HOME IMPROVEMENT MONTH: APRIL
GA/10.04.08 SELLING 1/2
MORE MONEY ON SELLING YOUR PROPERTY!
Beware The Energy Inefficient House Purchase
If you are moving house you need to bear in mind that house surveys today include an Energy Performance Certificate. This will tell you whether your prospective house purchase is significantly energy efficient and, if not, how you can bring it up to present-day standards – and what it will cost to do so!
In selling, you need to consider what this will say about your own property – and whether you should improve it in order to obtain a realistic price.
For instance, if the house has solid walls, causing unnecessarily high fuel bills, or the render needs replacing, or the brickwork and/or pointing has become porous, now is the time to add external wall insulation. This is a layer of insulation, plus render or cladding – perhaps brick slip, tile or weatherboarding finish – applied professionally to the outside of your house.
This will bring your home up to modern standards of warmth and comfort at sensible costs – or at least fuel bills similar to those of an insulated cavity-walled house. It will also weatherproof your house, preventing damp penetration, and condensation on the inside walls – and it will give your home a smart cared-for appearance, with the finish of your choice.
At a cost of at least £4000 for a semi, this is an investment that should pay for itself within the price you are able to achieve. Alternatively you may care to stay put in your warm as-new home, as it will surely cost you more to move. It will then pay for itself in seven years upwards based on the extra work needed beyond normal rendering/repointing etc. Finance to cover the cost may be available from mortgage lenders offering green mortgages.
It is important to insist upon British Board of Agrément or British Research Establishment approved external wall insulation systems as supplied by INCA system designer members, as these are proven in UK climatic conditions. These should also be installed by a specialist contractor member of the Insulated Render and Cladding Association, with at least two years’ experience. An optional industry guarantee is available prior to installation.
Approximately 500,000 UK homes have received this energy efficiency and weather-resistant treatment. On the Continent millions of houses have been built and renovated in this way.
Further information from the Insulated Render and Cladding Association at P O Box 12, Haslemere, Surrey GU27 3AH, tel: 01428 654011; fax: 01428 651401; e-mail: incaassociation@aol.com; www.inca-ltd.org.uk.
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