Search the sitePROPERTYlinks |
Are you ready for the roll out of energy ratings for all buildings?
publication date: Mar 29, 2009
A series of events is planned ahead of the roll out of a new law requiring properties to be graded on their green credentials. At present, Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are compulsory when a home is marketed for sale. But by October 2008 they will be extended in England and Wales to commercial premises and residential lettings, becoming compulsory whenever a building is constructed, sold or let. EPCs represent a major step towards combating climate change and are part of the EU Energy Performance for Buildings Directive (EPBD). They also present a challenge for the property industry. Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for property services, is running a series of information events in conjunction with Communities and Local Government (CLG) These sessions are free and will provide step by step guidance from government and industry experts and the opportunity to meet accreditation bodies, awarding bodies and other interested parties. There will be information on: • climate change and the legislative background to EPBD • EPCs – what they are, when they are needed and who can provide them • what to advise your clients • the timetable for implementation • requirements for energy assessors and arrangements for training and accreditation • career & business opportunities Events: Monday 03 March Jury’s Inn Hotel, Great Russell Street, London Thursday 06 March ICC, Broad Street, Birmingham Tuesday 18 March Newcastle United Football Club, St James’s Park, Newcastle Thursday 27 March Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Thursday 03 April Tully Glass Hotel, Ballymena, Northern Ireland Tuesday 22 April Lowry Art & Entertainment Centre, Salford Quays, Manchester Tuesday 29 April Thistle Hotel, Queens Street, Exeter Tuesday 13 May Holiday Inn, Peterborough West For event information please contact Tom Orton at Asset Skills on 01392 423 399 or email torton@assetskills.org Is your HIP solid? Concerns are increasing about the use of invalid and substandard documentation by HIP providers seeking to reduce their costs, to the detriment of house buyers and sellers. It is becoming clear that HIP providers are not been complying with the law through their use of Register Views, rather than official copies of title documentation. This means they are selling HIPs that are not legally compliant, with consumers being misled that they are purchasing genuine documentation. Invalid title documents are being used by HIP providers that are struggling to deliver a HIP and to keep down their costs. The use of genuine documentation presents them with challenges they are unable to overcome and rather than resolve the technology issue, they have chosen to flout the law says Peter Ambrose of The Partnership. “We continue to be shocked by the attitudes of HIP providers towards providing documentation that will actually be used by solicitors. Agents are now regularly reporting to us that they are exchanging properties more quickly thanks to our use of authorised local authority searches and complete title documentation. We feel that those companies with little or no legal experience who have now been exposed as breaching the law, should be avoided at all costs by any solicitor or estate agent who values their reputation and their business.” Agents reap the rewards of text technology The texting revolution has lead to an increase in instructions for estate agents using Location Based Services (LBS) provided by Intelligent Property; technology which delivers pictures and property details to mobile phones on instant request, and the phenomenon is quickly catching on. Intelligent Property is now working with leading estate agents including Chesterton, Douglas & Gordon, Jackson-Stops & Staff and Marsh & Parsons, many of whom have reported a minimum 15 per cent increase in instructions since using the technology. Managing Director, Intelligent Property, David Ferguson, comments: “Mobile phones are becoming increasingly complex yet only 16% of users know how to access a website via their mobile. In comparison, there are one billion text messages sent every two weeks. Texting an agents’ brand name in return for property details can be done by everyone on any handset at any time, it’s so simple. The system works because it’s 100 per cent user driven, so when a negotiator makes a follow up call, the user is expecting it and feels in control having viewed the property details first. George Franks, Area Manager at Douglas & Gordon, agrees: “Since using Intelligent Property’s text service, we have seen an increase in the number of vendors and higher conversion from valuation to instruction – vendors like the additional marketing tool when they see and use the system. In turn, we are also experiencing a higher number of applicants accessing property details via their mobile phones. “Although the initial request is via text, it has increased traffic to our website as applicants continue their research of a property. After looking at a property on their mobile they request for the details to be sent to a PC. When they get to their computer, they find direct links to the properties on our website, ready for more research.”www.intelligentproperty.co.uk
|
