Landlords, remember your Energy Performance Certificate!

In December 2007 I wrote about the requirement to provide a HIP (Home Information Pack), which must contain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), when selling a property.

From 1 October 2008, all buildings, whenever they are built, sold or rented out, will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

This new piece of legislation will affect landlords starting new tenancies (many landlords are still unaware of this – please do not Landlords, remember your Energy Performance Certificate!
hesitate to forward this information).

If you are a landlord and you:

• already have a tenancy agreement on 1 October 2008; you will NOT require an EPC.
  
• plan to let for the first time or re-let your property(ies) after 30 September 2008; you will have to provide a copy of the EPC (a photocopy of the original is acceptable) to serious prospective tenants, either prior to or at the viewing of property.
  
  - If you let a property to several individuals each of whom has free use of the whole property (from a contractual point of view), then only one EPC will be required
  - If you let a HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) – a property with shared living amenities plus individual contained bedrooms (with locks) – to 5 people, for example, then six EPCs will be required: one for the property, and one for each self-contained room
  - I advise you to commission an EPC for each property you plan to let as soon as possible, as it is very likely that there will be huge demands for new EPCs in August and September.

An EPC is produced after an inspection of a property is carried out by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor. The landlord is responsible for ensuring this is done. An EPC is likely to cost between £50 and £100, and will be valid for 10 years.

However, if modernisations are carried out, it may be advantageous to have the property re-assessed to reflect the improvements.

EPCs only apply to England and Wales. Northern Ireland and Scotland are producing their own regulations.

The rationale behind EPC and its characteristics
EPCs are part of measures being applied across Europe and are in line with the European Directive for the Energy Performance of Buildings to help cut buildings’ carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

EPCs are measured using the same calculations for all properties, enabling comparison of the energy efficiency of different homes. Part of the EPC is a recommendation report which lists the potential rating that a property could achieve if changes are made. The report lists improvements that one could carry out and how this would change the energy and carbon emission rating of the property.

An EPC (see sample) provides ‘A’ to ‘G’ ratings for the building, with ‘A’ being the most energy efficient and ‘G’ being the least, with the average to date being ‘D’.

Measures you can take now to improve your property energy efficiency
If your rental property is already energy efficient, the EPC will help it stand out compared to those not so energy efficient: potential tenants will be re-assured of lower energy bills – very important in these days of rising energy and fuel prices.

There are some measures you can take now to improve your property energy efficiency, and improve your EPC rating:
1: Replace light-bulbs with low-energy versions
2: Ensure the hot water cylinder has a jacket
3: Insulate the loft
4: Insulate cavity walls
5: Replace an old boiler (15 years+) with a new high efficiency condensing unit, which could save around a third on heating bills straight away.

To find out more about EPCs, visit Directgov.

Laurent Stadelmann
The Property Finder & Relocation Professional

Too busy to hunt for your next home?
Let Chez-Vous HomeSearch remove stress from the property process!
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Selling property in a buyer’s market – You could even gain in cash terms

Last month I gave some recommendations for purchasing property in a buyer’s market. This month I will look at selling property in a buyer’s market.

As a seller, be realistic with your asking price. If you have to accept a lower offer for your own home, it does not mean that you should lose out. In fact, if you are selling because you want to move up the property ladder, make a lower offer on your next home too. You could even gain in cash terms.

Let's assume your house is on the market for £400,000 and your next property is for sale at £650,000. If you agreed to sell your home at £380,000 (5% off), then make an offer on your next one for no more than £617,500 (5% off minimum). You could gain at least £12,500 (subject to your negotiations).


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Laurent Stadelmann
The Property Finder & Adviser

Too busy to hunt for your next home?
Let Chez-Vous HomeSearch remove stress from the property process!
Tel: +44 (0) 1189 770215

PROPERTY FINDING FOR BUYERS / HOME SEARCH FOR TENANTS / CORPORATE RELOCATION SERVICES / PURCHASE PRICE NEGOTIATION SERVICE / LOCATION REPORTS / FREE INFORMATION TO HELP YOU HOUSE HUNT

Extension of HIPs to all properties

On 22 November 2007 the Government announced that 1 & 2 bedroom properties put on the market in England and Wales on or after 14 December 2007 must have a Home Information Pack (HIP).

A Pack must contain at least the following (or if any are missing, the Index should explain why):

• An Index of contents
• An Energy Performance Certificate
• A sale statement
• Evidence of title (for registered and unregistered properties)
• SearchesLeasehold/commonhold documents, where appropriate.

Any home that was already on the market on the relevant commencement date (1 August 2007 for sales of homes with four or more bedrooms; 10 September 2007 for those with three or more bedrooms and 14 December for all properties) does not need to have a HIP.

To find out more about Home Information Packs, visit www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk

It will be interesting to see what impact the complete roll out of HIPs will have on purchasing behaviour.

Laurent Stadelmann
Managing Director

Chez-Vous HomeSearch
Removing stress from the property process!

Property Finder / Relocation Services / Negotiation Service / Location Reports

laurent@chez-vous.biz
www.chez-vous.biz
Tel: +44 (0) 1189 770215

Is gazundering ever justified?

I always encourage people to negotiate prices when they purchase items of a certain value. You have nothing to lose, the worst being that you don’t get a discount. You are either happy to accept it and pay the full amount, or go somewhere else to see if you can get the same item cheaper.

The same applies when buying property. After having done your research, and if you believe that a lower offer is justified (market conditions, how long the property has been on the market, potential structural problems to fix, poor presentation, etc.), go for it.

Remember, a property is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. If you feel uncertain or uncomfortable about doing the negotiation yourself then I recommend that you get someone who is a confident negotiator to do it for you - a friend, a family member or a professional property finder.

But be aware – there is a significant difference between negotiation and the appalling practice of gazundering! Gazundering involves unscrupulous buyers waiting until around the time of exchange and then lowering their offer with the anticipation that the seller will be reluctant to lose the sale. If sellers’ hands are tied they have got no choice but to accept it, or they can fight back by rejecting the lower offer and then withdrawing on principle.

As a seller, bear this possibility in mind and prepare your strategy in advance. Be ready to counteract based on your circumstances (are you desperate to sell or not) should gazundering happen to you.

When buyers make offers, I recommend sellers to try to get as much information as possible about their circumstances. Have they got a property to sell? Is there a chain? Are they first-time buyers, investors or cash buyers with nothing to sell? This will enable the seller to assess the potential impact and risks to the buyer of losing the property should that buyer play the dangerous game of gazundering.

When buyers have justified reasons for lowering their original offer (for example the survey has highlighted problems that will cost money to fix), this is not gazundering. So consider the offer and renegotiate accordingly.

However, when the buyer is simply playing a game to pay less money, then my advice is to always try to refuse to back down, or to even withdraw from the sale. Why should you trust this person again? What else are they likely to try next?

If the circumstances allow, contact any other interested buyers who had also made offers, or simply put the property back on the market. If you are in a weak situation because of time or money pressures, don’t let the buyer know about it. Apply the strategy you will have rehearsed in advance to prevent you losing too much money.

At Chez-Vous HomeSearch, we believe that any negotiation should be based on trust. Both parties (seller and buyer) should agree on a price at the beginning of the transaction and should stick to it.

Next time I will look at the issue of gazumping where the roles are reversed!

Laurent Stadelmann
Managing Director

Chez-Vous HomeSearch
Removing stress from the property process!

Property Finder / Relocation Services / Negotiation Service / Location Reports

laurent@chez-vous.biz
www.chez-vous.biz
Tel: +44 (0) 1189 770215