Buying a house with an F rated EPC.

anewloginapparently

Hi, 

We're looking at buying a 1960s chalet style house in Scotland.

However one issue is the EPC rating is F! 

Now firstly I question if this EPC is even correct as other similar properties on the same estate are rated D.

None the less could it have potential to affect us getting a mortgage?

The work recommended to get to a D isn't actually that expensive. £1700 for room in roof insulation, £800 for floor insulation & £35 for a new immersion heater jacket!

With new HHR storage heaters this would potentially go up to a C.

The property is £50k cheaper than similar properties so this all seems worthwhile.

However it's all moot if the bank won't lend to us. 

We're looking at a mortgage of 85% LTV so we can keep some of our savings back to do the work. 

Would this be acceptable to the bank?

Keep_pedalling

It would certainly kibosh a BTL mortgage, but you should still be able to obtain a residential mortgage although the number of lenders could be restricted.

Even bringing it up to D, I would be more worried about energy running costs especially as it seems it is all eclectic. 

Albermarle

Is it possible to have the rating being redone by another assessor, as it is known that the quality of assessor and the accuracy of the rating are often quite poor.
Not sure if this is possible though.

propertyrental

Also depends on the dates of the assessments. Criteria change frequently, so a D 5 years ago could easily be an F this year

FreeBear

The methodology has changed several times over the years, and is due to change yet again before too long. The assessor will often make huge assumptions - One house I looked at, the EPC claimed it was timber construction on the upper half. It is solid brick like all the other houses in the area...

To get a better picture, I'd recommend looking at the annual energy consumption based on actual bills. Whilst different people will like a house hot and others, colder, the bills will give you a better idea of running costs. Unfortunately electric only heating is going to be expensive to run. On the plus side, any thermal upgrades will have a higher return on investment,

At some stage, you could perhaps look at installing an ASHP - Would be cheaper to run that panel & NSH, and properly specified, cheaper than gas.

anewloginapparently

There's gas in the area so I could put in central heating for £1k connection & £6k but could also look at ashp once it's better insulated.

Just as long as we can get a mortgage in the first place. It's substantially cheaper than identical properties that have been upgraded.

user1977

What does "chalet style" mean here? The method of construction could be a problem for mortgages, irrespective of the EPC rating.

anewloginapparently

user1977 said:

What does "chalet style" mean here? The method of construction could be a problem for mortgages, irrespective of the EPC rating.

Like this. Pretty common form of construction in Scotland.

Probably called a dormer bungalow in England.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149707955

FreeBear

anewloginapparently said:

There's gas in the area so I could put in central heating for £1k connection & £6k but could also look at ashp once it's better insulated.

To be honest, if you are thinking of installing a new wet heating system, you may as well go for a heat pump from the outset. Yes, an ASHP will cost more once you've included all the extras, but that is offset by the cost of connecting to mains gas. You also avoid the annual standing charges that come with a gas connection.

Keep_pedalling

FreeBear said:

anewloginapparently said:

There's gas in the area so I could put in central heating for £1k connection & £6k but could also look at ashp once it's better insulated.

To be honest, if you are thinking of installing a new wet heating system, you may as well go for a heat pump from the outset. Yes, an ASHP will cost more once you've included all the extras, but that is offset by the cost of connecting to mains gas. You also avoid the annual standing charges that come with a gas connection.

For that you really have to get the EPC rating down to a C at least.

Keep_pedalling

propertyrental said:

Also depends on the dates of the assessments. Criteria change frequently, so a D 5 years ago could easily be an F this year

Absolutely we sold a C rated semi earlier this year and the assessment had been done 9 years earlier, I am pretty sure had we got a new one done it would have dropped to D. Really happy to be in a A rated bungalow now.