What a start to the week!

It has been a lovely bank holiday weekend with the royal wedding (yes I admit it I watched and cried - the bride looked beautiful) and the fact that the sun has been shining and April was a very busy month for work. But then back to work on tuesday, was feeling positive and happy (hoping that work was going to stay busy) did a few epcs in the morning and came back to upload them and book in two vendors who were selling through an estate agent I have known and worked with for the past 3 years.

And what a phone call that turned out to be - I was told in no uncertain terms with alot of swearing that "its a waste of money" "it'll be gone soon like the hips thingy" "I aint chucking any more money anyway". I was (very proud of myself) very polite and professional. I explained that the the regulations were in the process of changing ie 7 days not 28 days, that it was a legal requirement and that it would require doing. In the end though there was no getting through to the vendor so I have had to refer it back to the estate agents and will wait and see what happens.

I will admit that if I end up doing the epc on that particular property I will be slightly nervous as the gentleman was very aggressive.

On a positive side the estate agents were absolutely disgusted and were sending out a letter to the vendor explaining that the epc had to be done regardless of his views on the matter.

Anyway heres hoping that May turns into a very busy month for all of us involved in the housing industry.

Information highway/Social networking

I was finally (having a spare 5 minutes) investigating twitter and how it works properly - and I found where people had "retweeted" me or tweeted me a message. So firstly apologies to those who have done that - I wasn't ignoring anyone, I was just ignorant of how twitter worked.

While I was checking out twitter I found an interesting blog - worthwhile to follow: http://www.dailygreennews.co.uk

So while I was reading the above blog I found the link to Estate Agent today where there is a lovely story about how there is another wonderful course coming out for Energy Assessors to take, although there is no promise of any work and the Government have not fully committed to anything as yet - am sure everyone can see where that story is going! http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/news_features/Here-we-go-again%3A-DEAs-asked-to-part-with-more-money

"The Building Research Establishment would like a cool £900 off them for a place on a three-day training course that might (though it’s not guaranteed) give them some kind of qualification to become one of those new Green Deal jobbies, a Home Energy Adviser. Steer well clear, is our advice. As the BRE itself admits, the Government hasn’t even launched an official scheme yet, so “BRE cannot provide an official qualification”.Mystifyingly, it adds: “However, we are very confident that this course provides all the information you will need to carry out detailed and practical home energy surveys and offer comprehensive advice.”"
So we are still in a fairly quiet market, still seeing new DEAs emerge from new training courses (advertised as the opportunity to earn £40k plus!???) and then there is this news - suppose we are going to see more training providers taking this opportunity!

DEAs really need to be fighting their own corner on this, I have repeatedly said it over the past 3 plus years but we all need to stand together and get something sorted with regards to our own industry before it gets any worse.

Got to hope.

Reading through the news this morning all I could find was doom and gloom in regards to the housing market - housing market remaining slow, pessimism affecting housing market and highly uncertain, being the main headlines online today.

But click on to them and read through and there is a glimmer of hope! So I have "swiped" the positive comments out for everyone to see below:

"“However, there is a very clear regional pattern emerging, with London seeing a greater level of price resilience, while in much of the North and Midlands the market remains under greater pressure.” http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/news_features/Housing-market-gets-off-to-a-bad-start-says-RICS

"Atlantic Canadians may feel they can afford to scrimp and save to pay off debt built up during a holiday buying spree, as the bank suggests, but those same people may feel that purchasing a new home is just too far out of their reach for now. But there is a touch of irony that a simple decision by individuals to hold off on making major purchases, such as a new home, ultimately affects the broader economy"
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1226718.html
It seems that the Canadians are experiencing what we in the UK are. There is little confidence in the market and therefore people aren't buying - but if there was the confidence then we would see higher prices, more properties on the market and more work and better for the economy. Unfortunately (yes, I am on that "soapbox" again) until the Government puts pressure on the banks to make it easier to get a mortgage again we aren't going to see the influx of first time buyers on the market that we need.

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.

The Green Deal, further info

"Thousands of new insulation workers will soon be hitting Britain’s streets as part of a national effort to make people’s homes warmer and cheaper to run. Chris Huhne, today said that by 2015 up to 100,000 Green Deal workers could be employed in the effort to upgrade Britain’s homes. Currently around 27,000 work in the insulation industry. Legislation to start the process of establishing the Green Deal is due to be introduced into Parliament next month.The Green Deal is the Government’s new and radical way of making energy efficiency available to all, whether people own or rent their property. The work to upgrade the property will be paid back from the saving on energy bills.Chris Huhne, visiting British Gas’ Energy Academy in Thatcham, said:“The Green Deal’s about making people feel as warm as toast in their homes. I want Britain to say goodbye forever to leaky lofts and chilly draughts. At a time of increasing gas prices energy efficiency is a no-brainer."

This is from the http://www.decc.gov.uk/ website.  There is a leaflet on the Green Deal that is also available to download from this website which goes on to explain that 3.5 million homes will be insulated in the run up to the Green Deal.

Part of the leaflet states "Under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) the Government requires all major, domestic energy suppliers to make savings in the amount of CO2 emitted by households. CERT helps reduce energy demand; enhance the UK’s security of supply; reduce fuel poverty; and, secure jobs in energy efficiency industries. In June 2010 the new Government extended the scheme to ensure 3.5 million new homes can benefit by 2012, providing an additional 107 MtCO2 in carbon savings"

I can only hope that these "thousands of insulation workers" will be 1. regulated, 2. a thorough assessment of the required amount of insulation workers will take place, 3. training providers will be kept in check.

When I read further through I found this "Chris Huhne announces that “were all 26 million households to take up the Green Deal over the next 20 years, employment in the sector would rise from its current level of 27,000 to something approaching 250,000”    I know I keep rabbiting on about this (sorry in advance) but please get a grip on the training providers - there are some fantastic ones out there (Elmhurst, SAVA, ECMK etc) but there are also the ones that are promising the moon and the stars and are giving the industry a bad name. Also (sorry soapbox again) cap the amount of people allowed to train for the green profession and set the fees like the Australian Government did.

The direct gov website is getting better - its still not positive enough for me, but compared to a year ago there are alot more details on there about how to save money when you move home. The website can be reached on this link http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Greenerlifeevents/DG_064436. It is a shame though that the EPC is only mentioned once on this page and then only very briefly.  I did enjoy reading about the microgeneration technologies and it is explained simply so it doesn't get confusing.

Green Deal and assessors.

"The enormity of the challenge soon became apparent and the first meeting was barely able to scratch the surface of the task. The Green Deal is proposing that all households should be eligible for an energy assessment that will provide them with guidance on the investment choices that they can make and also give them behaviour change advice.

This will be the first point of contact that households will have with the Green Deal and the assessments will need to have integrity, independence, consistency and be of a high quality. Working out the funding model to achieve this, finding people with the skills able to deliver the assessments and ensuring there is a good level of quality control is a major task for policy-makers.

As we go through the process similar changes will appear at all other stages of the delivery model. What is highly encouraging is the level of Ministerial ambition behind the programme and the openness of DECC officials to external ideas and advice"

I have pinched the above from: http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/comment/2272705/developing-green-deal as I thought it was very thought provoking and made some very valid points.

As a Domestic Energy Assessor the bit that grabs me is the first point of contact that householders will have - who will it be? It goes on to say that there it needs to find people with the skills able to deliver the assessments and ensure that there is good quality control - to my mind it is obvious, the assessors should ONLY be DEAs - they are already over 50% trained, are CRB checked and are used to being professional within clients houses, it makes complete sense to use DEAs for this role!

As a home owner I am obviously worried about potential financial implications but it has been stated that the Green Deal will provide grants/links with energy companies to fund the work to make the UK more energy efficent.

Only time will tell!

Worry and dreams

I'm sitting here alone at my computer, kids are all organised so it is fairly peaceful in my house at the moment and I am having a moment of worry..........................do I do the RICs Associate course?
I have always wanted to be a chartered surveyor, I have put myself through numerous courses, studied into the early hours and then gone to work and looked after a small baby, took jobs I didn't really want that came with a paycut just to get more experience and I am now looking at the work required and wondering if I can do it?

I know I will buckle down and get on with it but its nice every now and again to remind yourself of how far you have come and that your dream is finally going to be within reach.

I have another dream and that is for the EPCs to be fully promoted within this country - the Green Deal brings with it a whole new range of possibilities, with a little tweaking the EPCs could provide the full advise to the householder/landlords and the Government would have an army of people who are already trained ready to go out and put that part of the Green Deal into motion.

DEAs have been promised the world by training providers (that mysteriously disappeared in the end) and there are still adverts/emails appearing offering people the chance of a fantastic new career within the energy assessing industry where as the actual truth is that there is already more than enough trained energy assessors within the UK and unless you are guaranteed work by a very trustworthy source then you really shouldn't train. I love my career and am very happy to do the work but at the moment I would advise people against paying any money to become a DEA.

I do hope that if any other country begins putting EPCs or something similar in place that they monitor the training providers and make sure that the trainee energy assessors are not taken for a ride.

A normal day at home?

I haven't really spoken much about my life other than the work side of it. I have three children - 8yr old daughter, and two sons age 3yrs and 18 months.

As it is quiet at the moment (am trying not to worry - but as I am self employed its difficult not too) I had the luxury of a complete day at home with the kids. So it starts of in the normal manic run round, breakfast, shower and dress the little ones, bit of housework followed by the school run with the nightmare of parking and getting the eldest to school without letting the 3yr old run off (definately not an easy task). When we were at home I had to take a phone call so went out via the patio doors so that I could hear the person on the other end instead of trying the make out the conversation whilst the kids were playing loudly. During the phone call the 3 yr old scaled the stairgate into the kitchen and locked me out. So I spent 10minutes of my morning begging the 3yr old to give Mummy the keys!

I spent the remainder of the afternoon on the garden planting bulbs while the youngest two ran up and down screaming and playing with cars and the dogs. So it was a good afternoon until I had to face the school run again and find somewhere that wasn't a 2 mile trek away from the school to park - I refuse to double park or park on corners unlike the rest of the parents so it can be tricky.

I love the variety my job offers me and the fact that I get to spend extra time with the kids, I am one of the lucky ones.

But on a rainy and cold November afternoon I can't help hoping that I will get invited to the USA or New Zealand to discuss the EPC and how it works in the UK...................well it makes a change from daydreams about winning the lottery. I am glad that I started this blog as it has encouraged me to read more about what is happening about the Green Deal in the UK and across the world, at the end of the day we all as global citizens need to do more, its no good leaving it alone and hoping it will go away - its our world and we ALL have to look after it. The other advantage of this blog is with the fact that my other half is in the Army it gives me somewhere to vent my feelings of frustration about the lack of promotion of the EPC and related topics as the kids don't really seem to want to hear it - the eldest would rather watch Hannah Montana :)

The Green Deal - Advice to householders who provides it?

Green Deal Advisers

An important aspect of the Green Deal will be the provision of personalised advice to householders. It is likely, but yet to be confirmed, that the role of these advisers will be to:

• produce a fabric assessment, along the lines of an improved EPC, where one does not already exist. Current work to improve the EPC should position it to deliver this element of the Green Deal;
• provide personalised face to face advice to householders on the most appropriate energy efficiency measures for their home using the fabric assessment as the basis for that advice;
• provide advice on behavioural changes that an occupier can make to reduce energy consumption;
• lodge an updated EPC on the Register following installation of the measures.

It is important to stress that the detail of the Green Deal is still being developed so the proposed Green Deal Adviser role has yet to be finalised and is subject to change.

Qualifications and Training

National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Home and Community Energy Advisers were published in June 2009. Those standards were developed at a time when a rather different role was envisaged for HEAs. While many of the skills and competencies prescribed in the NOS are likely to be relevant to the role of the Green Deal Adviser, there will be a range of other skills and knowledge that an adviser working under the auspices of the Green Deal will require.
Asset Skills, the awarding bodies and others, are to update the NOS to ensure that it reflects all of the skills that will be required for the Green Deal. We expect to complete this process early next year, following which appropriate qualifications will be developed and brought forward. It follows that a suitable qualification for people wanting to become Green Deal Adviser does not currently exist.
DEAs are already qualified to produce EPCs. If it is decided that EPCs should form the basis of a Green Deal inspection, then they will be well placed to upgrade their skills and become Green Deal Advisers. We are working to ensure that the revised NOS takes account of the skills of existing DEAs and, where appropriate, that they are exempt from those elements of the standards that cover areas in which they are already qualified.

Green Deal providers

Green Deal providers will be organisations that have decided to become involved in the financing and delivery of the Green Deal. It will be for them to decide whether they recruit advisers directly, engage with them on a contractual basis or make other arrangements.

Accreditation

All Green Deal Advisers will need to belong to an accreditation scheme. It is envisaged that such schemes will need to be in place by early 2012.

 

So judging by the above it is hopeful that the Government will use the DEAs to produce the advice to householders - after all by the sounds of it they are already 50% qualified, if not more, have been working within the industry and with householders already, and have been badly burnt by the credit crunch, housing market, bad training providers and a variety of other problems. It would be ideal if the DEAs were used and finally give them an additional stream of income whilst promoting and emphasing how important the EPC and energy saving matters really are.

Rewards for buyers and Sellers for energy efficient properties!

The government is looking at how stamp duty could be used to reward buyers and sellers for making a property more energy efficient – particularly if it falls in the lower F or G bands on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). That covers 20% of the British housing stock – just under 5.5 million homes.

The proposal would add 0.5% extra levy on normal stamp duty rates for those homes. So that’s clearly the tax side. But if the property was improved to at least an E rating on an EPC, the homeowner would receive a refund of the 0.5% – plus a rebate of another 0.5%. That money would be paid through savings in your energy bill. So that’s the incentive! Energy efficiency is one of the cheapest and easiest ways of cutting carbon. But the government has to help homeowners see all the benefits. Stamp duty reform is one of the best tools it can use.

The Government has extended the Green Deal to the rental sector - tweaking flagship scheme so landlords cannot refuse "reasonable requests" for energy efficiency improvements, but commercial properties still in limbo at present. The government has confirmed it is to extend the Green Deal to cover rented properties, although it is still unsure if commercial properties will be included in its plan to upgrade the energy efficiency of Britain's buildings.

Under the scheme, home improvements are paid for by energy companies or other commercial firms which then recoup the cost through charges on energy bills. Repayments are set at a level lower than the savings achieved through the energy efficiency improvements, ensuring that households and businesses taking part in the scheme end up better off.

Today, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said that from 2015, landlords will be unable to refuse any "reasonable requests" by tenants for energy efficiency measures such as loft or cavity wall insulation to be installed.

Under new powers, councils may also be able to insist that landlords improve the worst-performing homes.

 I am hopeful that given the above we might finally be seeing the value of a professional Domestic Energy Assessor who produces accurate and efficent EPCs going up!

Government Plans for more energy efficent UK - The Green Deal.

"England's home owners will be able to fit their properties with energy-saving insulation at no upfront cost from the end of 2012 onwards, the government said on Tuesday.

Under a proposed plan called the "Green Deal", government-accredited insulation installers will make improvements such as loft or cavity wall insulation to homes and businesses for a fee, which homeowners or renters will pay in instalments.

The cost of each instalment will be deducted from energy bills and will be limited to the savings that the homeowner makes from the new insulation.
"At a time of increasing gas prices, energy efficiency is a no-brainer," Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Huhne said in a statement released on Tuesday.
"It's also a massive economic and job opportunity, which could help Britain's economy turn the corner."

The Green Deal will be rolled out in three steps, starting with a property energy efficiency assessment. Insulation installers will then equip the properties with the necessary improvements, while occupiers will repay the installation costs through instalments in their energy bills.
Fifteen percent of homes on the list of properties to be retrofitted with energy-efficient measures are inhabited by people in the lowest income band, the government said.
The bill will also suggest that local authorities can force home owners to make improvements to least efficient buildings."

So thats the Green Deal - what does it mean for DEAs???

If as it says the Green Deal is to be rolled out in three steps starting with a property energy efficency assessment does that mean work for the already accredited and trained Domestic energy assessors? After all it would seem fairly silly NOT to use DEAs for this step.

It is good news in the fact that the UK will be more energy efficent and that the bill is suggesting that local authorities can force home owners to make improvements, but that would have to be done very carefully. This also brings up the fact that what is being done about the MOD housing? that is not very energy efficent at all - is the Government going to get those houses made more energy efficent?

An update......EU directives and a quango

"A recent study conducted by a quango, the Energy Saving Trust, found most properties could be improved to meet current green energy standards for less than £3,000. The same study also claimed 70% of property buyers would negotiate a property’s price if they discovered it was not energy efficient"

£3,000 is not much when you consider the cost of your energy bills over a 5 year period, and if the study is correct with regards to 70% of buyers negotiating on a propertys price if its not energy efficent it is a good idea to look at the EPC when you buy a property and spend the time and money updating the property according to the recommendations so that when you sell the property it is more energy efficent.

"An EU Directive will make it compulsory for energy efficiency ratings to be published in all UK homes ‘for sale’ advertisements, including on For Sale boards, from 2012, it has been claimed"

So this will delay first day marketing as at the moment vendors and landlords have 28 days to get the EPC on their property. Personally I don't think this is a bad thing, I work on a 24hour turnaround and so if I receive an order on a monday I do my very best to have the EPC back with the client by tuesday. Therefore for my clients there should be little to no delay for the marketing.

It has also been suggested that the Government is considering charging buyers of properties with poor EPCs a premium on Stamp Duty. There are lots of grants available to enable you to make a property more energy efficent and by the sounds of it now is definately the time to be looking into those.