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

The doom and gloom that pervades in the UK economy at the moment is exerting a heavy impact on the housing market – in fact, there are many who cite the wilful granting of excessive mortgages as the core of the current financial crisis.

This is somewhat unfair as, although it is clear that banks have been lax of late in controlling lending, the root of the problem lays with general mismanagement, with the housing market a convenient scapegoat.

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I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all been hit by the credit crunch in some way or other, if you haven’t, lucky you. What seems to have taken the biggest loss is the value of our humble abodes; the press would have us believe that property prices are falling at a staggering rate, so where does that leave the home owners that are still desperate to sell. Its dog eat dog, so how do we add value and make our homes more appealing without it costing us the earth.

First impressions are of paramount importance so if the front of your house is looking a little worse for wear it’s maybe time to update and refresh. Start with the front door, if it needs a lick of paint get the brush out, if not, hot soapy water and some elbow grease should do the trick. Pull out any unsightly weeds, sweep the path, mow the lawn, check the security light works and if the pocket can stretch get some planters to brighten the place up.

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The Bank of England recently reduced interest rates by 0.5% and many home owners looked forward to a reduction in their mortgage repayments, however has this been the case?

Some lenders have not immediately reduced their interest rates on existing mortgages as most were hoping for as the property market continues to struggle.

For banks’ customers with tracker mortgages guaranteed not to be greater than the defined gap between interest rates and mortgage rates; are likely to see the biggest interest rates cuts and will be seen on their repayments on their house loan in the coming weeks or months, dependant on their individual mortgage terms and conditions.

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HIP-Consultant.co.uk’s UK Property blog is a relatively new addition to our website which is now nearly close to a year in existence. Our focus on quality and dedication in providing the information our readers are looking for seems to be gaining recognition and an increased Alexa traffic ranking.

The Alexa ranking system looks at traffic and visitors to websites accross the world’s internet and ranks them accordingly. Recently, our website has broken into the international top 500,000 based upon a monthly average, with the one week average showing substantially greater than this at about the 180,000 mark. At the time of writing we are ranked within the top 15,000 of websites within the UK.

Therefore, the monthly Alexa traffic ranking is consistently gaining week on week with the number of visitors. See HIP-Consultant.co.uk’s Alexa traffic statisitics here.

We are very pleased and proud of the progression we have made in this area to date. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that have:

• contributed by writing articles for us
• visited our site and read our articles
• left comments and thoughts on the subject matter
• sent emails of thanks to our team
• gave feedback on our site
• mentioned our ‘blog’ and linked to us from their site

We have developed a solid base to build upon and momentum for the future and look forward to publishing the exciting new features and articles we have planned.

If you would like to become involved with our blog and future articles please visit HIP-Consultant.co.uk welcomes guest writers for further information.

It is possible to stay up to date with our latest articles by subscribing to our RSS Feed through the orange icon in the top right or by following HIP-Consultant.co.uk’s RSS Feed here.

Hidden away amidst the depths of the legislation that came into force in October from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has been a clause about Commercial Energy Performance Certificates (CEPC).

The DCLG Guidelines clause is out lined below:-

“Clarifying arrangements for the October roll-out for commercial buildings already on the market which will be similar to those put in place in April and July. This means that any non-domestic building on the market before 1st October and remaining on the market will need an EPC by 1st January at the latest. If it is sold or rented out in the meantime, an EPC must be commissioned and then handed over as soon as is practicable. This measure is intended to make it easier for owners and landlords to comply with the legislation, avoid market fluctuations and is in response to expectations from the industry.”

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The Home Information Pack legislation is generally understood; that ‘all’ domestic properties being placed on the market require a HIP, except in a few exceptions. The important date of the 1st October 2008 looms in regard to the Energy Performance Cerification of properties; did you realise that if your house was on the market before the relevant Home Information Pack legislation was enacted that you will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?

You may have had you home on the market by now a ‘considerable’ length of time and whilst these properties continue to be exempt from the HIP legislation are not exempt from Energy Performance Building Directive (E.P.B.D.)

So what does this mean for pre-HIPs home sellers from the 1st October 2008?

One must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) commisioned and it must be made available to prospective buyers in its full form at the earliest opportunity when:

• when the building is viewed
• If any written information about the building is provided as a result of a request by a prospective buyer – this includes email and electronic communication
• When contracts are exchanged

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You’ve located the house of your dreams, or should we be more realistic here and say you’ve located a property that ticks some of the boxes and has the ‘feel’ you were hoping for you? It’s true what they say; your gut instinct will tell you if it’s the right one for you. However, our emotions can run riot and cloud our judgements so it is essential to lead with your head and not with your heart.

So you’ve made a decision to put an offer in, but where do you start. How much you want the property will very much dictate that first offer, you may well jump in with both feet and give the vendor exactly what they’re asking for, alternatively, you may opt to play it cool and try your luck with a cheeky offer. In the initial stages you may be tempted to offer the ridiculous but do this with caution as you could end up losing credibility with the agent and ultimately lose the sale.

Before you commit to anything think long and hard, this is one of the biggest decisions you are ever likely to make and the road to purchasing a property can be long, hard and costly!

I’ve pulled together some of my thoughts to aid your ‘hopefully’ successful negotiations:-

First and foremost, do your research, look at similar houses on the market and compare prices, are you getting more or less for your money? If the property needs work, reflect this in your offer and let the Agent know why you’ve done this.

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Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) are due to evolve with improvements being made to the methodology and assessment procedure shortly, RDSAP v9.82. The RDSAP (Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure – the government approved standardised system for undertaking an energy survey on an existing dwelling), has always had its limitations as it is a simplified version of the full SAP methodology.

Energy Performance Certificates were implemented as part of the Home Information Pack legislation on 1st August 2007 and will also be required as of the 1st October 2008 in the rental market. EPC are now becoming more widely understood and the benefits they bring recognised. However, there has been criticism made about the accuracy of some assessments in certain scenarios due to the inherent limitations of RDSAP to include some less frequently found aspects.

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Deciding on ‘the’ house is part of our guide to buying your next home and potentially one of the biggest decisions you are ever likely to make. There are a number of factors to consider, this will differ from person to person but there are key themes than run throughout any search be it for a one-bed flat or five-bed detached.

The pessimist in me would automatically say that we all generally want what we can’t have; however is this always the case?

Let’s consider budget, you’ve made an informed decision that you are able to borrow, make the repayments and continue to live a semi-normal life. You have a limit and you should stick to it.

Secondly you’ve pulled together a list of essential and desirable criteria that your new home must meet, this could be 3 bedrooms, separate garage, land to develop or something as simple as a down stairs toilet. You now know exactly what you want so start the search with this in mind.

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As part of our ‘House Buying Guide‘ we look at realistic mortgage and borrowing options and how to formulate what amount of money can be borrowed and more importantly be repaid.

We have all read and heard the recent news stories of families that are in difficult mortgage related positions, some of which immediately entered into a negative equity position. Dispatches recently reported thousands of people were accepted for 125% interest only mortgages by the five leading banks and some bank clients that were allowed to obtain a mortgage of 10 times their earnings. How could this ever be described as responsible lending?

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You will have heard of the residential Energy Performance Certificates or EPCs that were instituted last year as part of the Home Information Pack legislation, but did you know that there is a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate that is currently being rolled out?

It is easy to assume that because both the residential and commercial EPC share the same name that they are similar entities and require similar surveys or skills, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is best to think of them as cousins, related in history, but separate families.

When is a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate (CEPC) required? You may not have been aware of it, but Commercial EPCs actually began to roll out this year, coming into force from April 2008. Already all non domestic buildings above 2,500 square metres that are being constructed, sold, major renovations or let will require a CEPC.  By 1st October 2008 this will be rolled out to all remaining commercial properties. As always there are exemptions, such as places of worship, buildings scheduled for demolition or temporary buildings. Anyone involved with any non domestic property should seek expert advice as to whether they need one or not, as there are stringent penalties for non compliance.

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