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23rd June 2010
The NHBC report a rise in the number of new homes being registered by builders. In the period March to May 2010 a total of 32,352 new homes were registered, a 68% increase on the same period in 2009.
20 May 2010
HIPs are history: Eric Pickles suspends Home Information Packs with immediate effect.
The Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles and Housing Minister Grant Shapps have announced that with immediate effect, they are suspending the requirement for homeowners to provide a Home Information Pack (HIP) when selling their homes.
Mr Pickles today [20 May 2010] laid an Order suspending HIPs with immediate effect, pending primary legislation for their permanent abolition.
In an effort to help reduce energy bills and tackle climate change, sellers will still be required to commission an Energy Performance Certificate before marketing their property.
Whilst there is no longer a requirement to provide a HIP sellers can still provide one if they wish to do so. The continuing use of existing HIPs is also at the sellers discretion.
6 May 2010
BBC Watchdog programme highlights poor quality Persimmon Homes.
BBC consumer programme Watchdog has received several complaints about the number of defects that buyers are finding in their newly built homes. Mr Arun Soni moved into his brand new Charles Church house in North London more than two years ago. Since then he says he's had hundreds of defects. These included large cracks, peeling paint on his front door and a leaking garage roof. Several of his heating and water pipes were not secured properly when the house was built so when they cool down at night they knock against the ceiling boarding.
His builder has tried to fix the problem in several places but Arun is still having sleepless nights.
"It's been an absolute nightmare. It's caused sleep deprivation for the whole family," Arun told the BBC.
For full BBC report and programme clip click
The NHBC received around 63,000 complaints about faults in new houses two years ago. Last year, the number of complaints actually increased despite the recession and 40% FEWER new homes being built.
All new homes will have snags so it pays to have your new home inspected by a professional snagging inspector.
30 April 2010
House Prices continue to rise.
The latest house price index show house prices are increasing, although have to increase by an average of around 8.3% to be at the previous peak level. According to the Halifax, house prices rose 1.1% in March 2010 rising 5.2% higher than a year ago. Nationwide indicates house prices rose 1% and are 10.5% higher than a year ago.
24 March 2010
Stamp Duty suspended for two years for First time buyers
In his last budget before the General Election, Alistair Darling announced he was suspending Stamp Duty on properties sold for less than £250,000 for First Time Buyers only. This will apply from now to 25th March 2012. To fund this, stamp duty on homes selling for £1 million or more will attract a new 5% Stamp Duty from 6th April 2011. The new upper rate will affect between 10,000 to 15,000 home buyers every year.
16 March 2010
Code for Sustainable homes level 3 (CSH3)
This code makes it mandatory for developers to reduce the carbon footprint and include such features as Bat boxes, water flow inhibitors and expensive heating systems. House builders believe this could easily increase the cost of a brand new home by up to £20,000.
West Berkshire Council became the first council in the UK to introduce a policy requiring new buildings to be constructed to “standards of excellence” in terms of sustainability. However, they were recently forced to shelve their eco-homes policy after a planning inspector upheld an appeal against it. The ruling was made on a technicality, because the council had failed to set out the policy in any documents examined by a government inspector. Some builders are objecting to the charges in obtaining an independent inspection and accreditation of the building rather than the actual additional costs of the green features. For more information on the Code for sustainable homes: www.homebuilding.co.uk
Comment: Brand-newhomes.co.uk considers eco-policies as yet another burden on the new home buyer.
15 February 2010
Consumer Code for Home Builders
From 1st April 2010, the new code sets out requirements that the builders of new homes which are covered by a new home warranty must meet. The purpose of the Code is to ensure that Home Buyers:
are treated fairly; know what service levels to expect; are given reliable information upon which to make their decisions; and know how to access speedy, low-cost dispute-resolution arrangements if they are dissatisfied.
www.consumercodefornewhomebuyers.com
Download a copy of the code
25 October 2009
Buying “off-plan” beware of the pitfalls!
In a rising market, buying off-plan can be financially beneficial. See also When to buy. As the market rises the house you are selling increases in value, the house you are buying also rises in value but not in price, as the price is fixed at the time of Exchange of Contracts. This can be anything form six months or more before the home is finally built.
During the current recession, many house builders put their operations on hold or slowed production, resulting in homes not being built as quickly as they may have done before the credit crunch. The Mail on Sunday reports one such builder, Berkeley Homes, has many off-plan home buyers caught in the trap with their new homes now completed, but worth up to 34% less than the time contracts were exchanged. They are nursing huge losses and are unable to obtain sufficient mortgage funds due to falling loan:value ratios and reduced lending throughout the market. These buyers are locked in a contract and whilst Berkeley say they are sympathetic to the plight now facing their off-plan buyers, they feel that a contract is a contract and are issuing court summons to buyers who cannot or refuse to complete their new home purchase.
This is against a backdrop of Berkeley’s biggest shareholder being Lloyds TSB, one of the banks bailed out by the taxpayer. Whilst at the top, Tony Pidgley, Chairman of Berkeley Group, whose pay, including the maximum bonus totalled £2.4 million last year. He also collected shares worth £34 million in a controversial long term reward scheme. No wonder Berkeley’s off-plan home buyers have formed a home buyers lobby group www. berkeleyhomescollective.com
4 May 2009
Air source heat pump technology could lower fuel bills by 30% and Co2 emissions.
Ecodan® advanced heating technology removes the heat from the outside air and uses it to heat your home and hot water. Surprisingly it can still deliver the heating required, even when the outside air temperature is -20ºC. The system is automatically regulated to ensure that you never use more energy than you need at any given time, making this one of the most efficient ways to heat your home and hot water. The system can be installed in as little as two days by a qualified plumber and as it uses free energy fromt he outside air, it is classified as a renewable energy source and if installed by a registerede MCS installer it may qualify for grant funding under the BERR’s Low Carbon Building Programme.
www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/how
For more information on ECODAN visit www.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/heating.
Or call ACS on 0800 0432197
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