Ending January in a positive mood!

I am in a very good mood today! Partly because I have EPCs booked in for tomorrow (I always like to start and end the month with work booked in, makes me feel positive for the month ahead) and partly because of all the news I have seen recently:

1. " Quidos investigate Trading Standards regime

Quidos has conducted a survey of all UK Local Authorities and the amount of enforcement that has been implemented with regard to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.It is clear there is very minimal, and in the vast majority, no enforcement action being undertaken by local trading standards in regard of EPBD regulations. 65 of the 177 authorities, that responded, have made zero enquiries into EPBD compliance. A further 48 authorities had made less than 10 enquiries.In 2008/09 £3.4million was provided by DCLG to cover the costs of EPBD enforcement to Local Authorities (in England and Wales). In the following years this has been reduced to £1.9million per year.

To date over £6,000,000.00 has been funded from the public purse to English and Welsh Local Authorities who have made enquiries of under 7,000 buildings in the past 3 years. Of these inspections 75% of them were conducted by just 14 separate TSOs. A total of 23 Penalty Charge Notices have been issued, which represents a lack of appetite to penalise rather than high rates of compliance. What enforcement that exists, is largely reactive rather than proactive. This would suggest that either there is very high compliance with the regulations and no problems exist; or (and far more likely) that there is very low compliance, and very few complaints are received by the Trading Standards Officers because no-one is aware of the legislation. A chicken and egg scenario.
At present the 200 separate Trading Standards departments are under pressure from financial restraint, and increasing emphasis on more ‘high risk’ areas to monitor, hence collectively it is a difficult task to enforce the EPBD regulations.
Philip Salaman, Managing Director of Quidos commented that “Quidos recommendations are to regionalise the enforcement to eight defined geographical areas, with a small number of dedicated trading standard officers to enforce the EPBD regulations. This has been very successfully adopted in Northern Ireland, and should provide a model for England, Wales, and Scotland.” 
In addition Quidos recommend the provision for private companies to be contracted by these regionalised TSOs to provide enforcement if required. Fines can be defined (and retained) by each region, with a maximum being imposed by DCLG.
Mr Salaman adds: “In these austere times we all face, there needs to be an emphasis on cost cutting. Energy certification can provide that, since it highlights inefficiencies and ways to implement cost savings through reduced energy consumption. Local authorities should look to EPBD enforcement not only as a revenue generating exercise, but one in which to reduce energy consumption across their locality.”

Click here to see the full report on Quidos.co.uk"

Lovely to see that things are getting looked into!

2.  "House prices in England and Wales fell 0.2 percent in December, leaving them 1.5 percent higher than the same month a year ago, figures from the Land Registry showed on Monday. "

Brilliant, lets see some renewed confidence in the housing market then please!

3. "David Cameron has claimed banks are being too cautious in restricting mortgage lending, as Bank of England figures showed borrowing falling sharply. The PM said banks and building societies are to blame for becoming too stringent in their lending regulations, and that they were preventing the housing market from progressing. Speaking to voters in Leicester, Mr Cameron said it was vital for the economy that Britain's housing market became more competitive. His comments followed Housing Minister Grant Shapps recent statement that the Government did not want another housing boom. Banks and building societies have introduced more restrictive mortgage rules since the global economic crash revealed millions had been sold mortgages beyond their means. But the Prime Minister called on lenders to return to 'respectable' lending in order to stimulate growth. 'In a way the pendulum has now swung too far the other way,' he said. 'If you are a single person, you are earning a decent salary. You go to the bank or building society, you are actually quite a good risk - they won't give you 80% of the value, they won't give you four times your salary.'

He added: 'You need a housing market where people are able to sell and move. The housing market has become very stuck and we've got to get it moving again.' But the task he faces was thrown into relief by Bank of England figures published today which showed that mortgage lending fell sharply in the final months of 2010, with buyers walking away in the face of the huge deposits demanded by banks.

Demand for mortgages from people buying a home fell sharply during the fourth quarter, according to the Bank of England's Credit Conditions Survey. A balance of 41.5% of banks and building societies said borrowing for house purchase 'fell markedly' during the final three months of the year, with demand dropping at its fastest rate since the third quarter of 2008. A combination of falling house prices and economic uncertainty caused by Government spending cuts caused people to delay decisions to move, and these factors are expected to continue to contribute to subdued lending.

But there was a feeling among lenders that the inability of would-be buyers to raise the huge deposits currently needed to secure a competitive rate was also constraining demand.

What's more, lenders thought they may tighten their affordability criteria further as interest rates rose, while some credit scoring criteria may also be tightened in response to new guidance from the Office of Fair Trading and the Financial Services Authority's mortgage market review "

So from that can we hope that the lenders and the government are finally realising that the current tight restrictions on borrowing is making the market worse? Lets hope so!

 

check, check and check again

I cannot believe it is only ten past 7! All 3 children are washed, fed and dressed and we don't have to leave for school until just after 8, the cleaning is done and my invoicing for my work today is already done. Am in super organised mode today.

I was outside a moment ago (letting the dogs down the garden) and its trying to snow?! I love the snow normally but after Decembers efforts - 3 inches of snow one day the entire country grinds to a stop, followed by no snow just ice and slush then a little bit more snow, I would prefer it to not snow at the moment.

A family friend rang me the other night to talk about renewable energy - and I admit it I learned something new. He works for a solar panel company and he wanted to see if my house was south facing, due to the Governments feed in tarriff the company he works for will install the solar panels on your roof for free. Being the cynical person I can be I wanted to know what the catch was. Apparently to get the solar panels for free your house (this applys to commercial buildings as well) needs to be south facing and must be able to accommodate at least a 3.5Kw system and must be willing to sign a lease agreement for the company to lease their roof for the next 25 years. The benefits of this is that although the company gets the feed in tarrif from the Government for all the energy going back into the grid the homeowner gets the rest of the free energy and therefore lowers their own personal heating bills. I am going to look into it further and see if my house is suitable - as far as I am concerned it would be a selling point for my property (if and when I sell) as who wouldn't want cheaper heating bills for their home!

Last night I was proved right in my obsession in double checking. I did a "tricky" property the other week, beautiful house but there were numerous improvements that the rdsap would not be able to calculate properly. So to make sure that my EPC was produced correctly and as accurately as possible I rang my accreditation company. This is my 4th year of being a DEA but I would rather ring and double, triple check than produce an incorrect EPC. After quite a bit of back and forth calls we came to a conclusion that would produce the most accurate EPC for the client. Last night made me very glad that I had done that as the client queried the result on the EPC - I managed to explain everything and because I had checked thoroughly I was confident and happy in my answers.

Off to get myself up and dressed ready for the walk to school (saving petrol and energy and hopefully working off a bit of the Christmas stodge!)

Austerity mum?

I read this morning that a lady had been writing a blog about tightening her belt, cutting costs and saving money during the current climate - only problem was she was writing this "creatively" as she actually lives in a beautiful 8 bedroom house which includes a ballroom -

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gxc4j1ZnMwlk_CYVjKYfxol0Kihg?docId=CNG.ae92b0aa2b694ca3182261c1f11bfc1a.781

Unfortunately as I write this I am not sitting a mini mansion in a lovely countryside retreat I am sitting in my "office"/4th bedroom/boxroom hoping more work will come in this week!

In all fairness it is getting increasingly difficult for the majority of people - negative equity, not able to remortgage, lack of work, overtime cuts, prices going up in the supermarkets and on petrol!

I try and work as much as I can, send out email marketing letters to estate and letting agents, walk everywhere possible - school run etc to reduce petrol costs, I even have one of those meters (that you plug in) in the kitchen telling me how much electricity I am using per minute - it really does help me remember to turn things off at the socket!

We are all having to tighten our belts and its not fun - but in a minute I am sticking the two youngest in their wellies and we are going into the garden so they can play/get filthy and I can sort out the veg patch and the greenhouse and see what I can start to sow ready for the summer months. I do actually like gardening, its relaxing, I get to see results fairly quickly and its really nice eating fresh tomatoes and cucumbers etc. It might not be much but planting garlic last year meant that we haven't had to buy any over 8 months and in these times any little helps.

Thoughts whilst pedalling.

To try and get fitter so that I can run around after the children and control Dave (the dog) better at agility I have an exercise bike in the conservatory. I sit there, looking out over the garden (when oh when will it be time to mow the lawn again - I miss it) and think/plot.

Today I have thought of a way to promote ECO awareness, EPCs and my business all in one fell swoop! Not quite sure if its going to work though but I can hope. The idea is a colouring/drawing competition in the local primary schools in my area. The winner will get a very very large easter egg, 2nd and 3rd prize will get a smaller easter egg.
The children will have to draw their idea of an eco house, the best 15 will be selected from the entries and then voted for via my company page on facebook.

Obviously the children will get a prize if they win, and hopefully it will encourage more eco awareness in the children. Its going to take me a couple of weeks to set it up and get it organised properly but am really looking forward to doing it now.

Not a bad thought really when I was pedalling away!

More products?

Its a bitterly cold wednesday. Ice on the cars and on the roads. But I am in a happy place right now - I managed to get all 3 kids fed, washed and dressed before 8am without having to shout once! Normally I have turned into the fishwife from hell by 8am on a school day shouting at one or the other to hurry up, we will be late, get moving etc so to have not had to do that feels so good - don't want to jinx myself but maybe the kids are getting into the routine finally?

Work this week is quiet so I am concentrating on researching other products I can offer to my clients and (hopefully) potential clients. I already do EPCs, commercial EPCs, floorplans and inventories so other than check ins of tenants am not sure what else I can offer (any ideas let me know!). Have thought about videos of properties, a walk through of a property for sale - it would save time as potential buyers would be able to get a wonderful feel for the property but am not 100% on that at the moment. It would be similar to the 360 tours that were in fashion some time ago but it would incorportate all of the property so that idea needs some looking into.

The current situation with mortgages is worrying me at the moment, unless the Government does something then the market is going to continue on its current path. We need to see the lending "freeing" up so that more people can get on the market! If the Government wants more people in work it would certainly help alot of builders get back to work if the housing market started moving again and it would, with stamp duty etc, give more revenue for the Government and help the UK get out of debt.

Positive news?

I am by nature a positive person - I must be otherwise I wouldn't be self employed!

I was reading the news this morning and found this titbit :-

"Looking forward, 29 percent more surveyors thought prices would fall in the next three months than rise, down from 41 percent in November.
Heavy snowfall in December kept transaction volumes subdued but surveyors were hopeful turnover would pick up in the spring. Eight percent more surveyors expected sales to increase over the coming three months than decrease, up from six percent in November.
"Surveyor sentiment does appear more positive for the coming months," said RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf."

Now that to me is fantastic - surveyors are feeling more positive and thinking that the turnover will pick up in the spring. January has always been a quiet time but if we see increases in Feb, March and April the optimisim and movement within the market will encourage more vendors to put their properties on the market and hopefully work can pick up for everyone.

But the most negative part of it is summed up nicely with this comment :-

"The key issue now is mortgage finance. However, with commentators suggesting lending constraints are unlikely to be eased, it is hard to envisage a meaningful increase in sales levels in the near term."

We desperately need lending constraints to be eased up to start the market flowing again.
Its alot of ifs but and hopefullys but what have you got if you haven't got hope!

Good time to buy?

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/Escape-landlord-good-yahoofinanceuk-508312233.html

This article is something I have read today and its so nice to see some encouragement about buying a property in the current market.

"But while falling prices and low interest rates make rising rents less excusable, they also mean it could be the best time in years to wave goodbye to the landlord and get a place of your own.
After all why would you want to pay someone else's mortgage when you could own your own home?"

The article goes on to list some of the current mortgage deals available to first time buyers  - and (I am definately NOT an expert on mortgages!) there looks like there are some very good affordable deals out there to help people get on the market.

Getting more first time buyers on the market is definately a step in the right direction - it stops the market stagnating and allows the market to start moving freely. The amount of people an improvement in the housing market would benefit is unbelievable - DEAs, estate agents, solicitors, builders etc it would definately be helping the current economy and taking off alot of the gloom.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend - I'm back on decorating duty!

Moving forward

I have actually had a good week - middle one hasn't been fighting at playschool and eldest and youngest are behaving as well so with my mum hat on life hasn't been too bad.

I have finally managed to feel fully recovered from the virus that I caught in December and am back to my normal self re getting my housework and other chores done so the fact that I am normally "on top" of it all by 8am makes me (although admittedly obsessive) quite happy.

There was a survey that I filled in earlier this week which has been started by IDEA (an organisation for Energy Assessors - tries very hard but needs more members and more promotion because it is doing good work) which dealt with what changes could/should be made to the EPC and the industry. I always say it - we haven't got Christine Milne and England didn't organise this like Australia has done and the EPC has not been promoted as the new "granite worktop" as it is in New York so there is a lot that could be done to aid our industry and weed out the unprofessional DEAs. Hopefully this survey WILL begin the changes that are so desperately needed within the industry.

I am carrying out my first inventory today. I have done them previously when I worked as an estate agent but after researching them over the past few months it has suprised me that more emphasis is not placed upon them - they protect both landlord and tenant if done thoroughly, independantly and professionally. There should always be photographs included in the inventory and it should be very detailed! I am taking video camera, notebook and camera (date stamp included) to make sure that it is done to the very highest standard.

Although most people are now saying how many resolutions that they have already broken I saved myself the trouble by not having any this year although I do have a wish list (lets see if any of them have happened by the end of 2011):
1. Lose weight
2. Grow my client base due to standard of my work
3. Work with other DEAs to form a co-operative (provides better service than some of the panels)
4. See the promotion of the EPC by the Government
5. Watch the cowboy DEAs be removed.
6. Keep my family happy and healthy

Have a lovely weekend.

a little rant.

Am in the mood for a little rant this morning - mainly because the eldest is back to her usual tricks of asking me to "magic" something up that she needs for school 1 minute before we need to be out the door!

We all had a good Christmas and New Year and have finally started decorating the house - we've only lived here five years but we have had 2 babies in quick succession during that time but atleast we've started and I now have a weekend of painting woodwork to look forward to.

Its very quiet on the work front at the moment, it normally is in January but I can't help thinking that although the majority of people blamed HIPs for the drop in house sales we need to look at the fact that there are not enough mortgages being approved. Once 100% mortgages went so did alot of first time buyers. I am not suggesting that we go back to those days but there has to be another solution to open up the market to first time buyers - if the first time buyers are once again able to get a mortgage then that will move the rest of the market. If the rest of the market gets moving we will have busy estate agents, surveyors and energy assessors - that surely will help the economy and improve alot of things for everyone. It would be a ripple affect and one that is much needed at the moment.

I hope that everyone else is well and wish everyone a successful and happy 2011.