Don't Go Round The Houses

PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR A HOME REPORT

If you have never sold a property using a Home Report before you may feel slightly anxious about what you have to do to get the best possible result. It is important however to remember that very few properties will score the top rating in each section of the report and that no-one expects a property to be 100% perfect, even new build houses invariably have snagging issues and that’s before children, rampaging dogs and energetic teenagers are let loose on them.

Most of us are by now familiar with the basic advice about making our house presentable from the many television shows on the subject. Freshly painted walls, a neutral décor and clutter free rooms are all great ways to attract buyers, although the jury is still out on the smell of freshly baked bread!

To prepare for a Home Report it is also important to look beyond superficial design flourishes and see what repairs need to be done. While you don’t have to make any repairs, you could improve your scorings on the single survey element of the Home Report by doing so.

Before doing a thorough check on your property, it is always worth asking a friend or relative to accompany you on a quick tour of your home pointing out any of the minor defects that familiarity tends to make invisible such as that loose floorboard on the stairs, broken light fitting or cracked tile.

After making the obvious, easy to-do repairs it is time to do a property health check. Grit your teeth and look at the big jobs and prioritise which items of disrepair are most critical and carry out those that will help you attract the best selling price. If you have any major work done make sure you are given a guarantee from the contractor.

Ensure that you have all the relevant planning permissions, building warrants and specialist guarantees on hand should the surveyor want to look at them.

Make sure that it is easy for people to have access to your home, if you have a garage, park the car there and ask your neighbour to move that large van parked outside their house that is blocking part of your driveway.

When it comes to the exterior of your property, you should do a careful check for problems.

For example:

• Clear out leaves and debris from roof gutters, hopper heads and ground level rainwater drains
• Examine gutters and downpipes after a heavy rain fall for signs of leakage or overflow
• Ensure that ground level sub floor fresh air inlets in external walls are clear and free from obstruction
• Remove and renew any cracked and bossed external rendering/harling
• Check for loose and friable pointing to external stonework, windows, doors etc and renew using a competent tradesman.

Internally you should:

• Check within roof void for evidence of daylight or moisture ingress
• Examine shower and bath seals, if there are any obvious gaps or they look a bit grungy, renew them
• If there is a crawl space below the ground floor, check for damp or any leaking pipes
• If moisture is evident on the internal glazing of windows first thing in the morning, consider installing extractor vents or dehumidifier
• If black mould is evident in the corners of rooms or in cupboards or wardrobes, consider point of source moisture – eg – extractor hoods, humidistat controlled wall vents, dry heat sources as opposed to propane gas heating.

You should also make sure you make your home as energy efficient as possible by taking some simple steps such as using energy efficient light bulbs, installing window blinds and replacing washers on dripping taps.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME
MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT

The Energy Report and energy performance certificate are a crucial part of the Home Report and show how ‘green’ the property is, rating the home A-G for energy efficiency (similar to the way fridges and freezers are rated). A is the best rating with G being the lowest. Even if you aren’t planning to put your home on the market now, implementing the measures below will not only save on your energy bills but will also help in the fight to slow the pace of global warming.

Start with the simple actions:

• Replace all light bulbs with energy-efficient ones which last as much as 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs and use 75% less energy than traditional ones
• Install window blinds to keep heat in the room
• Replace washers on dripping taps
• Fit draught excluders on doors
• Set your heating correctly. Your boiler thermostat, time programmer and thermostatic radiator valves should only heat the rooms that you use at the times that you use them
• If you have single glazed windows make sure you draughtproof them
• Fit an insulating jacket to your hot water tank.

Other bigger measures you could look to introduce to improve your energy rating include:

• Upgrading your boiler. If your boiler is over 15 years old it is probably time to replace it anyway. All new boilers must now be of the high-efficiency condensing type. They can help you save up to a third on heating bills
• Improving your insulation. More than 40% of all heat lost in the average home is through loft space and walls
• If you don’t have it already, install double or triple glazing, the air space between layers of glass both insulates the room and reduces heat loss through a window.

People who really want to cut their energy emissions could also consider the following:

• Fitting solar panels which can be used to heat water without harmful greenhouse gas emissions
• Installing photovoltaic cells which convert light directly into electricity that can power domestic appliances via panels placed on the roof
• Wind turbines which generate electricity from wind power. Micro-turbines can be purchased from leading DIY stores for around £1,500 and work best in windy and exposed areas.