Who can you trust?

By Chris Chambers
30 Dec 2013

Would you entrust a cherished and valued item to someone that knows absolutely nothing about how to look after that item? Let's say it's a vintage car - you would want your chosen custodian to know when and where to take it for a service; how to top up the oil; make sure it is taxed and insured etc. You wouldn't dream of giving it to someone that didn't know or care about cars.

Well it seems to be a different story with houses. The boom in the rental market has led to a proliferation of property management and letting agents and in an unregulated industry this has meant an inevitable rise in the number of unscrupulous agents. And there are plenty of unwary landlords willingly handing over their properties to agents in exchange for low rates of commission and getting a poor service in return.

Landlord & Tenant law and the Housing Acts are complex subjects riddled with points of law waiting to trip up the uninitiated; the statutory requirements placed on a private landlord are not for the faint-hearted; houses need maintenance and an agent really needs to know about property in order to correctly diagnose problems and ensure he/she calls out the appropriate tradesman (eg; the boiler is leaking and the electrics have tripped off - is an electrician, plumber or gas engineer required??); tenants go into arrears and breach tenancy agreements; the list of pitfalls is long but a robust and knowledgeable agent will foresee and prevent many of these issues and will act quickly to safeguard a landlords interest.

So who can a landlord trust?

Firstly; look or ask for an agents fees - agency fees have come under the spotlight in recent months: lettings and property management have become known as the "Wild West" of the property industry due to countless examples of agents charging unfair fees, having hidden fees or not disclosing their fees up-front. Get this information; ask for their terms of business and make sure that you sign up to an agreement that, should you need to, you can get out of on reasonable terms.

Check if your chosen agent is a member of a redress scheme; the main one in the UK is The Property Ombudsman Scheme. Membership of this scheme shows that the agent is bound by a Code Of Practice and follows managerial and customer-focused standards and practices. Our firm Proudhouse Property Management is a member of this scheme.

Secondly, find an agent that is actually trained and qualified! The National Federation Of Property Professionals (NFOPP) oversee the education, examination and qualification for a range of services within the Property Industry - holders of their qualifications are then permitted to become members of various licensing/accreditation bodies. Membership of ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) means that your agent has gained a minimum of a Level 3 qualification and is qualified to practice within the industry. It also means they are a member of a redress scheme. Furthermore, ARLA licensed-firms have had their accounting practices verified by an accountant, have client money protection and will have the appropriate indemnity insurance cover in place. Proudhouse Property Management provide lettings and management in Yeovil, Somerset and are ARLA members.

There are other bodies out there - most notably NALS - they provide redress, assurance and require agents to have client money protection in place. However, a landlord shouldn't just assume an agent is trained or qualified simply because there are some fancy looking logos in the agents window. Do your homework and ensure that, whether it is your cherished former home or a buy-to-let investment, your property is placed in safe hands.

Chris Chambers is a member of ARLA and owns and runs Proudhouse Property Management who provide lettings and management in Yeovil, Sherborne, Somerset, Dorset and the South West. Proudhouse Property Management also conduct energy assessments and Green Deal advice.

Energy prices... up, up and away. Genuine tips for using less.

By Chris Chambers

So energy prices are going up again!! Do you think there is nothing you can do about it? The best and most satisfying thing you can do is to use less energy - here are our energy saving tips and we promise we won't advise putting on a jumper and turning your thermostat down!

1) Light bulbs - I've banged on about this one in several of my blogs - get rid of all your old incandescent light bulbs (the classic old shaped ones) including any GU10 / MR16 bulbs which are not LED or CFL. They are only about 90% efficient! That means for every pound you give an energy company for powering an incandescent bulb you're only getting 10 pence of useful energy in return!! LED maybe more expensive (and more so for dimmable ones) but you'll never have to replace them (when it comes to LED spots you want a bulb that is at least 250 lumens to be equivalent to a typical 40w GU10). CFL bulbs have got better - they don't take very long to warm up and they're no longer the horrible white harsh colour they used to be. Check out this calculator below for some revealing stats on inefficient light bulbs.
http://environment.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment/energy/great-energy-challenge/light-bulb-savings-calculator/

2) Draft excluding: if you have a 1mm gap all around an average sized external door then that is equal to a square that is getting on for about 7cm by 7cm - if you actually had a visible hole in your front door which was that that size then you'd soon cover it up!! Gaps around doors, letterboxes and windows are frequently bigger than 1mm so get some draft-proofing installed.

3) Loft insulation: the recommended depth for mineral wool insulation is 270mm. Check your loft - chances are you don't have enough! And don't compress it as this reduces its insulating properties. Boarding lofts and using them for storage is unfortunately not very energy efficient - can you create a simple raised section in your loft space to store items on with room for insulation underneath?
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Insulation/Roof-and-loft-insulation

4) Change your hob for an induction electric hob? This is an especially good option if you are in the process or thinking of upgrading your kitchen. Induction hobs are brilliant - very efficient, no wasted heat and very controllable. If you thought you'd never want an electric hob over a gas one then think again!

5) Boiler replacement: This is a bit pricey but the cost of replacement of a very old and inefficient boiler will be returned in energy savings over only a few years. Check your boiler's efficiency here: http://www.boilers.org.uk/

6) Get an energy assessment done - most people associate energy assessments with selling or letting houses but they provide very useful information and advice bespoke to a particular property.

If you're in Somerset or Dorset and whether you're a homeowner, landlord or tenant, Proudhouse Property Management can conduct an energy assessment for you and also advise on how to access the Government's "Green Deal" or ECO schemes.

Get rid of the Grid??

By Chris Chambers

All that power going to waste

Yesterday (24th Sep 2013) Ed Miliband announced that the Labour Party would freeze energy bills until 2017! Hmmm... I think the energy companies might have other ideas - it's a nice idea but there is a hell of a lot of infrastructure to maintain and that maintenance isn't free. Furthermore, and more importantly, the Energy Companies need money to invest in and develop energy generation for the future. So freezing energy bills is not good for the consumer... free insulation programmes, the Energy Company obligation, and investment in renewable technologies (things that are all good for the consumer) are funded by the energy companies. Freezing energy prices could have a really bad effect on energy consumption and generation.

So is what Ed saying practical in any way?

How about relying less on the infrastructure? 

Use less energy!! I cannot believe the number of homes that still have incandescent lamps in the majority of their lampholders (see my earlier post). I conduct energy assessments, Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR) and help landlords prepare properties for letting so I go into a lot of homes... where are the CFL and LED lamps? Often there are only 2 - the 2 free CFL bulbs that everyone received free in the post a few years ago and usually they are in the hallway and the landing...  the technology has improved and they do save you money so promoting this should be a priority.

But here is a really BIG, crazy, pie-in-the-sky idea:

The national grid is only about 33% efficient - that's to say that only a third of the energy released from burning fossil fuel actually gets put to useful work in homes, commercial and industrial properties. That is a shocking yet strangely accepted statistic - I'm not aware of any initiatives to change this - it is just an immutable fact.

I think the era of large scale power production should be brought to a close. For domestic properties especially, there is no reason why a network of community heat & power, micro-generation and renewables cannot provide "cells" of localised power generation. Surplus energy from domestic Solar panels on individuals houses should not feed an into an expensive large-scale national grid - what a waste of a wonderful resource! Energy derived from daylight, at point of use, being fed directly into a network which is only 33% efficient and fed largely by dirty carbon! Wouldn't it be better if it was fed into power for the local community? 

Large power output generators are needed for heavy commercial and industrial units that need the consistent high power output that a national grid provides - so the role of the traditional power station will probably have to remain. But domestic properties with their diurnal low power demand should be on a separate system. 

So, instead of freezing energy bills why not force the energy companies to invest in down-scaling the national grid and providing local and renewable power generation within domestic communities - generate power much closer to the point of use and cut down on huge transmission losses.

Just an idea... could this work? I'd love to hear peoples' thoughts and comments.

Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property Management LLP: Providing Lettings & Management services, Green Deal advice and Energy Assessments to Homeowners, Landlords and Tenants in Yeovil, Sherborne, Dorset and Somerset. 

Regulation Of Letting Agents

Yesterday the Communities & Local Government Committee called for the regulation of letting agents. This move would empower the Office Of Fair Trading to ban agents that act unfairly or improperly. Proudhouse Property offer letting and management services to landlords in Yeovil, Sherborne, Dorset, Somerset and the South West. We have long been opposed to what can only be described as underhand and greedy charges made by some agents for all manner of reasons: setup fees with no tangible return for the landlord; eye-watering registration fees for tenants; fees for overseas landlords; renewal fees; administration fees; correspondence fees; finders fees; lock in fees if a landlord decides to dispense with an agent but retain the tenant; set thresholds below which agents have free reign to spend a landlords money without his/her prior approval... the list goes on - if you can think of it, some agent somewhere has charged for it! Sure, it can be argued that there is good reason to charge some of these fees but the basis for any contract is agreement... it is simply unfair to charge someone a fee which they are not aware of; sometimes the landlord only becomes aware of the fee when they check their bank account and see less money for a particular month than expected! It's a pretty disappointing experience - our ethos is not this.

Your property is your business - the rental fee is your income. We charge fair and reasonable fees that reflect the level of work that we put in. We are unique in having our own in-house domestic energy assessment and electrical services and provide that necessary certification, along with a Gas Safety Certificate, in return for our setup fee. We are a relatively new business and serve a niche market for members of the Armed Forces - we do not need to maintain or depend on archaic income streams that some of the more established agents have become dependent on. Our fees are available on request and also provided to potential landlords during our free initial consultation. We offer flexible services and a refreshing, honest and professional approach to landlords and tenants alike. We are working towards ARLA accreditation and landlords' money is held in our client accounting bank account with regular statements provided. Please contact us if you are need letting and management services from true property professionals in Yeovil, Sherborne, Somerset, Dorset and the South West.

10 Reasons To Use The Green Deal

By Chris Chambers

The Government's new Green Deal Scheme has launched this year - this scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency of homes via grants to homeowners and landlords to fund, or part-fund, the fitting of performance enhancing measures such as modern boilers, insulation or even solar panels. Response has been luke warm and critics are waiting to pounce on any opportunity to prove that the government scheme is a flop and a failure... what a shame - we think this scheme, employed correctly and with correct financial safeguards in place, has excellent potential to contribute to the EU directive of reducing CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050. 

Here are 10 good reasons to use the scheme:
 
1) It will save money for the consumer: Ultimately, using less energy will cost the consumer less money. Who wouldn't want to save money?! Yes, you have to wait for the grant to be paid off... but during this period you'll be no worse off than if you hadn't taken the grant.

2) It could make you money! Feed-in tariffs for photovoltaic solar panels and for Micro-CHP systems pay homeowners for surplus electricity that is fed into the National grid.

3) It will more than likely improve the value of your home. Buyers of homes are becoming more savvy and more choosy about what they spend their money on. For example, most customers these days, given the choice, are not even going to consider a home without double-glazing or a modern >90% efficient boiler. 

4) It's great for landlords: By 2018, any home in the private rented sector needs to score in Band D or above on an energy performance certificate. The letting of a home in Band F or G will be banned! The Green Deal is the obvious way to improve a property's energy efficiency and since the energy savings are measured and recouped through the utility bill the tenant would be paying back the grant.

5) Job creation: Green Deal funded measures must be installed by approved Green Deal Installers - this has the potential to create more jobs in the building trade. Plumbers, electricians, roofers, construction, and gas engineers will all be required which could be a timely rejuvenation of these industries. 

6) It's good for the economy: Large scale uptake of new technologies and their associated installation requirements can only be good for the economy. There are hundreds of industries affected both in the UK and abroad - think of all the components in a boiler, or the inverters and electrical components in a PV system, the turbine technology of wind power generation... all those unseen parts need manufacturing and assembling and transporting. The scaling up of these industries, whether it's in the UK or Europe can only be a good thing.

7) Advances in technology: It is true that some of these energy efficiency measures are expensive. Photovoltaic panels for an average house cost between £7,000 to £10,000 and a micro-CHP boiler could be a similar price. Economies of scale and uptake of the technology will drive the costs down and progress advances in technology to further improve efficiency.

8) Building Standards: there is still a problem in the UK with rogue traders and unregistered tradesman. These tradesman are often not qualified nor trained in what they are doing and risk serious danger or death to themselves and their customers. Green Deal Installers will have to be registered, checked and inspected by a Government approved scheme such as NAPIT or APHC. 

9) Avoid Fines: Should the Government not reach its target of 80% reduction of CO2 by 2050 then it will incur serious fines by the EU. These fines will be funded by the UK Taxpayers money! That's bad for taxpayers, bad for the economy and bad for the Government that is in power at the time.

10) The Environment: There is now no doubt amongst the climatologist of the world that global warming is taking place and there is no doubt that human activity is a significant cause. In May 2013 the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 400parts per million; this is a depressing milestone and the highest concentration of CO2 for 3 million years. We need to act. That's what the Green Deal is really all about - an effort to do something.

You might think the Green Deal doesn't apply to newer homes. This Barn conversion is only 14 years old but would still benefit from increased loft insulation, draft proofing around all doors, improved double glazing and an upgrade of its oil fired boiler. Rural locations could also be suitable for wind turbines.

Any homeowner, landlord or person with a professional interest in the property industry, environment or economy should be backing the Green Deal all the way. Whether to use it or not is a no-brainer frankly. But to sit back, do nothing and gleefully wait for it to fail is lunacy. 

See this link for the Department Of Energy And Climate Change's page in the Green Deal:
https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/how-the-green-deal-works

Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property and Wigglies - Electrical Services. Creating innovative and sustainable homes in Somerset and the South West of England.

"Save The Incandescent Lightbulb"... Really?!??!

By Chris Chambers

Apparently, in the U.S, Green labelling of products is turning people off purchasing energy efficient lightbulbs - there is even a political "save the incandescent light" lobby! A study has found that many consumers would rather buy an incandescent lightbulb than a cheaper-to-run energy saving equivalent - clearly "Green" is still not cool in the U.S.

I thought I'd share some thoughts on this. In the photo below from left to right:

1) Old style incandescent bulb: These are only about 5% efficient! The design has not changed in about 120 years. Really, honestly and truly, get rid of these if you have them - most of the electrical energy is converted to heat.

2) Incandescent halogen (GU10): About 15-45% efficient. The filaments last longer as the halogen gas deposits tungsten back onto the filament which prevents it getting weaker over time. They also reach a higher temperature and are brighter than standard incandescent. Tall people watch your heads, especially if you're bald - I really have seen a scalded scalp from someone standing on a chair whose head touched a halogen downlighter!

3) and 4) CFL Lighting. These use about a fifth of the power of a standard incandescent lightbulbs. Their efficiency more than makes up for their purchase cost over time. The tubular ones (4) are a bit more efficient. When these were first introduced people were put off by the long warm up time and the very harsh colour - more modern ones have addressed these issues. They contain mercury - a tiny miniscule amount - nonetheless, they should be recycled. If you break one then do some sensible stuff like ventilate the room, keep pets and children away until it's all cleaned up and discard any clothing that may have been contaminated.

5) LED (GU10) - these use about 90% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb! They're cold to touch. They're expensive but coming down in price. If you upgrade to these then consider the lumens rating; as a rough guide you need about 150 lumens per square meter (for general domestic illumination). They last up to 25,000 hours possibly more. As they don't get hot they are inherently so much safer - especially when installed in downlighters in ceiling voids/lofts.

If you read this far then thank you! Check out this really cool website:

Light Bulb Savings Calculator

For my home these were the (gob-smacking) results:

You have 3 more light bulbs than the average U.S. household.

You use 35.6 more efficient bulbs than the average.

You are likely saving about $112.45 more than the average U.S. household eachyear on lighting energy, due to your choice of bulbs.

If every household in the United States took the same steps on lighting efficiency: 

 - It would save $12,706,495,632 in energy costs.
 - It would be like shutting down 18 coal power plants.
 - It would be like taking 13,753,910 cars off the road.
 - It would reduce CO2 emissions by 70,144,945 metric tons
 - It would cut emissions equivalent to 381,949 railcars of coal

 
Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property LLP and Wigglies - Electrical Services. Creating and developing innovative homes in Somerset and South West England.

Hot Dimmer Switch!

By Chris Chambers

Hot dimmer switch! Somebody asked me today why a particular dimmer switch in their house gets very hot. The IET wiring regulations allow non-metallic parts that are intended to be touched (but not hand-held) to be no hotter than 80deg C - so the hot dimmer switch could be normal. However, any appliance cannot withstand infinite energy passing through it thus a dimmer is rated to a maximum wattage eg 250W. So 8 x 40W GU10 lamps (in an array of downlighters for example) would exceed the capacity of a 250W switch. Prolonged heat in electrical parts can, over time, break down the insulation and ultimately cause dangerous shorting and potential fires. Check that you're not overloading your dimmer switches. Incidentally modern dimmers work in a very clever way - more about that some other time!

For more electrical information visit: www.wigglies.co.uk

Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property LLP and Wigglies - Electrical Services. Creating and developing innovative homes in Somerset and South West England.

www.proudhouseproperty.co.uk

Every UK home will receive a free Smart Meter!

By Chris Chambers

Did you know that between 2014 and 2018 most homes within the UK will have a Smartmeter installed? This is just one of many measures and schemes in place by the Government in order to meet the legal requirement to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. The meters will replace your existing meter and will monitor your energy usage - you'll never have to read or send a reading to your supplier again as that will be automated via a mobile phone type signal. It should also provide you with detailed information about your homes energy usage and help you see where you can save energy.
 
The meter will be replaced by your electricity distributor - not a regular electrician but www.wigglies.co.uk and www.proudhouseproperty.co.uk can provide help and assistance with upgrading home electrics and advising. See the Gov link for more detail on Smart Meters. https://www.gov.uk/smart-meters-how-they-work

And one energy company is already supplying them! Click here

Domestic PV (Photovoltaics) systems

By Chris Chambers

Proudhouse Property and Wigglies - Electrical Services are very interested in the potential of PV systems. PV systems are now fairly common - the advantages, at first glance, seem to be very enticing: free electricity; reduced energy bills, and feed-in-tariffs paying the owner money! And of course, this renewable source of electricity is contributing to energy within the National Grid. But it is not as simple as that... is it?

 - The systems do not normally utilise the charging of batteries so electricity cannot be stored, which is not very convenient for when electricity is needed most, ie; evenings when the lights/TV/computers/kitchen appliances are all being used.

- The systems are fixed (to the roof normally) - the sun of course is moving constantly in both elevation and azimuth so the PV panels are rarely (if at all) receiving optimal insolation (see here for definition of insolation).

 - "Feeding-in" surplus electricity into the National Grid is doing the energy companies a huge favour and promoting the continued maintenance of a large-scale inherently inefficient national-grid system (remember, electricity generation in traditional power stations is only about 30% efficient due, mainly, to losses in transmission). Small scale systems and microgeneration are a far better idea for efficiency and redundancy - think of the chaos that occurs when the Nationl Grid infrastructure suffers major damage due to weather (or even a terrorist attack!!).

- The PV panels do little for the aesthetics of the property they're sited on - which is a bit disappointing for the properties that possibly have the most to gain fom energy efficiency such as old, historic, period properties (which are often enjoyed for their beauty). 

We reckon PV could be better - we've got some ideas but would love to hear from people that actually use it! So please comment.

Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property - providing innovative and energy efficient homes in the South West, UK.

Inspiration from Austria

By Chris Chambers

I'm currently on a skiing holiday in Austria. It's snowing/whiteout conditions and whilst my friends are enjoying early Après Ski in the Moose Bar, St Anton, I'm back at the chalet still recovering from last nights drunken mayhem. It strikes me that as well as doing ski resorts really, really well the Austrians also do house construction pretty neatly. I can't see the roof tiles of our chalet as they're covered in snow but the roof timbers are really, really substantial (to take the weight of all that snow) and made from an engineered, laminated softwood by the looks of things. The outsides of the buildings are clad in shingles (cedar or larch possibly) - I'm going to presume that Germanic efficiency means the shingles are sourced from local forests. The front door is a heavy, metal, well fitting piece of engineering (no expanding and getting stuck in wet weather). The garage door where the skis are stored is a heavy timber double door affair that is supported on a rail/guide system (no sagging or not closing properly). The bottom of the door is clad and sheathed in what looks like copper to prevent the bottom of the door getting wet and rotting. The lock is fantastic - a really pleasing, solid handle and deadlock system... indoors things are just as neat although basic - this is a holiday let after all. The windows are all of timber constructions and of course double glazed. There is not a hint of uPVC in sight - anywhere in the resort.

Clearly, construction methods here have to withstand extremes of conditions, so the heavy duty aspects are understandable. But it is the sheer quality of components and attention to achieving longevity that is so impressive. It's all worth bearing in mind next time you ask your builder for a roof repair and he uses some lame uPVC barge board quickly nailed into some weedy rotten timbers that really should be replaced...

Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property Management and Wigglies Electrical Services. Creating exciting and innovative homes.

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The devil is in the detail.

By Chris Chambers

An acquaintance of mine recently bought a property in Dorset - a nice 1950's semi in a nice market town. It needs a bit of love but it is what I would regard as a fairly standard refurb (get a skip, get a crowbar, remove everything, plaster, install new electrics/boiler/kitchen/bathroom, decorate, paint the front door, neaten up the garden... Done). Sounds straightforward but of course it isn't - the real skill is being able to co-ordinate tradesman, timescales, stay on budget and create a home at the same time. As a Part P registered business, Proudhouse Property and Wigglies Electrical Services have been employed as the electrical contractor and this project highlights the need for good project management - it is really important to have a firm grip on what needs to be done and when - are you happy to have new surface mounted electrical sockets installed in a utility room before the plasterers have visited? Similarly, if you have a plasterer visiting to skim a room then be careful with your preparation and arrange for who is going to do what - and plasterers will plaster around (and not behind) any obstacles so make sure that absolutely everything is off the walls - sockets, curtain rails, cupboards, architrave, skirting etc. The boiler fitter will want to make his life easy and fit the boiler where he can easily get a gas supply, vent, and electrical supply to the boiler as well as water pipes - so if that location is in the kitchen then will that work with the kitchen design? Would a bit more effort and time (and a bit more money probably) get the boiler to another location (such as the utility room) and be a worthwhile endeavour? Afterall, you'll use the kitchen many times a day - the boiler will hardly ever get interacted with so why locate it in your most used room if you don't have to? There are many more examples of little details that need to be thought through but won't be considered by the tradesman; it is a sad fact that the majority of tradesman are simply interested in completing what they've been asked to do and then getting paid - so good communication is key to getting it right! The tradesman, although arguably in a very experienced position to do so, will not do a lot of the thinking for you. My advice, having been in the clients shoes on many occasions, is to not congratulate yourself on rapid progress until you're 100% confident that the order of work is logical and the outcome is going to be something you're happy to live with - and if it's not then stop and rethink! The tradesman work for you, not the other way round. A good project manager, whether that's the home-owner or an employed professional, should help create a home, not merely manage a process of refurbishment.

I recently went back to the house concerned and my client has done a great job! A few headaches along the way but patience and a few re-visits from some of the not-so-helpful tradesman have all paid off.

Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property Management and Wigglies Electrical Services. Creating exciting and innovative homes.

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