Building Magazine

Around this time of the week we like to go onto the Building Magazine website and copy the Health & Safety photos as sent in by their readers

For some reason they have spoiled our fun and made these photos subscription only.

So we thought we would fight back with some clips from you tube. Not really related to property, but just imagine, this is you on the way to work in property

Rogue Estate Agents what about Rogue Leaders….

Plans to make it easier for customers to seek compensation from rogue estate agents have been unveiled in the Queen’s Speech.The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill compels all UK estate agents to join a redress scheme.

About a third do not currently sign up to the voluntary Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA), set up by the industry.

In addition, the bill will see the merger of Energywatch, Postwatch and the National Consumer Council (NCC).

The government said the mergers would give “consumers a stronger and more coherent voice and offering better value for money”.

Whilst we at workinproperty welcome any legislation that protects consumers against “Rogue Estate Agents” we cant help thinking that we need some to protect us from our “Rogue Leader”. Tony’s love affair with new laws has reached new heights with this Queens speach containing no less than 25 other bills and four draft bills. That brings the total to around 370 new laws in a decade, none of which ironically prevent you from invading other countries against the will of the “consumers” who put you in charge of this one.

For a full run down on the latest bills from our self appointed “Guardians” click here.

Celebrity Homes

Whilst trawling the “Interweb” we came across a link that shows you aerial shots of homes of the rich and famous. Sadly for those of you out there interested in selling your children to celebrities the site doesn’t publish any mailing addresses, so you will just have to make do with pictures. Click here to see the properties.

We  thought it might be interesting to hear stories from any Estate Agents who may have sold one of these properties or Builders who my have worked on or been involved in the construction of these houses.

Paying a premium to keep you off roader off road…

The cost of houses with garages could rise by up to 20% if the planned ‘gas guzzler’ tax gets the go-ahead.Middle class suburbia is set to be the worst affected, according to property portal primemove.com, causing a significant rise in demand for properties with garages or off street parking facilitiesThe ‘parking tax’, initially planned to affect just Richmond-upon-Thames, could be introduced across London and other inner cities in the form of more expensive parking permits, and will hit owners of Band G cars with high emission engines, such as Renault Espaces, BMWs and Mercedes.According to data from Experian, the City of London, Windsor & Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire, Kensington & Chelsea and Slough have the greatest proportion of Band G cars. In some of these areas homeowners are more likely to be able to afford garages or off-street parking, meaning it will be middle class families who will be the worst hit.

Site Safety – Delays on site

Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore, the almost man of American Politics, has released a documentary film about climate change. The film is called the Inconvenient Truth

He personally presents, in a simple manner, the effect we are having on our climate. He illustrates how soon we will loose the polar ice cap which will lead to a dramatic rise in sea levels.

For anyone who doubts the effect they have on the environment then they should go and see the movie.

The film attempts to wake America up. There is also the occasional dig at the Bush Administration, which is never unnecessary. It would have been interesting to have seen what would have happened had Gore been sworn in instead of George W.

The only criticism of the movie is the amount of times we see Mr Gore in a plane, at least 5 different occasions… Surely this could have been edited out?

Be prepared.. after the film you will want to go straight down to your local Homebase and pick up a pack of energy efficient light bulbs.

No Income Tax, No VAT

 

Tessa Jowell came under fire yesterday after allegedly back tracking on her previous assertion to the Shadow Sports Spokesman that VAT will be waived on the building of the Olympic Facilities.

According to reports in The Guardian, the budget for the works will have to be increased by approximately £250m to account for the VAT.

London taxpayers were undoubtedly delighted with the news.

It seems predictable that the whole project is destined to be a shambles. Why do so many high profile projects fail to meet their initial expectations? You need look no further than Wembley and the Millennium Dome. Or even the recently applauded Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

This project will definitely be a marathon and not a sprint…

Website review.

 

Take a look at www.smorland.com a new website for individuals selling or renting their homes.

The free to use site is restricted to home owners wishing to promote their own property. If an agent has already been instructed any interested party is encouraged to deal with the agent.

An interesting and slightly different idea, but up against a lot of competition with primelocation.com and property finder.com.

The only question we have is if a vendor finds their own purchaser are they still obliged to meet the fees of an agent?

Turn On Your iPod Tune Out Your Work Colleagues..

MORE than one in five employees in the UK are tuning out of the workplace by listening to iPods and mp3 players at their desks, a study featured on  Scotsman.com suggests.

Some 22 per cent of employees use digital music players for up to three hours a day in the office, according to a recent survey by workplace interior consultants Woods Bagot. A staggering 30 per cent of British firms have banned the devices.

Listening to music and podcasts has become another way for staff to shut out colleagues after open plan offices replaced partially enclosed desk cubicles, according to the research.

This probably explains why you end up waiting in a queue for five minutes every time you ring a customer service number on a bill. You have to wait for the latest Artic Monkeys track to finish on the advisors “iPod” before they answer, after all most of them sit in open plan offices don’t they!

A Lot of Hot Air?

The Times recently featured an advertisement article by B&Q on how to generate your own energy.

The article starts by telling us how much energy is lost through a lack of proper insulation in older buildings. An average household emits enough carbon fuel to heat six hot air balloons. Not a great barometer, how many air balloons should we expect to keep up?

The reader is drawn to the point that all electrical goods left on standby should be switched off, saving approximately £37 per year. Consideration should also be given to cavity wall insulation, with another possible saving of £165 per year.

The driving point of the article is to persuade the reader to go down to their local DIY store and buy some solar panels or a wind turbine.

(Where on earth do you start when putting together solar panels on your roof? Does it come with an Allen key?)

The panels start at £1,498.00. This does not include any pipe work, access costs, tea & donoughts, and the cost of a man to come round, take them down, and put them up again properly.

Whilst the inonoughtsstallation of greener energy is the ‘correct’ thing to do it is undoubtedly expensive and the payback period is a long way off.

B&Q are clearly satisfied that a market exists for its new range of products fuelled by stories in the press reminding us to reduce our carbon footprint.

Regrettably, as always, the powers that be (excuse the pun) have still not reacted. The Government has gone to great lengths to introduce a new Part L of the Building Regulations focusing on Carbon Emissions. This is great, but why is it not mandatory for new houses/ conversions to include renewable energy schemes?

Surely house builders should ensure that a percentage of the energy for any new development should come from a renewable source?

Mind you, with the quality of the new stock of properties coming onto the market, you can expect to some imitation wind turbines made of the odd bicycle wheel and set of skis attached to an imitation slate roof soon…