Pricing and cash flow

I feel like screaming at the moment, but I am trying very hard to be calm.

I work very hard. I make sure that all the reports I do are prepared properly - I spend longer than I need to to make sure that I haven't missed any detail and that every part of a property has been assessed thoroughly and professionally. I offer flooplans and will (after Christmas) being offering video's of the properties. I am happy to do inventories and on occassion, if clients want, write up descriptions of the properties.

I keep being undercut which is why I am not getting any new clients and why my current clients are being constantly emailed with offers of fees much lower than mine. I am very glad that (touch wood) I have kept alot of my original clients and gained more over the years but I cannot understand why people continue to devalue the EPC by dropping the fee to a level where it is almost impossible to make a living from it.

I don't believe that EPCs should cost a small fortune, you shouldn't need a bank loan to pay for one and the fee shouldn't make you wince but it should be realistic - its not just the time on site, its the fuel cost, upload cost, and insurance plus the time in the office that all have to be taken into account.

The life of a self employed DEA is not an easy one in the current market conditions but it is one that I enjoy and intend to do for as long as physically and financially possible. But are we in danger of losing the professional DEAs in favour of the cowboys as the professional ones lose clients to the cowboys?? I hope not. I lost one client due to price who then came back to me due to the very poor service they were getting from the lower priced DEA and for that I am grateful. Another client came back to me due to poor service and bad turnaround from a low priced DEA and asked if I would just upload the EPC for them if they (the estate agent) assessed the property - I could have made £20 for doing nothing more than uploading an EPC - no site visit, no petrol costs etc BUT I refused because I am a professional and it is against the regulations, I didn't get the client back because I wouldn't do that and I am sure there is someone else out there doing that for them as we speak.

Apart from undercutting there also seems to be a problem with payment for some DEAs - http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=3716&title=EPC_boss_Whatcott_says_he_will_sue_as_DEA_anger_mounts&type=news_features
it appears that the DEAs have carried out work for this company and then are struggling to get paid. As a self employed DEA it is important that you get paid on time as there simply isn't the cashflow in the business to let invoices remain unpaid. I have worked for the company in question in the Estate Agent Today article and I thankfully have been paid by them. I have only ever not been paid by one company and it still annoys me to this day - it has certainly made me less trusting and I keep a very close eye on my invoices.

What I wouldn't give for a Christine Milne in the energy assessors corner in the UK today.