A good night was had by all at the Ivy Bush Carmarthen when they had a Abba tribute band there, Michelle and Wen decided to get into the full party swing and dressed up for the occasion.

As Cornerstones are currently acting as your agents, we wish to inform you of recent changes in the law, which will certainly affect most homeowners currently trying to rent their properties.

The Government has recently decided that as of1st October 2008 ALL properties being offered for rental in the UK will be required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regardless of when the property came for sale.

If you have already got a Home Information Pack (HIP)you do not need to act, as your HIP will already automatically include the EPC.The EPC is a survey (which can only be prepared by a qualified Energy Assessor) which measures the energy efficiency of a property (it will give an A-G energy efficiency rating similar to those found on new products such as fridges etc) and includes an Environmental Impact Rating which measures the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) produced by your property. The regulations say that the EPCs will now last for 10 years.

The ratings (which must be displayed on our sales particulars) will give the current reading and the highest possible reading achievable by the property, and are standard so that buyers can directly compare the energy efficiency of one property with another. It is generally felt that acting on the recommendations in the EPC will cut energy consumption, save money on bills and help to safeguard the environment. Owners who put their property for sale before the relevant dates will not be required at this time to get a full Home Information Pack on their place (although the rules on this may well change in future) and will NOT have to stop marketing the property while the EPC is being prepared.

The regulations make it clear that that the responsibility to arrange these EPCs lies with the owners and NOT THE AGENT we can arrange to have an EPC carried out with our Energy. The fine for property owners not complying will be £200 per property, enforceable via local Trading Standards officers.If you have your property for rent with more than one agent, you will obviously need to make sure that all the agents are informed of the results of the survey.

Goodnight was had by all at the www.gwenllian.net. where we saw all our trades team let their hair down Julian of J.S Heating and Plumbing, Geoff of www.gtlocksmiths.com and Gareth Morgan our reliable carpenter/general trades person

Michelle was lucky enough to be invited to a culinary tasting evening at ‘Y Polyn’, Nantgaredig, just recently, where her palette was put to the test. Voting proceeded on the best dish and which dish best represented Carmarthenshire. Michelle, amongst other invited guests sampled cuisine prepared by the famous ‘Hairy Bikers’ and the wonderful chefs of ‘Y Polyn’. www.ypolynrestaurant.co.uk

More will be revealed in September when the ‘Hairy Bikers’ new televised series is scheduled. A great night was had by all and Michelle even persuaded one of the technicians to rent a house in Carmarthenshire!

Wenallt and myself went away for a much-earned break the weekend following a hectic spell of Lettings, but also to mark Cornerstones’ Anniversary. We visited Hay on Wye to relax and indulge which resulted in a moment of weakness when we acquired a very old map of Carmarthenshire, which shows all the areas that we cover as Letting Agents. Soon we will be posting a copy on line for comment.   Michelle.