HELP PLEASE!! BUYING HOUSE WITH LOW (F) EPC RATING

P0123

I am a potential first-time buyer, (although the way the property market is going, it is definitely a seller's market and I may well be priced out of buying anything!), and the first property that I have arranged to view has a low EPC rating of F.

I am mostly concerned because the EPC certificate depicts a number of steps which will cost a lot of money.  I cannot afford to pay the top end of their generic quotes for each step on top of the asking price, but I do want to ensure that I am NOT losing too much heat, using too much electricity, etc, particularly bearing in mind the way the energy prices are rising extortionately.  (Even in my current compact flat, the bill has already doubled, let alone when we reach the next increase in the Autumn!)

I am attaching a copy of the page(s)that I am referring to, hopefully to explain things better.  (You may have to zoom in to view them fully.)



I have tried to speak to the Agent, who doesn't really know if all of these points need to be addressed, nor any pricing.

Without having the survey carried out, (which wouldn't be until after an offer is made), and not being able to ask for quotes from every builder, electrician, energy company, etc, how can I tell IF I NEED to carry out all of these steps, and whether it will have a big impact on me living there, and my bills, if I only address a couple more affordable steps for now?

I hope this makes sense, and would appreciate any help and advice, (asap, as I am due to view next week, and it is a popular property), and I am new to this kind of thing!

Many thanks, in advance!

locationx3

In my opinion, properties with solid walls should be avoided, especially flats and semis. It’s never going to be cheap to get that kind of property up to a decent standard. (a decent sized detached may be worth externally cladding)

My last house (semi) had solid walls and it just wasn’t economic to fix, I sold it and moved instead. In my latest property search I don’t look at anything without insulated cavity walls as a starter.

dimbo61

No you don't need to get solar panels, or heat pumps or any of the other expensive ( Improvements ) on the EPC report.
The problems with F and G rated properties is 
1 Some lenders won't now lend on them.
2 You can't rent them out

3 They cost more to heat and light.

Now depending on the property and construction you maybe able to improve the EPC with Loft and Cavity wall insulation, Double glazing, LED bulbs in every light fitting and a new combi boiler.
Our Victorian era terraced house is now a C after spending nearly £10,000 on the above improvements 

Section62

P0123 said:

Without having the survey carried out, (which wouldn't be until after an offer is made), and not being able to ask for quotes from every builder, electrician, energy company, etc, how can I tell IF I NEED to carry out all of these steps, and whether it will have a big impact on me living there, and my bills, if I only address a couple more affordable steps for now?

If you'll be living in the property then you don't need to do any of those things.

They are just suggestions of what you might want to think about doing that could reduce your carbon footprint, and possibly save you some money over the long-term.

If you compare the possible savings against the possible costs, you'll see that it would take somewhere around 10 years for the savings to recover the outlay you'd need to make at the start.

Economically there's not much sense unless you will be in the property for the long-term, or you think the improvements will increase the value of the property, or you can get free/reduced cost improvements, or that you are keen to do your bit for the environment regardless of economic cost.

If you are likely to struggle with affordability of the property and/or have other things you'll need to spend money on, then you can file the EPC away in a folder and forget about it until your financial position is better.  No significant harm will be done if you do that.

markin

4,5,6 are pointless unless you want to do it and have the money to splash.

Internal insulation 1 room at time in the bed rooms is fairly easy and cheap to do as you can afford it.

Have they changed the EPC now? Usually fitting a new boiler and leds would give you a big points jump, And this paper doesn't even list the points you would gain for doing them, Look up the actual report on the government site.  looking up a 2021 epc Solar panels, 2.5 kWp Gains 10 points.

But if the is a loft conversion and it isn't done to modern standards on insulation only 100mm, you may want to just move on from this one.

FreeBear

Judging by the EPC, it is an electric boiler ?

That is probably the worst and most expensive form of heating, and unless you can get gas piped to the property, I would walk away. That said, gas is on its way out, so the alternative would be a heat pump - Expensive to install, and you will need to upgrade the insulation throughout (more expense).

Loft insulation is cheap and is something that most active people can install themselves. Nothing hard or technical about rolling out some fibreglass insulation, poking it under the eaves, and making sure the next roll is snug up against the last one put down.

Internal wall insulation can get expensive if you are paying someone to do the work, and it does mean having to move sockets & radiators mounted on an external wall. The insulation should be continued around the window & door reveals to cut cold spots in those areas. Battens or a strip of plywood should be secured above each window & door for curtain rails to be fixed to. Sounds like a lot of effort, but you end up with a draught free room that is much easier to heat.

Kitchens & bathrooms complicate matters a little, especially if you want to hang wall cupboards - Get it wrong, and they very quickly become floor cupboards, and anything inside gets broken as the units find their new position.

markin

I thought it meant the was an electric rad somewhere, And that the water tank had a back up immersion, Electric wet system Stay well away from unless you have gas on the street and the money to get a boiler, Or the 15k for a heat pump.

ProDave

I keep saying this but few agree.

If you CHOOSE to buy a property with such a poor EPC, then YOU must be prepared to pay much higher heating costs, and one day, someone is going to HAVE to upgrade this house to meet net zero.  Are you hoping the government are going to pay for that work?  Are you hoping you won't keep it long and the next buyer will just buy it regardless?

Worst case is YOU have to pay, and or, when people wake up to this you will find houses with a poor EPC will actually be worth less.  I think they should be worth less now and you should pay a lot less than a house with say EPC B.  If you had a choice WHY would you even consider paying the same for a house that is going to cost you so much more and eventually need a lot of work?

If it is on the market for less than a similar house with a good EPC then it might be a good buy and you can use the saving to help pay the higher fuel bills in the short term, and improve the property in the longer term.

movilogo

Houses with cavity walls can be upgraded to EPC=C relatively easily and cheaply.
However, houses with solid walls are expensive/impossible to upgrade to EPC=C.

If you don't plan to let it out, poor EPC not of concern. However, some lenders won't lend or give you best rates if EPC is worse than E even for self-living.

Easiest way to score high on EPC is walls and loft insulated as much as possible. Cavity wall insulation is easy. Solid wall insulation is difficult and expensive.

If you are concerned, don't buy house with solid wall. However, if you get a good deal then you can proceed.

FreeBear

movilogo said: Houses with cavity walls can be upgraded to EPC=C relatively easily and cheaply.
However, houses with solid walls are expensive/impossible to upgrade to EPC=C.

Pumping a cavity full of insulation is not going to raise the score of an EPC by much - A couple of points at best judging by some of the recent EPCs I've looked at (maybe 4 points on a good day).

Swipe

ProDave said:

I keep saying this but few agree.

I think they should be worth less now and you should pay a lot less than a house with say EPC B.  

The housing market doesn't care what you think.