Author: Diane

Eco house on Grand Designs

They quite often have remarkable eco-features on Grand Designs.
The one I watched last night on More4 was no exception.

Grand Designs

Season 8 Episode 7 of 7

Bill and Jean Letley, a couple in their seventies, plan a highly contemporary bungalow in their back garden in Maidstone, Kent, complete with underfloor heating and prototype steel foundations. The project would test even the most accomplished workmen, but has been entrusted to their daughter and son-in-law, who have little building experience and will need to make personal sacrifices


It had pile foundations with the heat sinks built in. I thought this was very interesting. There was also heating systems in the roof to capture heat for hot water. I’d love to see a current visit to the house showing how little the place costs to heat!

Fancy watching the episode?

Welsh council starts estate agency

Property Bay Wales, which is run from the civic centre in Port Talbot, is the trading name of a company wholly owned by the council


View this story on Wales Online

The website is here

– critics might argue that it’s not the role of the council to be an estate agent, but if it’s making money from other services offered, you can see the point of it perhaps.


They offer a range of services – so one would assume they make money for the council!

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s)

Landlord EPC’s

Commercial EPC’s

SAP ratings

On Construction EPC’s

Code for Sustainable Homes Assessments

Party Wall notices and awards

BREEAM Assessments

Air Pressure Testing

Bulk EPC’s e.g. stock transfer

Design service

Home Is Where the Heart Is – TV series

My neighbour just told me about “Home Is Where the Heart Is” where celebs take in homeless people for two weeks.

You can watch it again at itv here

Celebs are:
Colin and Justin
Anneka Rice
Aldo Zilli

Alex James

Find out when it’s on to watch again – click here

Whilst not quite about buying houses – it will give you a chance to see inside these celebs homes and see how they can get on with homeless person.
It’s an idea based on an assisted lodging scheme managed by a homeless charity.

Declaring neighbour disputes – important!

It’s always been the case but failing to alert your buyers to any problems you’ve reported via official channels could end up costing you money.

A recent case means that you could have to pay compensation for not alerting potential buyers of problems with neighbours.

This article on the guardian website tells the case of Tony Pemberton of Foxwood in York who has recently won undisclosed damages because the previous owners of his £70,000 home did not tell him about noise from a neighbour’s house. The noise would go on until 5.30am

Whilst most people wouldn’t consider viewing a house at that time in the morning, what warning signs are there that the property has bad neighbours? There might not be visible signs – noise is noisy though so listen when you visit!

– firstly they tell you themselves – the honest approach.

– Your solicitor writes and asks them if there are any neighbour disputes.

– visit at different times.

– check how often the house has sold.

– check if they bought recently and are moving away

– speak to the neighbours both sides. You can find out useful information this way.

– drive past at night.

– walk past at night. You want to know what the area is like in the evenings.


So will this mean more people don’t report problems with their neighbours and more problems go unsolved. If no one reports nuisance neighbours it doesn’t mean they’re not a nuisance though. You have to make sure the property you are buying is the right one for you!

Neighbours doesn’t have to mean directly next door either. It’s not a new problem either. McMeekin V Long reported in 2003 had damages at £60k on a £120k house