last
updated 31st August 05
by 4ecotips.com
HE an integral part of future home
buying
Buying a home provides an ideal opportunity
to make energy efficiency improvements.
The new owner is likely to be planning improvements,
borrowing money at relatively low cost,
and expecting to stay put for a while.
How to realise this ideal opportunity in
more of the 1.4 million home purchases in
the UK each year is the subject of a new
study by the Centre for Sustainable Energy
for the Energy Efficiency Partnership for
Homes.
The study’s particular focus was
whether financial products, particularly
mortgages, could help to stimulate energy
efficiency improvements. It also took into
account the forthcoming introduction of
the home energy performance report as a
mandatory element of the Home Condition
Report (HCR).
Simon Roberts, CSE Chief Executive and
lead author of the report, said; “We
found that there’s a lot of work to
do to make energy saving a feature of the
home-buying process. Home-buyers aren’t
that interested in energy saving and, apart
from three existing products, the mortgage
market is largely unconvinced by the potential
for getting involved.”
The study exposed a lack of interest in
developing energy-related features for mortgages
amongst major mortgage providers. It also
questioned the likely impact of the new
energy report – which will be only
one of eight elements of the HCR which is
itself just one of eight documents in the
new Home Information Pack.
The study outlines a 6-point plan which,
in combination, is designed to create conditions
in which making energy efficiency improvements
becomes an integral part of the home-buying
process.
|
