I don’t really know what I want, what should I do?
Give me a call and we can discuss what is best for your situation.you are undertaking the Healthy Home assessment as part of a business my fees are tax deductible.
Where are you based?
I’m based in Christchurch. I undertake work throughout New Zealand. If I need to visit your property, and your site is within the Christchurch City Council Ward boundaries (excluding Banks Peninsula), there is no charge for travel.
Do you provide project management services?
No, but I do provide general property advice on an as-and-when and ad-hoc basis. Just contact me to discuss.
What are your terms and conditions of engagement?
I’ll provide those as part of my formal offer of service, but a simplistic version is found here. Importantly all third-party fees that are paid to as part of your assessment, such as those paid to the New Zealand Green Building Council, are required to be paid to me in advance of undertaking your commission.
I’m a landlord, if I commission you are your fees tax deductible?
Yes, if you are undertaking the Healthy Home assessment as part of a business my fees are tax deductible.
I live in my house and I find it cold, should I undertake a Health Home assessment?
A Healthy Home assessment will tell you if you meet the threshold for the minimum standard. You should aspire to a higher standard such as undertaking a Home Fit assessment.
If the property does not achieve the Heathy Home standard, will you tell me what I have to do to get it to achieve the standard.
I can, but I will not recommend materials, products, suppliers or installers.
I’m a landlord and can self-certify my own property, why would I want to pay someone to do that for me?
This is a highly technical area and you take on significant risk and liability if you get it wrong.
Are you a HomeFit Installer?
No. I provide independent advice and do not promote a particular product or solution. I will assess if your home achieves the HomeFit standard and tell you if your home is a warm, dry, healthy place to live, and what you can do to fix it if it isn't.
I’m told Homestar is a pretty high building standard, is it?
It is a higher standard than the NZ Building Code which reflects standard less than Homestar 6. Higher star ratings reflect an increasing standard.
What is the minimum Homestar rating
Homestar 6. The maximum is Homestar 10.
What Homestar Home Rating do you recommend I aspire to?
That depends on your design for increasing comfort. Previous research demonstrates that a Homestar 6 reflects an optimised return on capital investment but increasing the star rating provides increasing benefits.
What about Passive House?
PassiveHouse, EnerPhit and the Low Energy Standard are design and certification standards produced by the Passive HouseInstitute (PHI). Achieving any of those standards will also achieve many of the Homestar criteria.