By guest blogger - Greg Castle MD - House Shout (The private house sale revolution)

LED lights – Historically, the problem with high-efficiency bulbs is that although they save you money, the light they provide is of poor quality and intensity. Enter LED bulbs. These babies use 90% less power than standard lights, last far longer and will provide you with high intense, high-quality light. The drawback is they are more expensive but all things considered; they will save you mountains of cash over normal and halogen bulbs and are eco-friendly to boot!

Insulation – The quicker your house looses heat through poor insulation the more electricity/gas you need to waste keeping it war. Insulating your home is a sure way to keep energy bills down in the winter and be kinder to the environment. There are some government subsidized programs that enable you to insulate your home for a greatly reduced price. It is worth checking with your local gas/electricity company to see if these programs are available in your area. Replacing sash-windows with double paned glass will also improve insulation but can be costly. It is worth mentioning though that this upgrade will increase the value of your home when selling as will proper insulation.

Create your own power – Wind turbines and solar panels have become popular in recent years due to government initiatives and their money saving, eco-friendly characteristics. Wind turbines can either be mounted on your roof or on a mast in the yard and can generate anywhere from 1kw up to 6kw. You can even connect this up to the power grid and make money selling your electricity back to them. Visit energysavingtrust.org.uk to see if these options may be right for you.

Switch off – The average UK home spends £47 a year on standby electricity alone. Simply turning off televisions and computers when they aren’t in use can save money and is good for the environment. There are several gadgets available which sit in between the TV/computer and the socket which will shut down items which haven’t been used for a designated period of time so as not to waste energy. You can find this and other information about efficient products here: energysavingtrust.org.uk

Energy suppliers – There are several companies all over the UK which produce their electricity solely through renewable resources (wind, water, solar). They charge a slight premium over standard energy companies but you can feel good about your supplier (how many previous energy suppliers have enabled you to feel good?). On the upside, if you have followed the previous steps it is likely that your energy bill is greatly reduced anyway making your total electrical cost remain roughly the same if not decreasing slightly.

—– Original Message —–
To: feedback@theadvisory.co.uk
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 2:34 PM
Subject: Excellent guide

Thank you so much for the great guide on Conveyancing Solicitors. I’m just in the process of making a decision on a property and the solicitors part has been really difficult to dig out any real advice or information that isn’t coming from the solicitors themselves or friends and family, which admittedly, isn’t as reliable as I’d like. Your guide has dispelled a lot of the mystery and for that I’m very grateful.

I’ve also just been looking at your recommended conveyancing solicitors page and you’ve simply saved an eternity comparing services and gave me much more piece of mind that I’m not being fleeced. I’m a first time buyer so it’s all very confusing and it’s articles and guides like these that empower the inexperienced for their first transactions and into the future.

Best regards,

Gregg

A question has arisen which needs clarification please.

An estate agent who does NOT appear to be a member of any recognised professional organisation such as the Ombudsman for Estate Agents or the National Association of Estate Agents , after having conducted themselves in a most un-professional and offensive manner towards their client, the sellers of the house, took it upon themselves, un-prompted and un-solicited by the client, to terminate their appointment IN PRINT TO THE CLIENT and to withdraw from acting on the sale of the client’s house in October 2008, thus effectively rescinding the Contract of their original appointment which been entered into in April 2008 .

Despite the fact that the above agent had advised their client that a “HIPS” report was being made available to potential purchasers, NO “HIPS” REPORT WAS EVER PREPARED BY THEM and the property was marketed by that agent without this legally required package of information and documentation.

The house was subsequently sold, in April 2009 by a totally separate agent, newly appointed by the sellers in January 2009,  to a buyer who was introduced by THESE NEW AGENTS but who had, in fact, FIRST been shown the house early in 2008 by the above DEFAULTING agents, who WERE NO LONGER ACTING for the sellers.

Apparently, on an original viewing of the house early in 2008, the person who eventually agreed to purchase the property in April 2009 through the offices of the NEW agents had NOT been prepared to purchase the house in 2008 for whatever personal reason!

As you may anticipate, the crux of my enquiry turns around the fact that the ORIGINAL agents, who had THEMSELVES terminated and rescinded their contract to act in the sale, are now attempting to claim the commission which they consider is due to THEM for having ORIGINALLY introduced the eventual buyer to the sellers back in 2008 and are threatening legal action against the sellers.

Needless to say, a FULL SALES COMMISION FEE plus VAT has already now been paid to the newly appointed agents who were successful in effecting the sale in April 2009.

What is your general opinion and advice in this case please?

From: “v f”
To: “TheAdvisory” <info@theadvisory.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 2:37 PM
Subject: Re: Home Information Pack not accessible for solicitor?

Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction. For your
information, I found this on their web site (see under HIP)

Consumer Direct Website

“If it’s an estate agent, they must give you a copy of the Pack free
of charge (although they may make a reasonable charge to cover their
costs of copying and posting it). If the seller isn’t using an estate
agent, you should be able to get the Pack directly from them.”

Best regards,
Victor

On Fri, May 2, 2008 at 3:08 PM,
TheAdvisory <info@theadvisory.co.uk> wrote:

Report them to the office of fair trading.

Take the advice of a solicitor before you do anything. My comments are only
informal and should not be relied on.

Best,

www.TheAdvisory.co.uk

—– Original Message —–

From: “v f”
To: “TheAdvisory” <info@theadvisory.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 3:00 PM
Subject: Re: Home Information Pack not accessible for solicitor?

Hi,

thanks for the reply. Is there anything I can do to get the Home Information Pack for
the solicitor if the estate agent (Haybrook) continues to refuse to
let it go out of the house?

Best regards,
Victor

On Fri, May 2, 2008 at 2:33 PM,
TheAdvisory <info@theadvisory.co.uk> wrote:

No it’s total rubbish.

www.TheAdvisory.co.uk

—– Original Message —–

From: “v f”
To: <info@theadvisory.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 11:18 AM
Subject: Home Information Pack not accessible for solicitor?

Hi,

I would like to ask your advise on a problem with the estate agent I
am buying a property from. They are tryingt o convince me to stay
in-house (which seems expensive to me), and as such they have also
told me that they cannot give out the Home Information Pack (which
contains local searches and would reduce my costs) to an outside
solicitors, as it is the vendor’s property.

Can they do this? Is this legal?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Best regards,

Victor

From: kev richards
To: TheAdvisory
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 11:29 PM
Subject: Re: Home Buyer Company advice

Hi Gavin

Thank you for the rapid response.

I think that £160,000 is too low, although I do understand the benefits of a quick sale. We are looking for a quick sale, but perhaps not at such a great loss!

I don’t think that either of us have the incentive to use Estate Agents due to the timescale. It could be back to the drawing board I guess!!

Do you think there’s any mileage in using an Auctioneer? I don’t really know how they operate, or what their costs and timescales would be..

Thank you again for your advice

Kind Regards

Kev

From: A TOWNLEY
To: feedback@theadvisory.co.uk
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:16 PM
Subject: Feedback Estate Agency Guide
hi i found your guide on estate agent’s contracts useful and wish i would of found it 9 days ago when i went with my estate agent we signed a sole agency agreement.

The day after i was phoning some one from the council about fixing the road and said it was because i had just put my house for sale.He asked if I’d be interested in selling to the council as they wanted the land so i said yes but i had it with the agent he had to go through him.  I gave him the agents details as i thought it was the right thing to do and the next day got offer 5 grand below what i wanted. The estate agent said it was good but i didn’t know in the contract i had signed it wasn’t one per cent of the sold price  but a fixed amount based on the asking price. i thought i would be deducted to what we sold for so when worked out we had lost 5 grand off the aking price and the agents fee was 5233 that inc selling fee for in house solicitor and hips we thought it was bit much so i asked my agent to reconsider as i found the buyer and exchanged deatails ect and no money had been spent on advertiseing yet so i offered 4000 my estate agent is not happy and said he will seek advice from head office and get back to me tomo i dont think im unreasonable but i wish i would read deatails first before accepting offer 5 grand less and 5 grand charges very expensive lesson learned read before you sign.

From: Alexander Godfrey
To: TheAdvisory
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:10 PM
Subject: RE: Quick House Sale

Hi Gavin,

Thank you for your prompt response…and for your quick house sale company recommendation. We have looked at their website..and were very impressed. In particular, that they use 3 Estate agents in their valuations.

We look forward to speaking with Mr. Luke.  And appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Regards,

mrs. Carol Godfrey

From: “Victor McLindon”
To: “TheAdvisory”
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12:09 PM
Subject: Thanks For The Help

Good afternoon Gavin,

Thanks again for the reply. It’s so reassuring to get that kind of information so quickly and clearly. You are doing a great job – long may you continue!

Many thanks,

Vic McLindon.

From: JULIE MCCALLUM
To: TheAdvisory
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: Reputable Property Buyer Recommendations

Dear Gavin,

A HUGE thank you for all your help and for taking the time to respond to my query - it’s very much appreciated.

Regards,

Julie