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All residential properties are given an EPC rating between A and G when they are built, sold or rented. Yet just 2 per cent of homes meet the top A and B grades, while around 85 per cent are either C or D, according to the latest English Housing Survey. Around 13 per cent - some 14.6 million - are rated E, F or G. The very lowest ratings, according to energy assessor Kevin Bolton, are given to homes that usually have archaic heating systems, such as coal fires.

The grading assessment must be done by an accredited assessor. Someone will visit your home and collect information about the property, such as size, age and features including walls, windows, lighting and the roof. These details are then run through a computer system that helps them provide a final score. Each part of the property is assessed as either very good, good, average, poor or very poor and given points.

Recommended energy - saving measures such as insulation and double glazing will boost your score - up to a maximum of 100. If your property scores 92 or more it will be given an energy rating of A. Between 81 and 91 is a B, while a score of 20 or lower is rated G.

The EPC, valid for 10 years, also estimates how much you will pay for your energy, and includes the carbon emissions produced by your home, along with recommendations on measures you can take to improve and the costs. But the rating system risks penalising those with older houses who have limited options when making their homes more energy efficient, experts warn.

Assessor Mr Bolton says the EPC is a 'blunt instrument'. He adds: 'Properties in the UK are very diverse and unfortunately the system uses a one - size - fits - all approach. The recommendations may not be suitable for your home because it does not take into account the age of the property, or the materials used to build it.

The methodology of the EPC has also not been updated since 2012, according to Martyn Reed, from Elmhurst Energy, which runs the accreditation scheme for assessors. However, he says improvements to the quality of calculations and recommendations may be introduced next year.

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More than 700,000 home sales across Britain are nearing completion, marking the biggest "conveyancing log jam" in more than a decade.

Around 704,000 sales are going through the process as the stamp duty holiday deadline looms, said estate agents Rightmove. Some sellers may need to brace themselves for buyers trying to renegotiate the price if they miss the deadline.

The stamp duty deadline was extended in the March budget and, once the June 30th deadline passes, a new tapered rate will come into force and run from July to the end of September.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The Sun

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Lenders have been happy to hand out mortgage money to cash-rich homeowners in the pandemic, but not to first-time buyers with small deposits and the self-employed. 

Interest rates levied on mortgages with a 5pc deposit are now below 4 per cent, with the lowest in June at 3.39 per cent for a two year fix. At the very beginning of the virus crisis, the Bank of England dropped the base interest rate to a record low of 0.1 per cent. And now, as lockdown eases, there's a chance the rate could be raised. Such a change would increase mortgage repayment bills for those on tracker deals.

Trussle's Mr Robinson says homeowners should also be wary of standard variable rates, adding: 'We've found that customers save £334 on average per month by remortgaging on to a fixed rate.

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Homeowners in Scotland paint their front doors red when they have paid off their mortgage.

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A mortgage rate of less than one per cent will heat up the home loans market today.

Nationwide Building Society is launching the 0.99 per cent deal for those able to pay a hefty 40 per cent deposit and a £1,499 fee. Nationwide is also cutting rates of selected mortgages by up to 0.20 per cent, including some for first time buyers.

Moneyfacts.co.uk said signs of competition are starting to show. The website's Racheal Springall called it a 'change for the better'.

                                                                                                                                                                             The Sun

  1. STAMP DUTY PETITION PASSES 10,000 MARK
  2. HOUSE BUYING FRENZY COULD SPARK 10% PRICE RISE
  3. HOUSE PRICES GO NORTH, AS GAP TO LONDON NARROWS.
  4. 1 IN 6 HOMES SELLS FOR MORE THAN THE ASKING PRICE.

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  • AFTER 4 MONTHS OF AGGROVATION WITH ANOTHER ESTATE AGENT I APPROACHED CHRIS ABOUT 2 MONTHS BACK, I EXPLAINED THAT I HATED ESTATE AGENTS, CHRIS HAS GONE A LONG WAY TO REPAIRING THAT IMAGE HAVING DONE A SPLENDID JOB IN SELLING MY HOUSE WITHIN 3 DAYS THE WHOLE PROCESS TOOK 6 WEEKS TO THE POINT I HAD MOVED EXCELLENT ATTITUDE AND A TRUE PROFESSIONAL

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