Where there is hope

So its now April - the months of 2011 have flown by so far and hopefully work will continue to get busier.

During the month of March I added to my services with Fresh as a Daisy - its an end of tenancy cleaning company that makes sure a property is properly cleaned, oven gleaming, windows smear free and smelling fresh before new tenants move in. One of the reasons for this is I am trying to save estate/letting agents and landlords time - instead of 3 phone calls to get the EPC,inventory and cleaning sorted they now have to make only 1 call (to me!) and its all organised leaving them to concentrate on obtaining new tenants/new sales etc which is of great importance in this current financial climate.

I have noticed though that the DEAs that seem to be surviving the recession are the ones that (apart from making sure they are professional, up to date and have high standards of customer care and quick turnaround times) have added additional services to their business. Its definately a case of making sure that not all your eggs are in one basket.

Have seen some promising news though today via the EAT blog - http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/news_features/Hopeful-signs-for-spring-housing-market. Which explains that there are signs of new growth in the market!

Am very hopeful about IDEAs petition to bring down the length of time that the EPCs are valid for is taken into account soon with the powers that be - 10 years is definately too long, there is too much that can be changed during that length of time and it really does need to be only valid for 1 year. Fingers crossed!

Off now to check on the seedlings in my greenhouse - am hopeful that should be a good amount of home made salsa from homegrown cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and peppers this year! (Thats if the children stop eating them off the plants)

Before I forget the Draw an ECO house competition ends this friday so please if you have 2 minutes spare log on to Hazel Green Associates on Facebook and have a look at the fantastic drawings the children have done! They had some wonderful ideas.

Lifespan

It has definately been a good weekend. My youngest turned two on Sunday so we spent the weekend doing lots of family things that the kids would like. The only bad point was that agility training was cancelled on Sunday due to waterlogged field - I tend to rely on those 2 hours to give me a break.

Am off to work shortly which is always a good way to start the week. One of the jobs is for a direct client that I have carried out an EPC for before - over 2 years ago, so it is very nice to be remembered!

Had a few interesting emails this weekend. I am hoping to be part of an independant DEA co-operative soon, it should be operating Nationwide which will allow us all to quote (professionally) for larger estate agents as we will be able to offer nationwide coverage with high standards of service. I do feel it is very important for estate agents to be confident that the DEA they are sending out is polite, well presented and does the EPC in a quick turnaround to fit in with the client.

The other interesting email I have had is with regards to a petition -
"Good Afternoon,

After recent discussion on our forum on the Subject of: Ten Year Life Span of EPCs I am writing to make you aware of a petition we have been involved in finalising which is now live.

See here - Petition to reduce the life span of EPCs

We have recently been working hard in association with the Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors (IDEA) on the petition and campaign. IDEA will be coordinating responses and be promoting the campaign to the wider industry.

I would urge those who support the goal of reducing the lifespan of EPCs to become involved. 

So how can I help?

• You can simply download the petition form from the petition's dedicated area. Please gather signatures of as many people who support the petition and return to the address at the bottom of the petition form.
• Forward this email to your friends, family and colleagues.
• Help us promote and raise awareness online. For eg Be sure to "like" and "share" the page on facebook and tweet the subject on Twitter.
• Come to the forum and show your support

With recent indications of a desire to address the EPC lifespan , now is the time to make your voice heard on the subject.

We will endeavour to provide regular updates on the campaigns progression and look forward to your support.

Thank you for your time.

Kindest regards

The Housing Energy Advisor Team"

This is a good idea, alot of the general public (and some DEAs) are still unsure as to how long the EPC is valid for. It would also encourage the home owner to improve the efficency of the property (think energy efficency is the new granite worktop - New York). Any organisation or individual who is involved in trying to improve the EPC and, by a knock on affect, the industry of energy assessors should be thanked and supported so I for one will be supporting IDEA and The Housing Energy Advisor Team in this campaign.

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.