BER and our transaction

uncle betty

Hi to all -

We are in the early stages of buying a house, and the BER issue has arisen already

- House is 2-3 years old
- Currently being rented

Estate agent says there is no BER, and that we will be provided with one AFTER the sale price is agreed.

I assume, but have no way of knowing, that the seller is strapped for cash.

I also assume that both agent and seller know that there should be one in place already.

We're not particularly bothered in some ways - we've already seen that the insulation will need to be upgraded, and assume that doing so would alter the rating anyway.

And we know the cert has a ten-year life.

Is this quite a common occurrence, or is it a legal minefield that we should avoid at all costs ? Walk away if necessary ?

Thanks in advance !

BryanF

uncle betty wrote: »

Hi to all -

We are in the early stages of buying a house, and the BER issue has arisen already

- House is 2-3 years old
- Currently being rented

Estate agent says there is no BER, and that we will be provided with one AFTER the sale price is agreed.

I assume, but have no way of knowing, that the seller is strapped for cash.

I also assume that both agent and seller know that there should be one in place already.

We're not particularly bothered in some ways - we've already seen that the insulation will need to be upgraded, and assume that doing so would alter the rating anyway.

And we know the cert has a ten-year life.

Is this quite a common occurrence, or is it a legal minefield that we should avoid at all costs ? Walk away if necessary ?

Thanks in advance !

Cheeky so and so's,
Its illegal not to produce a BER when selling a dwelling: http://www.seai.ie/Your_Building/BER/BER_FAQ/FAQ_BER/Homeowners/Who_needs_a_BER_.html
I would take the approach that your in a better position to bargain if you have the BER and advisory report. AS you can take t report to builder and get the works necessary to upgrade the house ROUGHLY priced (see the way I said roughly) You can then use this to bargain on price 'but its going to cost X to install insulation' etc.

You shouldn't have to walk away, be firm and make the auctioneer aware its illegal... he should change his tune... check if he/she is a member of the http://www.ipav.ie/About_Us/temp/temp.htm register and if so see the code of practice.

off topic : if you know anyone with a thermal imaging camera, its a great way to assess the quality of insulation etc and when your getting your survey done get someone with BER experience.

No7

The first reply is completely correct.

I would consider pushing to make the appointment of the BER assessor yourself, but to be paid by the seller. The reason being you can vet the assessor to ensure that he has a relevant engineering or architecftural qualification. As you may be aware there are a number of under qualified BER assessor out there.

A good BER assessor will be able to provide in addition to the assessment a list of improvements that you should consider once the house is purchased

uncle betty

Thanks to you both - appreciate you taking the time. And it IS good information !