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.

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.

Been a while

Well its been a long while since I wrote in this and there has been a bit going on........

The competition for Draw an ECO House is underway, and you can vote on the drawings by the children (follow this link.....http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=125357600814357&aid=69402 ) you have to click like on the drawing you want to vote for - you can vote once for key stage 1 and once for key stage 2.
The drawings are fantastic and you can see how much effort the children have put into this competition.

Work has been steady, could always do with it being busier but its given me time to add a new service! So along with EPCs (domestic and commercial), floorplans, photos, descriptions and inventories I now offer an end of tenancy cleaning service. Its definately becoming more of a one stop shop for letting and estate agents! But it saves time if you can get the EPC, floorplan, inventory and cleaning organised with just one phone call and know that it is done to a very high standard.

I am hoping with the news of help for first time buyers we are going to start to see the housing market pick up and start to get busier. I am also waiting to see if the petition that was organised is going to work and the "Life" span of an EPC will be brought into line with that of the gas safety certificates. Given how much can change over 10 years it would make a lot of sense if the EPC was only valid for 1 year.

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.