BER issue

Officer999 · 16-04-2019 8:38pm #1

Hi.

So we went sale agreed on a house 7 weeks ago.

The house was advertised as a BER rating D1. It was on the advert online and also included in the flyer the agent handed out on the day.

So fast forward 7 weeks later and my solicitor has provided me with all the documents from the vendor. And the BER certificate they have provided has the house as a BER F. So this does not match what they were advertising when the house was online.

The BER certificate was issued when the house was advertised so was known while we were viewing and bidding and subsequently went sale agreed. But we were always led to believe the house had a BER D1.

Our plan is go to back to the letting agent and ask for an explanation as why the wrong BER was advertised and why it was never changed or we were notified.

Do we have grounds for a renegotiation of the selling price?

L1011 · 16-04-2019 8:40pm

You can try negotiate on price; as its clearly second hand there may not be other bidders hanging around and you may have a better change.

If the number on the ad was correct they can very easily just claim it was a typo and I doubt there'd be any further legislative comeback.

Roisin76 · 16-04-2019 11:00pm

We have been viewing houses for the last couple of months and found that false information in daft adds is quite a common practice. Incorrect BER ratings (somehow always better than actual), solid wood floors advertised where cheap pvc panels imitating wood found during viewing, lower than actual management fees or even larger size of the house advertised than found in the reality.

You need to be extra cautious while dealing with EA and confirm every single piece of information. Get a proof of responses when you talk to EAs, seek email response or even record the conversations. EAs are obliged to give you the BER registration number latest at the viewing time so you can download the whole BER descriptive report and not only the summary grade mark. It's all free and public record, you just need to know the number. BER report can give you a lot of insight on the future investments you'll need to make. One BER C1 is not equal another BER C1. One place can be easily and cheaply improved, others are nearly impossible to improve.

I'm sorry to say, but E1 house will be horrible to live in. You may be talking about a serious investment to bring it back to the current standards.

ashes2014 · 17-04-2019 10:24am

I recently bought a house and found constant incorrect information being advertised on daft by estate agents.

Many houses are advertised as south or south east facing when they are the opposite. BER ratings were not always available. Not being told about no planning permission was another.....the list goes on.

I would definitely ask for a reduction in price though-worth an try.

Evd-Burner · 17-04-2019 10:29am

Roisin76 wrote: »

We have been viewing houses for the last couple of months and found that false information in daft adds is quite a common practice. Incorrect BER ratings (somehow always better than actual), solid wood floors advertised where cheap pvc panels imitating wood found during viewing, lower than actual management fees or even larger size of the house advertised than found in the reality.

You need to be extra cautious while dealing with EA and confirm every single piece of information. Get a proof of responses when you talk to EAs, seek email response or even record the conversations. EAs are obliged to give you the BER registration number latest at the viewing time so you can download the whole BER descriptive report and not only the summary grade mark. It's all free and public record, you just need to know the number. BER report can give you a lot of insight on the future investments you'll need to make. One BER C1 is not equal another BER C1. One place can be easily and cheaply improved, others are nearly impossible to improve.

I'm sorry to say, but E1 house will be horrible to live in. You may be talking about a serious investment to bring it back to the current standards.

Where exactly can you download the full report and not just the advisory one?

I've only ever seen this one and it isn't all that detailed. I would love more detail myself as it would give me an advantage.

https://ndber.seai.ie/pass/ber/search.aspx

mickdw · 17-04-2019 10:34am

That's all standard fare from EA.
Treat them like used car salesmen and don't believe a word they say.

L1011 · 17-04-2019 10:51am

Evd-Burner wrote: »

Where exactly can you download the full report and not just the advisory one?

I've only ever seen this one and it isn't all that detailed. I would love more detail myself as it would give me an advantage.

https://ndber.seai.ie/pass/ber/search.aspx

Those are the full reports.

Officer999 · 17-04-2019 11:11am

ashes2014 wrote: »

I recently bought a house and found constant incorrect information being advertised on daft by estate agents.

Many houses are advertised as south or south east facing when they are the opposite. BER ratings were not always available. Not being told about no planning permission was another.....the list goes on.

I would definitely ask for a reduction in price though-worth an try.

Hi, thanks for your reply. In your case did you ask for a price reduction? What did the EA say to you?

Ray Palmer · 17-04-2019 3:29pm

To be fair BER calculations are really unreliable. Changing light bulbs can change a rating. Calculations on radiators are based on a brand new radiators of the same size but an old rad covered in layers of paint will not give the same output.
While estate agents will always "exagerate" their is very little enforcement on things they do and it is accepted they won't tell the truth

gk5000 · 17-04-2019 7:15pm

BER F stands for Field

...
Have a look at
https://www.seai.ie/energy-ratings/building-energy-rating-ber/
They say for a 100 sqm Semi-D.
BER D costs €1850 per year whereas BER F would cost €3200 per year to heat.
Yes, its not an exact science and its a fairly rough measure...but its gives an idea of the likely costs and the difference between them. It's not only cost but how easy it is to make your house cosy. I'm living in a terraced C rating, and it heats up real quick which is nice and something I would miss if I moved.

Even give the variances in the system, BER F shall not be cosy.

Look up the actual ber report yourself - you need the MPRN or meter number from the agent, and see what it says -and what remedial action is recommenced - and decide whether to go ahead or not or look for money off or not.

I hope you or someone successfully sues the poxy agents/owners for false advertising on this - in fact buy the house and then sue - or just sue...

Good look with whatever you choose.

antiskeptic · 18-04-2019 1:23am

Officer999 wrote: »

Hi.

So we went sale agreed on a house 7 weeks ago.

The house was advertised as a BER rating D1. It was on the advert online and also included in the flyer the agent handed out on the day.

So fast forward 7 weeks later and my solicitor has provided me with all the documents from the vendor. And the BER certificate they have provided has the house as a BER F. So this does not match what they were advertising when the house was online.

The BER certificate was issued when the house was advertised so was known while we were viewing and bidding and subsequently went sale agreed. But we were always led to believe the house had a BER D1.

Our plan is go to back to the letting agent and ask for an explanation as why the wrong BER was advertised and why it was never changed or we were notified.

Do we have grounds for a renegotiation of the selling price?

You can renegotiate the price up until the point of contract signing. Question is who blinks first

300mm of attic insulation would crank it up from mid F to E2 or thereabouts. And that's a relatively cheap improvement. The problem is that is that you'll use up the cheapish things to get from F to E then are into expensive stuff to get it up to D1.

D1 ain't that great either. It'll be chilly once the heating goes off

BER issue

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