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Energy Assessors in Leicester
Expensive Mistakes.Watch Out. Have Your Say.
Here at Nrg Assessment we strive to provide a quality service. I am increasingly being contacted by people who feel they have been mislead by there estate agent or have an inaccurate Energy Performance Certificate. It is probably the most expensive purchase an individual will make when purchasing a house. Unfortunately there are Estate Agents out there who are trapping House Sellers with cheap or free HIPs only to find out that if they take their house off the market they owe hundreds for the HIP or the full cost is taken off upon completion of sale. If it sounds to good to be true it usually is. I have added this page to my site so that you know what questions to ask and equipped with the knowledge. I must add that there are some really good Estate Agents out there. An Energy Assessor is supplying a legal document. The document should be accurate,e unfortunately due to large panels monopolising the market they push the price down so the Energy Assessor has to work for less hence fitting in more surveys a day. Any job that is rushed can result in mistakes and usually does. What use is an EPC if it is inaccurate. This can impact hugely on the running cost of the property. Mistakes can be costly. Below I have put in some examples that I have been told about. E mail me if you would like your say.
Mislead by Estate Agent
I have been contacted by a couple who saw an add in a National Estate Agent Window. The appealing advert said sell your house with us and the HIP will be £100. This sounded great so they went in and put their house up for sale. They paid their money and soon there was interest in their property. Great news they had an offer. They found their future home, unfortunately this all fell through and the home they had their hearts set on was purchased by another. They decided to take their house off the market. They did not expect to have a bill of £450 for the HIP. They are now stuck with this agent as they are not in position at this time to pay this price for a HIP. This is not unusual practice an estate agent is there to make money.
Inaccurate Energy Performance Certificates
I was contacted by a man who thought he had bought a house that was cavity construction. One of the factors in buying a house of cavity construction was due to his previous house being of solid brick construction and the difficulty keeping it warm. He originally contacted me for wall insulation. On further investigation we discovered the house was solid brick construction. He referred to the Energy Performance Certificate as it was a legal document. It stated the house was of cavity construction and it recommended having cavity wall insulation. He is now faced with decision of insulating the property with Solid Brick insulation which costs thousands or continue to have higher heating bills. He could have reduced his heating bills up to 25% if the property was of cavity construction and had wall insulation at £99. Quite an expensive mistake and all he received was an apology from the assessor.
Another example is where an assessor looked at the windows, they had upvc frames. The assessor concluded that the windows were double glazed. They were not they were single glazed. Hence higher heating costs. Yet again an expensive mistake for the house buyer. .
Contact me by e mail if have had a bad experience
These are just a few examples. There are very good Assessors and Estate Agents out there but you need to check reports and ask questions. Remember they are providing you with a service do not be afraid to ask questions. You are trusting there expertise. As I have said previously this page is to make you aware.
Questions to ask
How much experience does the Assessor have.
When did they qualify
Are they insured
What is the accreditation number.
The cost of the EPC is low how do they manage this price.
Do they have a complaints procedure
Is the HIP the price advertised, the full cost
Will I be penalised if I take my house off the market.
Does the price include EPC and Tax
Can I market my house with another Estate Agent and use the HIP
Does the HIP belong to me or the Agent
Do they add price of HIP on completion