”

The numbers were even worse for condominiums. Foley found that existing green-certified condos were under-reported at a rate of 2 to 1. New condominiums were under-reported at a ratio of 3.5 to 1.

“That’s a big problem for buyers and sellers,” Foley said. “And it’s a problem for appraisers looking for comparable sales.”

Getting The Numbers Right

Shaun Fitzgerald owns Fitzgerald Appraisals in Easton and teaches appraisers how to accurately value homes with energy efficient features. He said if a property is advertised as energy efficient, appraisers should ask for the documents to verify it.

“There are ratings agencies that supply a score, like the Home Energy Rating System (HERS),” Fitzgerald said. “Every new home should have a HERS rating below 100. The ideal is a HERS rating of 0, which means a home produces as much energy as it consumes. I’ve seen 3,000- to 4,000-square-foot homes with heating bills of $700-800 per year.”

Fitzgerald said that appraisers in particular need the correct information about a property’s features for comps.

“It’s sad when you see an MLS listing that mentions granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, but they don’t always talk about energy efficiency or air infiltration,” Fitzgerald said.

Janet Terzano, of The Higgins Group in Lexington, said not every buyer is interested in energy efficient homes. Those who are interested in them tend to be younger buyers between the ages of 30 and 45, who understand the technology and have less disposable cash, so they’re very interested in lower energy costs.

“One exception is Nest thermostats,” she said. “Every buyer wants them.”

Besides the trendy, web-enabled, programmable thermostats that can learn your schedule and heating preferences, Terzano said many buyers are interested in attic insulation, particularly after last winter’s record-setting snow and cold temperatures and the ice dams that followed. Today’s buyers also much prefer gas heat to oil.

The energy efficient home of Natalie Hildt Treat, an energy efficiency expert with Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships.

Terzano said that many buyers will pay a little more for an energy efficient house, but sellers shouldn’t expect to recoup the cost of expensive upgrades like large solar panel arrays when listing their house, because most buyers won’t pay a premium for them.

“If you have a 1950s house and you’ve done some insulating and new windows and doors, will you get that money back? Yes, I think you will, and you’ll have an easier sale,” Terzano said.

Traps For The Unwary

Michael Atwell owns J. May Home Inspections and is the president of the New England Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors. He said that he sometimes sees energy efficient components retrofitted into existing homes without regard for how they impact other systems.

Atwell recalled seeing a new, but problematic, heat recovery ventilator (HRV) installation, which draws outside air into the house and heats or cools it depending on the season. The HRV duct was installed to deliver warm, unfiltered air directly onto the cooling coils in the air conditioning system.

“It would have covered the coil with dust and pollen and warm, humid air,” Atwell said. “The builder thought it was great, but I called the manufacturer and he said, ‘Are you crazy?’ It would have become a great place for mold and other things to grow.”

Atwell said since some “green” building techniques and products are still relatively young and it’s not clear how they’ll perform over time. He cited the practice of spraying closed-cell insulation directly against the underside of roof sheathing as an example.

“What happens when the roof leaks?” Atwell said. “The manufacturers are kind of vague about that. I’ve seen it a small leak result in significant damage because it went on for so long unnoticed. In the old days, water would drip through the fiberglass onto the bedroom ceiling and you’d get a clue before it caused any real problems.”

Real estate attorney Louis P. Izzi, of Bell and Izzi LLC in Melrose, said he recently ran into an issue while working for a lender who had a client who wanted to refinance their mortgage.

“A title search revealed that the solar panels on the roof belonged to the company that installed them, not the homeowner,” Izzi said.

In order to refinance the loan, the lender required the owner of the solar panels to subordinate their claim on the property – a very common practice – and the company refused. Izzi said it took several months of back and forth before the company ultimately acquiesced and discharged the financing statement.

“It’s a potential trap for the unwary,” Izzi said.