The £17,000 Wendy House
April 3, 2008 by kotoman · Leave a Comment
At a time when financial markets are in turmoil and first-time buyers are finding it increasingly tough to get their foot on the property ladder, spending £17,000 on a glorified Wendy house might seem a mite extravagant. Then again, the Grand Victorian, which measures more than 9ft from the ground to the top of its turreted roof, lives up to its name, with stained-glass windows, a fireplace, a loft and a brass door knocker.
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U-turn for loft conversion rules
January 9, 2008 by kotoman · Leave a Comment
Good news for anyone considering a loft conversion: you may not need planning permission, following a government U-turn last week.
pressure from home improvers and builders has forced ministers to rethink plans that would have restricted all but the most modest loft conversions, at a time when increasing numbers of homeowners are extending their properties rather than face the high cost of moving.
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Inspectors get tough on new doors and windows
January 5, 2008 by kotoman · Leave a Comment
DIY is big business. Inspired by TV property shows, we’re spending time and money doing up our homes. But DIY enthusiasts looking to replace windows and doors need to watch out, because without building control approval they could run into problems when they sell up, or even face prosecution and a 2,000 fine.
Sheetal Bahal, head of residential property at the law firm Clarkson, Wright & Jakes, says around one in 20 sellers come unstuck when their property goes on the market and they discover they don’t have the necessary paperwork for new windows or doors.
Replacements must comply with the building regulations for England and Wales, being properly fitted and with the correct type of glass used. There are two ways to do this: have the work done by a Fensa-registered installer, or pay your local authority’s building control department to inspect and approve the work.
Despite the rules having been in place for more than five years, Phil Hammond from the umbrella group Local Authority Building Control (LABC) says there is still widespread confusion among DIY enthusiasts: “Homeowners often know they’re supposed to do something but they aren’t sure what.”
And there is limited help available when you buy windows to put in yourself; the Glass and Glazing Federation, the trade association for the double glazing industry, says that while it would expect anyone selling windows for DIY installation to offer advice to customers, ultimately it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to sort out any approval required.
If you’re doing the job yourself, contact your local authority’s building control department before you start. You’ll need to submit a “building notice” and, if you’re creating new window openings, perhaps apply for planning permission too. LABC will come out to inspect once the job’s done and hopefully sign it off with a compliance certificate. You can also apply for approval retrospectively, for example if you’re about to sell the property, in which case you’ll need a “regularisation” certificate.
But how much you’ll pay for that all important paperwork is, according to Mr Hammond, a postcode lottery, with fees more than doubling across the country depending on your local authority. And the way the charges are calculated varies too. For example, Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire charges a flat fee of 81.78 for a regularisation certificate. Once this has been paid, it can carry out an inspection and issue an approval certificate within 48 hours.
But if you live in Cheltenham or Nottingham, and are having work done at a cost of 2,000 to 5,000, you’ll be charged 224.
Other local authorities work out their fees based on the number of replacement windows in the home.
Ms Bahal says there is an alternative quick-fix solution for homeowners: “Take out indemnity insurance this costs around 95 and pays out if the local authority takes action further down the line.” The insurance policy can give peace of mind to a prospective buyer and, she says, is often something a mortgage lender will want in place. But, she adds, if you’ve already contacted your local authority with a view to getting retrospective building control approval, then you can’t take out indemnity insurance: “It’s one or the other; you can’t do both.”
Adrian Cole at Bexley Council in south-east London warns that while authorities can’t usually take enforcement action more than a year down the line, “if work carried out is deemed to [result in] a dangerous structure, the authority can insist on it being taken down regardless of any time that’s elapsed.” He says the Government is looking to extend the existing time limit on enforcement from one to two years.
In some cases, even fitting double glazing may require planning permission, and although this isn’t usually the case with modern houses, it is worth checking before you start work. Other common types of home improvement that may need planning permission include loft conversions, conservatories and porches; contact your local authority’s planning department before going ahead.
source: independent
Bye Bye cowboys?
December 3, 2007 by kotoman · Leave a Comment
When south London couple Anne Curtis and Doug Johnstone decided to convert their loft so they could work from home, they were adamant they wanted a reliable builder who wouldn’t let them down.
On the Federation of Master Builders’ website they thought they had found exactly what they wanted - a list of builders who had been thoroughly checked, and some sort of comeback if there was a problem.
But they couldn’t have been more wrong. Today they have all but given up hope of seeing the £30,000 they lost after the builder they chose bodged the job and disappeared without completing the work.
The pair, both IT consultants, later discovered that the FMB-approved builder they used had caused similar problems for at least four other families, which, they claim, made a mockery of the so-called checks carried out by the trade body. When they complained, the FMB told them it could do nothing for them.
All their attempts to get recompense have failed - and now they have had to pay a respectable builder another £30,000 to properly complete the conversion.
The FMB, which is the largest trade body representing the building industry, claims to promote “standards of excellence and helps its members to continually improve levels of business performance and customer service”. Its 13,000 small and medium companies, it says, are carefully vetted before they are allowed to join, and are required to adhere to a strict code of practice.
The FMB is one of the bodies chosen by the government to be at the heart of its TrustMark scheme designed to restore consumer faith in tradesmen. Also, its approved builders are recommended by councils across the UK.
So why were Anne and Doug so badly let down, even after using an FMB builder?
They hired John Keenaghan, trading as both Penthouse Building and Penthouse Conversions. He had been taken on as a new member by the FMB in January 2005. Less than a year later he had disappeared, owing an estimated £100,000 in total to four families.
After looking into Mr Keenaghan’s past, Money discovered he was a director of another company, Inver Developments, which also went into liquidation with overdue accounts in 2002. Despite this, he was given FMB membership six months after he formed Penthouse Building.
The FMB has admitted it had a number of complaints against the man, who has since seen his company wound up by the DTI. He continues to live in south London.
“He started the job and asked for an initial £8,000, and we had agreed staged payments,” says Anne. “In all, we had paid him £24,000 when he disappeared, leaving us with a botched job half done.
“The guy who owned the scaffolding turned up to collect it, gave us a lead which led us to other people who were also victims of the same scam.
“Slowly we pieced together the true picture of how this guy had operated. We discovered that he had done the same to four other couples.”
The pair complained to the FMB which, after an investigation, told them there was nothing it could do for them.
“Trading standards was also a complete waste of space. It admitted it had had other complaints about this man, but said it couldn’t tell us who they were - we wanted to bring a joint action against him - and cited the Data Protection Act as the reason why not.”
Meanwhile, the pair have also questioned why Penthouse was not placed on a list of companies that have been expelled by the FMB - as they were told it had been.
In a statement, the FMB says the vast majority of homeowners enjoy a hassle-free experience with their approved builder.
“Inevitably, a small number of disagreements arise between builders and their clients, most of which can be resolved relatively easily through our complaints handling procedure.”
It says Penthouse will be added to the list of banned companies.
“In the specific case brought by Ms Curtis, the client had acted correctly in her dealings with the builder. After attempts to resolve the situation by the FMB, the matter was referred to our London Region Complaints Committee which considered the builder to have failed to manage his business appropriately. As a result, he was expelled from membership.
“We recommend all homeowners looking to carry out major building work - regardless of whether they engage an FMB builder or not - to take some basic precautionary measures, such as using a written contract, not paying too much money upfront, requesting to speak to other clients, and considering taking up an insurance-backed warranty, such as through the FMB MasterBond scheme.”
Certainly anyone looking at the FMB website would see why Anne and Doug chose to use an FMB approved builder. Everything on its Find a Builder (consumer) site gives the impression that its members are of the highest standard. There are plenty of references to the “government approved” TrustMark scheme and TV property celeb, Sarah Beeny, is pictured awarding the “builder of the year” his award.
The website refers to a dispute resolution service, but this proved worthless in the case of Anne and Doug. If a builder winds up his company there is little you, as the wronged consumer, can do about it.
The FMB offers an insurance based scheme (MasterBond) that will provide another builder in the event the builder walks out, although this costs an extra 1.5% of the contract price.
John Keenaghan is ex-directory - all attempts by Guardian Money to contact him failed.
How difficult is it to become a master builder? I applied - even though I don’t know one end of a masonry drill from the other, writes Miles Brignall
The initial application was easy. I simply came up with a name for my company - Miles Brignall Building - rang the FMB to say I wished to join, and an appointment was made.
I met the sales agent at a colleague’s half-renovated house in London. He turned up an hour late - I thought that was my role as the builder - in a very smart Alfa Romeo sports car. We got on well, chatting about the building trade.
I was asked little about my building experience but was told how FMB membership would help me better market my business. Membership costs between £300 and £500 a year, and I later found out that the agent would receive about £100 commission if my membership went ahead. I was asked for six references and I had to detail what work I had done at each and the approximate value of the work. I gave the names and addresses of colleagues, and made up work that I had done at each one. I gave a fictional building supplies company as my “professional” referee. After a meeting that lasted 20 minutes, the man from the FMB drove away.
To its credit, the FMB certainly took the checking of referees seriously. Each one was contacted in writing and, when they hadn’t replied, they were rung up.
At this stage we decided that we would not carry on the application process. We were not prepared to use a high level of deceit to obtain FMB membership. So what we don’t know is how easy it is for a cowboy builder, with acquaintances willing to lie on FMB forms, to sail through the process. Crucially, and the FMB freely admits this, there would have been no physical check on any of my past building work. Anyone, as long as they don’t have a criminal record, or any county court judgments against their name, can become a member.
The FMB told me that it expels a company a week, though we could only find 26 companies on its list of expelled firms - a list that goes back to 2001. Membership is not cheap, but as I was told, “it is tax deductable”.
An FMB spokesman said that like any other trade body it would be open to someone deliberately trying to deceive them.
source: Guardian
builders NewsTightening of the Green Grants
November 19, 2007 by kotoman · Leave a Comment
Home renovators are choosing renewable technologies over green grants since the government have made it harder to obtain the grants. Thus where the Government Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) was going to be used up by 2008, it’s set to last another 15 years according to Labour MP Lynne Jones.
Last financial year, the grants were so popular that they were used up halfway through the year; more money was allocated on a monthly basis, but then used up in the first few minutes of being released. The scheme was suspended in March and relaunched in May, with the maximum funding from £15,000 to £2,500 per home. As a result, few homeowners can now be bothered to apply.
source: Homebuilding and renovations
Going Green News
