Property Clinic

Your queries answered

Q We are a retired couple in our 60s who are looking to downsize from our five-bed semi-detached house in Dublin 14. Our dilemma relates to timing: finding a smaller property we like, while at the same time selling our current home, presuming the sale of our house will be possible so that we can pay for our new home. Please can you advise how best to proceed.

AYou seem to be in somewhat of a Catch 22 scenario – wanting to sell your current home and buy another at the same time. This is very common today and is a challenge primarily due to the lack of bridging finance available.

Sellers and their estate agents are often reluctant to entertain purchasers who are subject to the sale of their own homes, especially when there is a choice of purchaser. They may view your situation as too risky.

My advice is to try to sell your own home first and rent in the short term. Once you have agreed a sale on your own home, you will be in a much stronger position to negotiate a purchase.

Also, not only will you be confident in how much you can spend on your new home, but you will also be the strongest of purchasers, a cash buyer.

It would be very fortunate to find a suitable home while selling your own home so you should consider the renting option. It would be foolish to panic-buy a home because of the time pressure (not to mention the stress) involved in buying and selling a property at the same time.

You will have to provide a closing date when agreeing the sale of your home – most purchasers will have some flexibility when it comes to closing dates but all will require some degree of clarity and certainty.

Felicity Fox is a nestate agent and fellow of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland

Q Please tell me how we can persuade an expert adviser to call to our Grade II listed house in Rathgar and advise one nergy efficient steps we might make. All previous efforts have failed: as soon as the person or agency learns that we live in a listed building they lose interest. I feel there may be some effective measures
we could take but how do we find out about them if no-one will call?

We even have plans for the house which was built in the first quarter of the 20th century.

AI am most surprised that an expert adviser has not called to your property. However you have not stated
whether the adviser is an energy expert or conservation expert. The areas of expertise are quite different and they also have conflicting ideals. This may explain a reluctance on their part to become involved.

What you really need is advice from a professional who has sufficient expertise in existing buildings from a holistic point of view.

To ascertain effective measures you can take, you really need to look at the existing insulation levels and how these can be improved together with the type and efficiency of the heating installation. When you consider the insulation standard there are basically four areas to look at; the roof, windows, external walls and ground floor.

Roof insulation can be relatively easy to upgrade by adding additional insulation to the attic. This can be done without any significant impact on the existing character of the building. Because heat rises, insulating the roof is a particularly effective way of cutting heat loss.

There can be significant heat loss through windows, particularly if they are single glazed. However this is where a major conflict can arise, as youmaybe obliged to keep original single-glazed windows, especially sash windows. However you can improve the performance of the windows by draft proofing these with specialist seals.

When it comes to the external walls, options include either dry lining the internal face of the walls with an insulated plasterboard or by applying an external insulation to the outer face of the wall. The latter would often be considered inappropriate with a protected structure as it would significantly interfere with the
character of the house.

With regard to the ground floor again there may be restrictions. However if there are timber floors, it should be possible to temporarily lift the floorboards to insert insulation and have them refitted on completion without a detrimental effect on the protected structure.

Finally you need to look at whether the heating installation can be improved. A boiler service or small alterations such as adding thermostatic controls to allow for more efficient operation of the system can
help greatly.

Other issues to consider would be to replace the boiler with a more efficient model or even to replace the radiators with more energy efficient ones.

Val O'Brien is a chartered building surveyor

Q My wife and I want to renovate a 1940s house and we're keen to make it as energy efficient and sustainable as possible. Can you recommend any sources of information where we can compare the relative merits of solar power, heat pumps and so on?

ATypically, houses built in the 1940s have little or no insulation, have single glazing and leak energy. Such properties are usually solidly built and are probably worthy candidates for sustainable renovation.

Extensive renovation is a “material alteration” so you will need to comply with the current building regulations including the provision of renewable energy inputs prescribed in Part L (the technical guidance documents provide statutory information).

If recently acquired, the Building Energy Rating (BER) for the property must include suggestions for energy saving based on the ability of the assessor to foresee what potentials exist.

It's a good starting place for information on energy systems appropriate to the property and will also refer you to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland website ( seai.ie). Its Renewable Energy Library contains helpful consumer guides and leaflets.

Acquiring solar energy directly, to supplement heating, by way of, for instance, a conservatory could be considered.

Solar panels can also provide a good proportion of hot water but the technology will not be able to provide all your heating needs unless, perhaps, the house renovation reaches very low energy or passive standards (see the Passive House Association of Ireland and the Solar Energy Society of Ireland websites for information).

Heat pumps work from a ground, water or air source: the latter are becoming more popular even with their lower efficiency during cold snaps. See the Heat Pump Association of Ireland ( hpa.ie).

Heat recovery ventilation systems must also be considered, see the Irish Ventilation Industry Association at ivia.ie.

Comparing energy systems is not straightforward; each will have strengths and weaknesses depending on the shape of the property, orientation or site as well as your budget.

Reaching an appropriate solution can be complex so you are best advised to seek independent professional advice.

Fergus Merriman is a chartered building surveyor ( scsi.ie .)

Got a query?

Send your queries to propertyquestions@irishtimes.com or to Property Clinic, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2.

This column is a readers’ service. Advice given is general and individual advice should always be sought