A
Alzeral
Guest
On reading the thread titled BER Certificate requirement for the sale or letting of property starts on 1st Jan 09(locked) there seems to be a lot of confusion out there, which is understandable considering this is a relatively new industry.
I am a BER assessor and was quite shocked however, that some people who seem to know very little about BERs have come out with some statements which are totally unfounded and yet which they believe are true. One of the posts read that up to 12 assessments could be carried out per day. Another said that an assessment could be done in 30 mins?!?
Here are the facts - there are effectively 3 stages to assessing each house. The survey, the inputting of the data following the survey, and the typing up of a recommendations report specific to the house complete with the issuing of the BER cert. With regards to duration - the survey takes between 1 to 2 hours depending on size of property. The inputting of the data takes 1.5 hours (and I'm very computer savvy so this may take some assessors 2 hours). The advisory report and BER cert takes on average 2 hours to complete and issue. So you're talking 4.5 to 5 hours plus travel time for each assessment. Assessors will be able to complete 1.5 jobs per day (at a push maybe 2 when they become very efficient at it) and that's IF that much work is available.
In relation to prices, yes they do vary quite a lot, but bear in mind this is a brand new industry. A lot of assessors are quoting prices + VAT and some are quoting including the VAT but ultimately for the average 3/4 bed semi the price should be around the €350 mark all in. No doubt this price will fall with competition.
If some people think this is excessive think again - having a snag list completed on a new house is €275 - €300 for an average house and a snag would take about 3 hours to carry out, including the time taken to write the report. An estate agent carrying out a property valuation would charge you around €150 and this would take no more than 1.5 hours again including time take to write up their report. In relation to prices in the UK, these are not comparable as in the UK they have to get a Home Information Pack when selling, which costs circa £400 sterling.
As someone rightly pointed out in a post, this is not just a procedure new to Ireland, this has to be done in all EU member states as in accordance with the European Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Under the Kyoto protocol, Ireland signed up to reduce it's carbon levels significantly and we are well off target. However, BERs will do two things. Firstly, increase awareness about the importance of energy efficiency in the home and therefore reduce our CO2 emissions and secondly, give consumers who are considering purchasing/renting a home information on the potential cost of running a home they may be interested in.
So people, don't get carried away in thinking that all BER assessors are earning €59,000 per day. We're not! We're getting a wage and covering our expenses, and that's provided the number of assessors doesn't increase significantly. If it does, we'll have to go find another source of income.
I know it's yet another expense on people who are selling or renting a house but it's time we stopped our usual Irish moaning and just get on with it, it has to be done. Look on it this way; if everyone selling a house implements some of the recommendations that a BER assessor recommends, everyone in the selling/purchasing chain will be saving a lot more than the €350 over the course of a 2-3 years in the form of reduced energy bills.
I am a BER assessor and was quite shocked however, that some people who seem to know very little about BERs have come out with some statements which are totally unfounded and yet which they believe are true. One of the posts read that up to 12 assessments could be carried out per day. Another said that an assessment could be done in 30 mins?!?
Here are the facts - there are effectively 3 stages to assessing each house. The survey, the inputting of the data following the survey, and the typing up of a recommendations report specific to the house complete with the issuing of the BER cert. With regards to duration - the survey takes between 1 to 2 hours depending on size of property. The inputting of the data takes 1.5 hours (and I'm very computer savvy so this may take some assessors 2 hours). The advisory report and BER cert takes on average 2 hours to complete and issue. So you're talking 4.5 to 5 hours plus travel time for each assessment. Assessors will be able to complete 1.5 jobs per day (at a push maybe 2 when they become very efficient at it) and that's IF that much work is available.
In relation to prices, yes they do vary quite a lot, but bear in mind this is a brand new industry. A lot of assessors are quoting prices + VAT and some are quoting including the VAT but ultimately for the average 3/4 bed semi the price should be around the €350 mark all in. No doubt this price will fall with competition.
If some people think this is excessive think again - having a snag list completed on a new house is €275 - €300 for an average house and a snag would take about 3 hours to carry out, including the time taken to write the report. An estate agent carrying out a property valuation would charge you around €150 and this would take no more than 1.5 hours again including time take to write up their report. In relation to prices in the UK, these are not comparable as in the UK they have to get a Home Information Pack when selling, which costs circa £400 sterling.
As someone rightly pointed out in a post, this is not just a procedure new to Ireland, this has to be done in all EU member states as in accordance with the European Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Under the Kyoto protocol, Ireland signed up to reduce it's carbon levels significantly and we are well off target. However, BERs will do two things. Firstly, increase awareness about the importance of energy efficiency in the home and therefore reduce our CO2 emissions and secondly, give consumers who are considering purchasing/renting a home information on the potential cost of running a home they may be interested in.
So people, don't get carried away in thinking that all BER assessors are earning €59,000 per day. We're not! We're getting a wage and covering our expenses, and that's provided the number of assessors doesn't increase significantly. If it does, we'll have to go find another source of income.
I know it's yet another expense on people who are selling or renting a house but it's time we stopped our usual Irish moaning and just get on with it, it has to be done. Look on it this way; if everyone selling a house implements some of the recommendations that a BER assessor recommends, everyone in the selling/purchasing chain will be saving a lot more than the €350 over the course of a 2-3 years in the form of reduced energy bills.
