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What happens if you have work done under the Green Deal and you want to sell your house.

The idea behind the Green Deal is to allow you to have certain approved work done at your property and then to pay for the work in installments via your energy bills.

The work would have to be assessed before if was carried out to ensure that you would save at least as much as it cost you to repay each month This know as the ‘golden rule’.

So what happens if you want to move house?

The energy benefits of the work will stay at the house and therefore so will the monthly costs (until the capital and interest are repaid).

This might not suit your purchaser, but you will have the option of paying off the money borrowed, if this proves to be a stumbling block.

What if you are buying a house?

If a vendor has had work done under the Green Deal, then it will be shown on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The EPC is an essential report on the energy performance of any house that is on the market for sale or to rent. It must be displayed by the agent at the time of sale and it should be available for any prospective purchaser to see.

Read more about EPC reports on the Riley Marshall blog, click on the image below.

What is an EPC and what does it say about my house?

Repay or not?

It is not worth repaying the green deal loan attached to your property, unless the purchaser really does not want to take on the debt. Remember that the purchaser will be enjoying the benefits of the energy savings that your property improvements cost, so be sure not to lose out in any haggling of this type.

You could always offer to pay off the Green Deal agreement for a similar adjustment in the house price.

For more information on the Green Deal you can visit our Green Living section.

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Halifax announced a 1% rise in house prices this June despite a drop in the market in the 3 months prior to June 2012.

House prices have been fluctuating throughout the first half of the year with four monthly rises and two monthy drops. April was the worst month with a drop of 2.3%, possibly due to the end in the stamp duty holiday, which would have distorted figures around that time.

Martin Ellis, Halifax’s housing economist, commented “There has been a marked improvement in the annual rate of change over the past 12 months. A year ago, in May 2011, house prices were falling at an annual rate of 4.2%”.

Halifax are reporting that house prices are roughly 0.5% lower than at this time last year, making the average property price £162,417. Obviously there are wide variations between different regions with the London market remaining buoyant, but other areas slipping back.

By contrast Nationwide reported a 1.5% drop in the market for June. However this could be because of the different methods each lender uses to calculate their figure. Halifax uses a 3 month period to compare prices between different years, whereas Nationwide use a direct monthly comparison.

While this shows an unexpected underlying stability in the housing market it seems to be a fragile balance with buyers still having the upper hand. It seems unlikely that house prices will change radically for the rest of the year as the market remains cautious in the face of global instability, and the resultant worry about job security.

Wage levels compared to property prices are measured by lenders using the Affordability Ratio which is based on 2 average full time wages, and this currently rests at 4.36 compared to 5.86 in the second quarter of 2007. Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, says: “There is still a lack of confidence among buyers and sellers, and a lack of stock coming to market as a result.

Halifax’s Ellis adds “We expect little change in prices and sales over the remainder of the year provided that the UK’s economic outlook does not deteriorate significantly.”

If you are thinking of moving check out DIYDoctor’s moving home guide.
Alternatively if you are staying put but need more room why not look into loft conversion, or creating a basement .

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The Green Deal passed secondary legislation in the House of Commons on
Monday, and will go before the House of Lords on 23 July 2012.

The DECC (the Department of Energy and Climate Change) promise a ‘…managed, tested and
careful introduction of the Green Deal…’ They intend to start by a period of focussed
testing before it is rolled out nationally.

Gemserv, in partnership with REAL (Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd) will operate the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body responsible for standards and delivery. Advisors, installers and providers will be able to register from early August this year, with no fees payable in the first two years.

The Green Deal Code of Practice are designed to ensure that all Green Deal Participants and Certification Bodies

• operate fairly and transparently
• deliver good customer service
• have adequate levels of training
• provide appropriate redress mechanisms for customers.

The Draft Code of Practice can be found on the DECC website

The Explanatory Memorandum can be found on the DECC website

‘The Ombudsman Service’ will operate as the Green Deal Ombudsmen and Investigation Body.

Important dates for the Green Deal

August 2012 Advisors, installers and providers will be able to register
from early August this year, with no fees payable in the first two years.

October 2012 Green Deal assessors will be able to complete assessments
and providers will be able use the assessment to issue quotes.

January 2013 consumers can complete a Green Deal Plan, as the relevant
parts of the framework regulations come into effect.

See our Green Deal Information project for further details.

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An amazing opportunity to buy a converted double decker bus has arisen for only £15,000!

It is a fantastic 1972 vintage bus which is fully fitted out as a three bedroom home with kitchen, sitting room and bathroom along with solar panels, a satellite system and heating. It will be available from the 11th March and can be viewed now in Stratford, East London.

For more information take a look here.

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There may be a glimmer of hope for the housing market as in November, for the third month in a row, there appears to have been a rise in buyer demand. This is according to a survey carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), who also reported a rise in sales amongst their members. 

RICS housing spokesman, Alan Collett, said: ‘It is encouraging that buyer interest has edged upwards in the face of the endless diet of negative news from Europe and the turmoil in financial markets. However, a meaningful recovery still seems some way off.’

The November housing market survey found that most surveyors felt that the housing market was still being held back due to economic uncertainty, followed by lack of mortgage finance and fear of falling house prices.  

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