Helping Innovate Property (HIP) – Blog, Housing Market News and Articles

The winter months are when ones attention is turned to keeping homes warm yet many homeowners will be turning on dormant heating systems that could be operating far more efficiently with the help of a few affordable maintenance tips.

Householder’s should keep a close eye on the efficiency of the insulation that is present in the property as a great proportion of heat is lost through poorly insulated walls, windows and heating systems.

In a typical British home, around one-third of the heat produced by a central heating system is rapidly lost through the roof, ceiling and walls. This means that for a poorly insulated property up to £1 out of every £3 spent on heating is being wasted.

So what can the average homeowner do without spending a fortune?

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Water may seem like a never ending commodity to householders – after all, we turn on the tap and its there – but the truth is that a complicated procedure is needed to ensure that each and every home in the UK has a constant supply of usable, clean water.

It’s important, therefore, that we do our bit to keep consumption to less than excessive levels, and here we look at a few easy and recommended methods of saving water in the home.

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With Commercial Energy Performance Certificate (CEPC) legislation now rolled out across the country there has proven to be some confusion in areas of the regulations, particularly with regard to what properties are exempt from needing a CEPC. The biggest area of contention seems to be based on the size of a property.

There is an urban myth that is gaining popularity within the market that non domestic properties of 50 square meters and below are exempt from needing a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate as required by law.

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The domestic energy assessor industry is deveolping from its fledgling existence with ambitious plans to utilise the skill base we have within the UK. The energy assessment industry has met numerous challenges since its inception, certainly during the past year.

Maybe due to the New Year approaching, maybe due to the frustration from the lack of progress made by the Government in certain areas, there has been a noticeable amount of reflection on goals achieved within our industry and future aspirations that would benefit our industry but more so the country and arguably the entire planet.

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This week has seen news released about developments of Home Information Packs and has given rise to speculation about Home Condition Reports (HCR) making a suprise return. The main topics and news within Magaret Beckett’s statement; industry professionals and associated organisation had some expectation of though we were all unsure of the exact timing until recently.

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Our daily lives are dominated by the necessary use of energy; gas and electric are a vital part of every day life. Both are expensive, and seemingly increasing with no signs of halting; we find ourselves evermore needing to look for ways of finding cheaper energy prices, or reducing our energy consumption.

Last week energy companies were threatened with possible legal action due to not passing on wholesale cuts in oil prices to consumers, which are linked to gas and electric prices.

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It has been very difficult of late to pick up a newspaper, or turn on the news without hearing further of the fate of the world thanks to climate change. We are being told that we need to reduce our ‘carbon footprint’, in order to help bring down the damaging levels of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent ‘greenhouse gas’, that is gathering in our atmosphere.

Recently a number of ‘zero carbon’ homes have appeared on the market – but are they a genuine step forward, or simply a neat and timely sales pitch?

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Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a method of improving your skills and knowledge base by constant development. This is achieved by the individual Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) setting themselves a target for certain areas of improvement and learning across a given time.

There is not a set route or programme with regard to CPD as different people will begin the process at different levels of experience and knowledge; however, the process follows certain guidelines that allow each to achieve what is planned.

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The key to energy saving in the home is efficiency. More efficient insulation, for instance, leads to more efficient heating systems as less heat is lost.

Lowering energy bills is an aim that every homeowner has in mind, and the only way to achieve this in these days of rising costs is to use less. For a few useful tips on how to start using less gas and electricity – and at no extra cost – read on.

Electrical items and standby mode

We’ll start by looking at electricity, a vital but increasingly expensive source of energy that is wasted to surprising levels without us realising. For instance, are you aware that more than three quarters of the energy used by a simple device such as a DVD player is accounted for while the unit is not actually being used?

It’s true – leave a DVD player on permanent standby and you will use over 75% more electricity than is actually needed to watch a film.

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It is a nightmare scenario in which the value of your property falls below that of the loans secured on it and it is likely to affect a great number of homeowners in the coming years thanks to the worldwide recession.

In fact, estimates put the number of homes falling into the negative equity zone at over two million by the year 2010, with over quarter of a million having joined the statistics in the last few months.

What should you do if you find yourself in the negative equity trap?

First and foremost, a couple of important points: your mortgage lender wants his money, not your house, hence repossession is very much the final option. The bailiffs will only be despatched to your door as a last resort. Also, house prices fluctuate – what is falling now may be rising in a few years – and negative equity will affect those who have to sell their homes while in the trap. If you can stay put for a while, do so, and you should find yourself climbing out of the zone in time.

Try and reduce the debt

At the first signs of negative equity – and for those who are unsure, this is the point where the market value of your property becomes less than the mortgage secured upon it (and any other loans that may use the property as collateral) – the thing to do is take stock. Investigate ways of cutting the debt – many mortgage lenders will have an option available to pay off a chunk of the mortgage, generally up to ten percent – by using available funds. Of course, you should not consider taking out further loans, but if you happen to have savings then it may be worth using these to reduce the mortgage amount repayable in the first instance.

If paying off some of the loan is not an option you should still contact your lender, and straight away.

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You will have heard about Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and the full roll out that finished on the 1st October. Anyone involved in domestic or non domestic property will come across them in some capacity. However, in amongst all the legislation in the regulations there is another requirement that may take some by surprise.

From 1st October 2008 all public sector buildings, which are non dwellings, with public access and above 1,000 square meters will need to have a valid Display Energy Certificate, or DEC. Council offices would need one, leisure centres would need one, hospitals would need one, a large school may need one, but only if it is publically owed and has public access. No private building is required to have a valid DEC, although there is nothing to stop someone having one on a voluntary basis.

There are two elements to a DEC. The first is the Certificate. This is an annually renewable document which is based on the analysis of the building utility bills. The other is an Advisory Report which is based on an inspection and is valid for up to seven years. It is a legal requirement to display the Certificate at all times, such as in a public reception area, and to have an accompanying valid Advisory Report available to be produced if requested by anyone who asks for it. Failure to have both elements of a valid DEC in your possession can result in fines.

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