Homes in the UK: Modernise for Comfort or Stay in the Past for.....well what exactly?
31 July 2009
I imagine that double glazing companies and their sales staff must have been cheered by the latest government initiative to encourage home owners to adopt energy saving home improvement measures (which we wrote about earlier on this month).
But now it looks like the drive to modernise properties and help reduce the carbon footprint of our nation’s homes could be under threat, due to a survey commissioned by
English Heritage which finds that houses with ‘original features’ – that is houses that have, for example, wooden sashes intact and original door frames still in- sell quicker than houses which remove them.
This is in direct contrast to the survey carried out by the Halifax (
which we also wrote about not long ago) that concluded that homeowners believe that homes with double glazing are more appealing than those without (interestingly, English Heritage’s survey used estate agents as its sample group, whereas the Halifax used home owners).
The government’s English House Condition Survey for 2007 – which has just been published and can be read on the government’s website,
by clicking the link here – found that 40% of late 19th century houses (which comprise vast swathes of the housing stock, especially in our cities) have opted for double glazing at the expense of the ‘original features’ which English Heritage believe homeowners should be encouraged to preserve.
English Heritage believes that a large percentage of England’s conservation areas are under threat.
This threat, they believe, is in homeowners installing
double glazing – or other features, such as
satellite dishes or
new driveways – which are not in keeping with the feel of the area but which are not prohibited by planning regulations (there are over 3,000 conservation areas in England, and regulation vary from area to area and from property to property).
The debate as to whether double glazing helps encourage prospective buyers to sign on the dotted line occasionally crops up.
The two sides to the argument are represented by this new report by English Heritage – which claims, alongside many property relocation TV shows, it must be said – that original features make a house easier to sell, and the Halifax, whose report claimed that homeowners see the presence of double glazing as a positive feature for a house in economic terms, in the sense that it will lower bills, rather than as an aesthetic handicap to a new property.
So why is English Heritage so eager to wave their report around? We imagine that it has very little to do with how double glazing can help improve the security, warmth and noise pollution issues which can come with old wooden sashes, and everything to do with their own axe to grind, which is of course based on their upper middle class sensibility – that areas should look ‘nice’ and ‘proper’ at the expense of anything else.
But what do you think? With the newer double glazed units firms are able to integrate double glazing into older properties without making a complete pig’s ear of how they look (at least in theory).
So should homeowners really be restricted on choosing economical and safe modifications to their own homes when they are relatively normal houses (remember three THOUSAND protected areas in England alone. These properties don't all look like the disney castle or the nice chap in the photo's amazing property, alot of them appear, to my unrefined eyes at least, like very bog standard houses).
UK Government: Low Interest Loans for Energy Efficient Homes
20 July 2009
Since
Home Information Packs (HIPS) have been made compulsory in the UK the financial sense in
making your home energy efficient has been fairly self-evident when it comes to resale value.
The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) element of the HIPs effectively rewards homeowners who have made relatively simple measures, such as
retrofitting double glazing, or made more adventurous and expensive changes, such as installing solar panels, wind turbines or bio-energy projects.
As a double incentive, it is often the case that grants are available for this work, as they should be considering the UK’s current drive toward its 2050 emissions quota. For information on this check out the home improvements info on the
government’s website, by clicking here. Often it is the local council who you will ultimately be put in touch with, as access to funding seems a bit hit and miss on nationwide.
To add to this, the government has recently announced that low interest loans are due to be made available to homeowners looking to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
David Adams, chairman of the UK Green Buildings Council, told the
Times Newspaper: "Britain has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 80 per cent between now and 2050 so we need to cut the emissions from each home to almost zero."
To this end, ‘green mortgages’ of up to £15,000 maybe available for each home, with those who choose not to take out the scheme potentially facing higher council tax bills and higher stamp duty at resale.
Tidy Your House : Advice to Homeowners Looking to Sell, Courtesy of the Halifax
03 July 2009
Halifax Estate Agents, part of the poisoned Lloyds Banking Group, have managed to take their eye of their rocky stock market value for long enough to churn out a questionnaire of 1000 homeowners.
Nice of them to give something back, after the 17billion pounds which tax payers pumped into the company in order for them to get their own house in order. ...
Listing its findings in a press release entitled The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home, the survey found that energy saving features, new windows and double glazing
installations were highly important to people looking to buy new property.
The survey found that external features were the most likely to create a good first impression, with 50% of respondents stating that the exterior of a potential new home is the most important in giving a good or bad first impression.
60% of respondents suggested that new windows/double glazing were considered either essential or desirable for a new property, information which may be of use if you are about to put a property on the market, or have been trying to sell unsuccessfully.
The most important features were the bathroom, the toilet, the sitting room/lounge and having efficient central heating installed.
Of features which negatively influence how a property is perceived by potential buyers, it is little surprise that mould tops the list, with 47% of people claiming that a mouldy room would put them off buying. In addition, lack of parking, lack of a garden and poor fuel efficiency and energy saving measures were all listing as off-putting issues.
Gordon Edwards, Halifax Estate Agents’ managing director, puts it in black and white for us;
"Our research shows that most people are influenced by the kitchen when buying a house. However, you don't need to spend thousands on these rooms when trying to sell. Simple measures like decluttering and keeping a room clean and tidy will make your home more attractive to potential buyers."
This advice may not bolster those who have bought property as an investment, and who are currently cash strapped and looking to sell.
Indeed, it seems that the For Sale signs which appeared and disappeared so quickly during the economic boom have been replaced with those reading To Let, as investors look for revunue streams to keep them going during the recession.
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Is it the Recession or Bureaucracy which is sending Double Glazing companies down?
03 July 2009
It appears that the general economic misery which has seen so many shops on the high-street cease trading has also touched the double glazing industry, with May 2009 seeing an all time high in the number of companies which have ceased trading (320 in total, up from under 50 during the same time period in 2008).
This is, of course, awful for the employees and owners of these businesses, as it adds to the number of people made jobless.
We also worry for the number of customers left hanging in their wake, who may now struggle with guarantees or, worse yet, be chasing liquidators for deposits which have been paid to companies that have hit the wall.
One of the most disturbing aspects of all this is the number of reported instances where companies who have known the financial trouble they were in continued to take deposits and orders from people.
The question is, will the ‘buy local’ type of mentality which is sending shoppers toward independent grocers and butchers rather than supermarkets spread to the double glazing industry?
Or will homeowners go the other way and give their money to the national companies, perceiving them as more stable and deep pocketed, and therefore a safer bet in rocky times?
But is it just the recession which is making it so much harder for smaller double glazing companies?
Research provided by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) suggests that the smallest businesses (those with up to 9 employees) spend 33 hours a month complying with government regulations, whilst small and medium sized businesses (between 10 and 49 employees) spend an average of 131 hours per month complying with regulations – the same as hiring one full time member of staff.
Whilst regulations, especially sensible health and safety regulations, are undoubtedly vital for businesses in many sectors to stop lazy bosses putting their staff in harm’s way, it does seem that the UK has gone regulation mad, and you cannot help but wonder how those small and medium sized double glazing businesses might have been helped during these financially difficult times if the weight of legislation had been taken off their shoulders.
If you are a small or medium sized business double-glazing-forum.com recommends visiting the FPB's website, where there is lots of advice.
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