Archive for July, 2009
Warning To Landlords – Could Your EPC Be Incorrect?
In response to the EPBD Energy Performance of Buildings Directive from Europe legislation has been enacted in the UK requiring all commercial properties being sold or let to have an Energy Performance Certificate EPC from the 1st January 2009. The intent of the legislation was that this work should be carried out by accredited Energy Assessors EA administered and controlled by Government approved Accreditation schemes.
Recently there have been growing numbers of providers within the market seeking to take advantage of an apparent loophole in the Regulations which allowed much of the work involved in the assessment of properties to be subcontracted out to individuals who were not themselves fully accredited and in some cases not trained at all. Some companies are sending so called “data gatherers to site to gather information on building dimensions construction types and building services much of which requires considerable skill experience and training in order to correctly survey. In many instances the “Energy Assessor” who “assesses” the building has never been to site and may also not have carried out the “modelling” of the data to produce the EPC either and solely using their accredited name to lodge the certificates on the national database.
The result of this practice has been to cast serious doubt on the quality of EPC’s being lodged in the national database and to damage the public perception of the product.
Dr Lindsay Maxwell one of the first Level 4 CIBSE Low Carbon Energy Assessors says
“Use of untrained data collectors in the preparation of EPC’s means that Landlords may find themselves paying for certificates which do not reflect the true performance of their buildings. It is possible to generate certificates very quickly using mainly default values in the software and these will usually result in unfavourable ratings. So Landlords need to beware of this practice as it is likely to mean that their buildings get a poorer rating than it would have done if surveyed and analysed diligently by a qualified assessor.”
Most recently advertisements have gone out from companies offering to lodge EPC’s in the national database on behalf of anyone who generates them thereby opening the market to all comers and completely bypassing the controls intended to ensure quality and consistency of the product.
After feedback from CIBSE and other reputable organisations running accreditation schemes CLG has now acted to place restrictions on the use of data gatherers.
With immediate effect the following requirements are to be introduced by CLG via the Accreditation Schemes:
1. The EA who lodges the EPC must visit the property this applies to all types of EPCs and DECs.
a. Affirmation is required from the EA that a visit took place
b. Accreditation Schemes should put procedures in place to ensure EAs make declarations regarding visits
c. The only exception to this is for those assessments relating to on construction EPCs.
These changes are consistent with but clarify existing guidance and will take immediate effect.
The following changes may require changes to existing guidance and/or standards and should take effect from 1 April 2009.
2. Data gatherers are not permitted for domestic property. If a DEA uses existing data held by another on a property they must verify this data through a site visit.
3. Data gatherers are not permitted for level 3 property
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4. Data gatherers are permitted for level 4 and 5 in the following circumstances:
a. Anyone collecting data for level 4 and 5 must be accredited to level 3 or provide documentary evidence that shows they are ‘fit and proper’ and qualified to undertake the work in hand.
b. Any data gatherers used must work for the same company as the Energy Assessor.
c. Energy Assessors must have ISO 9001 procedures in place and supervise the data gatherers in their employ and on site.
d. The Energy Assessor is responsible for the quality of the data used for the certificate and the competence of any persons gathering data on their behalf.
e. The names of all data gatherers used for the EPC must be logged and provided to the Accreditation Scheme.
5. Accreditation Schemes should monitor the number of EPCs that EAs are lodging and instigate additional audits for those lodging large numbers of EPCs from a diverse geographical area.
6. Any EAs breaching these rules should be suspended.
7. Organisations accepting remote lodgements in return for a fee are unacceptable.
Until such time as these guidelines are fully enforced Landlords are well advised to check that the Assessor they are engaging is fully accredited as an individual and will be attending to the project personally in accordance with the new guidelines. If not there is a risk that the validity of the EPC may be later called into question should the provider be subject to audit by their accreditation body and found wanting.
About the writer: ABW is a leading commercial real estate developer offering real estate in Gurgaon India at reasonable cost and with all amenities. If you are looking for properties in Gurgaon then ABW is the one stop solution for you.
Use Fractional Ownership To Save Money!
Can you save money by using fractional ownership? The marketing of fractional ownership has to date focused on a certain type of development i.e. superluxury resorts laden with facilities and services at a very high cost. This isn’t all it should be about. In many ways it is potentially more beneficial to people that don’t have loads of money.
In most cases “fractional” ownership has involved taking the timeshare concept and making it 10 times more expensive! However the need for fractional ownership is created at all levels of income by folks not wanting to spend so much money on their leisure assets. Even for the wealthy the cost of a luxury ski lodge in Aspen or the latest superyacht is going to hurt. So if you are rich you can bring down the cost of owning your luxury yacht or prime Florida real estate. For the rest of us it can be used to bring down the cost of ownership of slightly more mundane items!
Forget about anything you think you know about fractional ownership and consider the following:
A. Think of something that you would like to own or use but can’t afford it has to be something that you don’t need to use all of the time. Typical types of things would be leisure assets second homes yachts boats caravans/RVs tents business equipment expensive and occasionally used machines or functional items such as a garden tractor.
B. Assess how much this would cost you if you were going to buy it. If you would have bought something used then use this price not the new price.
C. Consider how many people could realistically share the use of this asset. When working this out you need to think about if the asset has a popular season e.g. summer for beachside property New Year for second homes in ski resorts.
Now divide B by C. Doesn’t this make your proposed purchase seem more affordable? There is no reason why fractional ownership has to be about luxury although that is very nice. It can save you lots of money as well. Think about the following examples:
1: A family on a limited budget would like to save money on their vacation or even afford to be able to go on one by camping. The problem is that a full camping setup for a family of 5 isn’t cheap if you haven’t got much money. The fractional solution would be to share the cost with 2 other families in their local area. They would still each be able to go on vacation in the school summer break and take turns at using the equipment through the rest of the summer.
Example 2: If you enjoy yachting why not look at a fractional scheme for a used yacht. This can really bring yachting/boating within the reach of a lot of people. This was exactly the sort of scheme that I got involved with at the age of 18!
Conclusion
I’m not suggesting that fractional luxury ownership schemes are a bad idea in fact I think that they put some really luxurious destinations within the reach of many more people. I just want to put forward the view that fractional ownership can also be used lower down the value scale to actually save folks on modest incomes money and make their life a lot more enjoyable.
About the writer: Neil Robertson owns a fractional ownership website where you can read more great articles on the fractional ownership of real estate yachts cars etc. You can also use it as a resource to help find partners for your ideal fractional ownership scheme!
Trends To Target House Buyers
If you are thinking of revamping your home with a view to putting it up for sale in the spring realty market read about what is in and what is out.
Easiest to start with perhaps is what is out. Mosaic tiled bathrooms and kitchens are out. The best idea would be to change the tiles yourself as the word is that they are monstrous to replace! Another ‘out’ is the retro seventies look that has been enjoying some trendy fame and is now very dated and passe. If both of these looks are describing your home you need not break the bank to replace it.
Sometimes you can avoid ungluing all the tiles from the bathroom and shower surround by installing one of those ‘allinoneshell’ bath surrounds. Get an expert to help you check the thickness of your existing tile versus depth of the fiberglass shell. If you are replacing mosaic tiles in your kitchen you will probably have to hack them out the hard way and then be smart and replace them with neutral colors. Neutrals are favored in all rooms whites beiges and grays.
There is another ‘don’t want’. That is buyers who think they are still selling in a seller’s market. Offer buyers a deal if it will clinch the deal; for instance one way would be to help with their closing costs.
Well that’s what the new buyers of 2008 don’t want; what about what they do want?
Well for one balconies and decks with real space in fact outdoor rooms. Here is one way that you can improve your property and actually reap the benefit back.
Real estate agents report that five remodeling jobs will return about 80 of the dollar cost in the reflected sale price. These are kitchen bathroom modern windows vinyl siding and decks. Therefore if you spend the national average of 8000 for a contractor to put in a deck you may increase your property by 6000. Of course if you can put it in yourself……
Where once square footage was prestigious now quality homes as opposed to quantity of square footage are in demand. So if your house is one of the smaller homes then think of this as a plus and list the advantages of it.
Real estate agents recommend that it is better to live in your home or at the very least keep it looking ‘lived in’ while you sell it. Of course the antidote to this is clutter so also keep it clear and spaciousfeeling. Keep the heating on low and the lamps on for viewing.
There are a few other innovations that you could install to tempt buyers but unless you are a real ‘handy DIY’ family you may decide to skip these! One of them is the home elevator which is now replacing the chaironthestair idea!
Another fad that is catching on is the dog bathroom or pet shower. These are low shower systems installed in a shower cubicle that has a three foot by three foot base which is tiled to approximately four feet up the wall. Rather than wash doggy in the kitchen sink these units are to be found installed in the basement in the mud or utility room in a corner of the garage etc. One of the advantages of a pet shower is that you do not have to lift your pet in or out of it. They just walk in or get reluctantly pushed in?
Well in saving the best for last we now come to the bathroom. Most of us cannot remodel our bathrooms like this because our bathrooms are too small but we can dream…. Apparently the bathroom is evolving into the home getaway with multiple task areas.
The optimum way to present this room is now with a huge bathtub in the center of the room. These are referred to as ‘bath thrones’. Flat screen TVs are installed along with wireless Internet and a small bar for coolers snacks and the coffee machine. For those who have room an inhome hair salon is also desirable!
Yes well good luck with that one but as stated we can always dream!
About the writer: This article was written on behalf of Bob Nachman. Bob is consistently ranked as one of the top agents in the Phoenix Arizona real estate area. To find the Mesa AZ home right for you visit Bob at www.MoveToArizonaHomes.com.