In Ireland it is estimated that up to 200,000 people involved in rental or sale transactions  will need Building Energy Rating (BER) certificates each year.
A BER (Building Energy Rating) is the standard calculation of the energy performance of a building, produced by a qualified assessor.  The BER certificate is an energy label, similar to the ones used on  electrical appliances. This building energy label will rate the energy efficiency of each house.

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Energy Rating of Residential BuildingsPrice: £49.50 GBP Lowest used price: £64.78 GBP

From the 1st January 2007 new dwellings applying for planning permission had to apply to have a provisional Building Energy Rating certificate.
From the 1st of July next year, this will also apply to non-domestic buildings and from 1st January 2009 this will apply to all existing buildings, domestic or non-domestic.A person wishing to sell or let a house will be required to get a BER carried out by a registered BER assessor and to provide prospective buyers or tenants with this information.
Energy Rating Assessor Procedure takes into account different factors, like exposure, floor area, materials, insulation, efficiency of heating control and design to calculate an overall energy value.

BER allows house hunters and tenants to compare the energy performance of two different houses. If a house has C2 energy rating another one has B2, the latter is a more efficient house and this will be  reflected in  the amount of money spent on heating the property.

SEI has currently a programme in place to train assessors in order to meet the increasing demand.  There are currently almost 200 assessors registered in the SEI official registry.
More are being trained – and there are several companies offering BER assessor training courses. Maybe this is a good career move for a builder ?

Irish house buyers are now employing private investigators and specialist agencies to investigate their future new neighbours . The prospective buyers can have things checked out like -  whether they have criminal records to whether they are fond of throwing late-night parties.

The managing director of a company which offers the vetting service says that auctioneers have a “lot to answer for” by failing to tell housebuyers of anti-social behaviour in particular neighbourhoods.

People are also contacting private investigators to make sure that the sweet old lady living next door is all she seems, and not a drug-dealer likely to be the subject of late night visits from clients.

“You have first-time buyers looking to buy everything from an ex-council house to a three-bed semi-detached and upwards, and property is such a valuable asset now they don’t want to have to sell at a reduced price,” said Donncadh O Cinnsealaigh of Investigate Services in Naas, Co Kildare.

“It can be problematic buying a house in a particular area. Everything is aligned to the value of a property, people aren’t blinded at the chance of getting their first home.

“An elderly couple would want a nice quiet area. In the day time, it might be quiet; but at night, the young people come out. They also want to know what the age profile of an area is, and will there be problems in the future. They would say just check the immediate neighbours.”

A dedicated service for homebuyers will also look at facilities in the area, so people can make an informed choice. “The concept was in the making for a number of years. I noticed a high number of people taking legal action against their neighbours,” David Gibney of whoaremyneighbours.com said.

“People pay a lot of money to buy a house. They pay for an architect to survey a second-hand property, so I thought ‘why not survey the area’?”

“The auctioneers in Ireland have a lot to answer for. They might say there’s a widowed woman living next door, but they don’t mention her three sons who are unemployable and are out half the night.”