Your property questions answered
How do I calculate the cost of rebuilding my house?
Q In the event of my two-bedroom semi-detached bungalow – area 756sq ft – being burned down, what would it cost me per sq ft to have it rebuilt?
ALosing a family home to fire is devastating and hopefully a once in a lifetime occurrence, at most. Accordingly, it is critical that one is adequately insured so as to ease the pain and loss. The basis upon which one insures a property is calculated on a total loss, such as what would it cost to demolish the property and rebuild from foundations to roof including new electrics, plumbing, heating, interiors, etc. This figure is called the "buildings sum insured" and is referred to in a household insurance policy.
Each year the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) compiles and publishes a house rebuilding cost guide which assists owners in calculating the minimum rebuilding cost of their house. The SCSI House Rebuilding Guide guide covers the most common house types, such as terraced, semi-detached and detached houses, and also is divided into regions, such as Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, Limerick, North East and North West regions. The guide will calculate the base rebuilding costs for a selected house type.
In general, rebuilding costs have increased marginally since last year, due mainly to changes in building regulation, such as an increase in insulation and air-tightness requirements and increases in material costs arising from increase in oil prices and the increase in VAT on professional fees. The guide indicates a minimum rebuilding cost (buildings sum insured) for a 756sq ft bungalow in the Dublin region of €120,204, or €159 per sq ft, or €93,744 (€124 per sq ft) in the Cork region.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has also launched an online calculator and smart phone app for this year's House Rebuilding Guide which can be found at scsi.ie, or alternatively downloaded from the app store.
It is important to note that the guide should only be used on estate-type properties built since the 1960s, and owners of “one-off”, or period houses, should contact their local surveyor with any queries.
Andrew Nugent is chairman of the quantity surveying professional group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
How do we test a house for pyrite?
Q We have made an offer on a house in a development in Co Meath. We have heard reports that some developments in the county have been affected by pyrite, although we were told this development has not been affected. We are worried that it just may not have shown up yet. Should I get it tested for pyrite and, if so, how do I go about this?
AWe do not yet know the full extent of the pyrite problem in Ireland and varying reports suggest that between 20,000 and 50,000 units could be affected. This is obviously a very serious issue and has made life very difficult for people who have found out that their homes have been affected by pyrite.
Pyrite occurs in stone used as fill for foundations in houses.
The Department of Environment and Local Government has established a pyrite panel to assess the extent of the problem and to report back with recommendations to the Minister. The group is expected to report its findings in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, you should establish whether the development in which you are considering purchasing has been affected by pyrite. You should do some research and speak to the selling agent, the management company, other homeowners and possibly your local authority. You should visit the property and look out for evidence such as floor cracks which are spreading, cracks in walls or partitions, and sticking of internal doors.
Before you purchase the property, my advice is to have a detailed building survey carried out which will identify any faults or issues with the integrity of the property. A qualified professional such as a chartered building surveyor or engineer will be able to assess whether the property has a pyrite issue. If the surveyor suspects pyrite based on a visual inspection, he/she will recommend that you get a pyrite test done which will involve taking a minimum of two core samples from the floor and sending them to the laboratory for analysis. There are specialist companies that carry out this type of testing and your surveyor can assist with this.
* PAT MCGOVERNis a chartered building surveyor and a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
More details on insurance policy flood cover
We have received a couple of emails clarifying a response given to a recent query where a management agent said its insurance policy would not cover damage caused by flooding from a washing machine in an apartment.
Reasons given in the answer included: the items damaged belonged to the tenant and not the block; the escape of water was not caused by an insurable risk; the cost of repair was less than the excess on the policy.
Stephen Keogh, a public loss assessor, writes:most policies include cover for the standard peril of "damage caused by an escape of water from a fixed water apparatus" and unless the building damage/loss falls below the excess there will be a valid claim.
The cause of the escape of water is largely irrelevant and the “wear and tear” exclusion relates to excluding the cost of repairing a pipe or tank from where the water may have escaped.
By way of an example, an old store tank in an attic has corroded over a long period of time and finally fails, resulting in an escape of water which causes significant damage in the rooms below.
The damage caused by the escaping water is covered but the damage to the tank caused by wear and tear is not.
Additionally, as a paid up member of an OMC the unit owner has a right to pursue a claim against the block policy.
It is not the management agent’s place to adjudicate on the merits of the claim, this should be left to the insurance company or their appointed loss adjuster to consider.
If the loss is not covered, the apartment owner should receive an explanation from the adjuster or insurers
EDMOND WALSH, another loss assessor, adds:the cost of repairing the property is limited to the structure only but this would include tiled or timber floor finishes and any fully fitted furniture, eg bedroom wardrobes.
The claim’s excess (the amount the insurer will not pay) can vary from the first €250 of each and every claim to as high as €10,000.
