About ABE

Founded in 1925 under the name ‘The Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors’, the ABE provides the prime qualification Building Engineer, a title that exactly reflects the professional expertise of members and one that is readily understood in the European Union and beyond.

The Association of Building Engineers is the respected voice for Building Engineers and acts to enhance the reputation and profile of the building engineering profession.  In simple terms it’s all about ’Developing Professionals, Sharing Knowledge and Raising Professional Standards’.

Colin stated “it has been an honour and a privilege to be ABE President for a year and I have savoured every moment of it.  To me the best part of being president has been the people part!  Most people who do what we do in our industry, in my experience; are generally nice people who are a pleasure to speak to and deal with, like me they have a sense of humour and they like to see the funny side of things, and don’t take themselves too seriously in life; they are prepared to openly share their professional knowledge and experience with fellow professionals for the benefit of the profession, professionally they are extremely serious about what they do and take great pride in being ‘proud to be professional’.  Personally and professionally I’ve learned so much over the years just chatting with and shooting the breeze with fellow professionals at various events.  As my father used to say ‘we’re learning till the day we’re planted or fried!!  I’ve somehow in my 50 plus years never lost my hunger to learn and improve!”

The biggest monthly rise was in East Anglia where rents grew by 8%, but in the North, a sizeable 6.9% rise was recorded.

Surprisingly, rents in Greater London grew by less, 5.6%, although the average monthly rent in London ended the year at £1,212 – 69% higher than the national average.

The lowest average rents are in Wales (£474), the North (£488), and Yorkshire & Humber (also £488).

The figures are from BM Solutions, the buy-to-let brand of Lloyds Banking Group.

Source: Estate Agent Today

The effects were seen in the rapid wake of the Chancellor’s bombshell announcement that purchasers using companies as the buying vehicles of £2m-plus properties would be stung by 15% Stamp Duty as from midnight. In London, buying via company vehicles is extremely common.

Within hours, London agents were reporting chaos, as deal after deal fell through. Staff at some upmarket agents, including Savills – which last week revealed it has 50 properties on its books at £15m or more - were working until midnight trying to get deals through before the deadline.

First to warn was Ben Everest, partner at LDG in the West End.

He said that there had been a ‘dramatic’ effect, with deals in the region of £2m-£2.5m being urgently re-negotiated downwards.

By 6pm, Ed Mead, director of Douglas & Gordon, said there had been fall-throughs across London.

He said: “It has been less than seven hours since the Chancellor delivered the Budget and the prime central London property market has gone into meltdown.

“I don’t think anyone has quite clicked that many of the properties at this price level are bought by a company through personal choice rather than a way to avoid Stamp Duty taxation.

“Most property companies buy for development through companies and they’re pulling out too.
 
“There have been fall-throughs seen across London by several estate agents, with company buyers unwilling to pay this absurd 15% tax. 

“A few buyers have tried to off-set this additional cost by decreasing their offers by as much as 10%, which has caused vendors to pull out.

“The repercussions of these fall-throughs has caused widespread chaos, with property chains being broken and deals that have only a few days to complete falling through.”

He went on: “Why are we slamming doors in the faces of international buyers who have built London into what it is, and who have been spending billions whilst here?”

He said: “A sledgehammer has been used to crack a nut, but at what cost?”
 
Mead warned that if deals continued being hit “in a very important market that uniquely is driven from the top down”, the effects could be catastrophic.

Source: Estate agent today

On average in surveys carried out since April 2011, we identified £13,211.82 of defects per survey.

This compares against an average survey cost of £638.84 including VAT.

The majority of our clients are able to negotiate significant reductions in the purchase price which far outweigh the cost of the survey.

The survey on average costs a 20th of the cost of defects identified.  A small price to pay for peace of mind in one of the biggest purchases most of us will make. 

Can you believe that statistically only 1 in 5 homebuyers commision a survey!

Ask yourself honestly. Were you a smart or a stupid buyer the last time you moved house or business premises!!

The government’s decision to cut feed-in tariff rates from 43p to 21p per kWh has been ruled unlawful by a High Court Judge.

The government, which issued a consultation on the change in October, has already said it will seek to appeal the decision, and has been given leave to lodge an appeal by 4 January 2012.

Handing down his judgement this afternoon, Justice Mitting said the decision by the government to reduce the tariff as of 12 December, 11 days before the consultation is due to close, was unlawful.

He said the ruling was a “black and white decision.”

Mitting also speculated that the secretary of state Chris Huhne had no power to make directions to the rate of the feed-in tariff under the Energy Act 2008 that could undermine intentions to open up the market. “Changes made by reference to a date earlier than the date of implentation [of the tariff] are not in my judgement calculated to further the purpose [of encouraging small scale solar installations]. In fact they will undermine confidence in the establishing of small scale solar systems.”

It is not yet clear what immediate impact the decision will have on consumers installing solar photo voltaic panels today.

Environmental charity Friends of the Earth, which brought the action alongside solar PV firms, immediately called for the government to change track and come up with a new proposal which would allow solar payments to fall in line with reduced installation costs.

Campaigners claim the government’s decision has already cost thousands of jobs in the solar PV industry, with contractor Carillion citing the change of policy as the main reason for putting 4,500 staff on notice at the end of November. Contractor Mears also wrote off £5m it had invested in growing a solar PV installations business.

Andy Atkins, Friends of the Earth’s executive director, said: “These botched and illegal plans have cast a huge shadow over the solar industry, jeopardising thousands of jobs.

“We hope this ruling will prevent ministers rushing through damaging changes to clean energy subsidies – giving solar firms a much-needed confidence boost.

“Ministers must now come up with a sensible plan that protects the UK’s solar industry and allows cash-strapped homes and businesses to free themselves from expensive fossil fuels by plugging into clean energy.”

Energy minister Greg Barker said: “We will be seeking an appeal and hope to secure a hearing as soon as possible. Regardless of today’s outcome, the current high tariffs for solar electricity are not sustainable and changes need to be made in order to protect the budget which is funded by consumers through their energy bills.”

Source: Building “e” news