By Eion Scott, Senior Manager Residential
The HomeFit consumer app, called the Online Check, has recently had a makeover to add some great new features for users.
They include a dedicated directory to find products and installers. You can sort by region and by product type. Additionally, once the customer has completed an online check, they are offered a list of installers prioritised by the number of categories of improvements that the online check recommends for that particular customer.
The new version also includes some minor updates to criteria that assessors use to assess apartments and downlights, as well as making live the API channel for those companies who are interested in submitting directly from their own software.
NZGBC CEO Andrew Eagles is encouraged by the record number of submissions through the Assessor App despite the lockdown. “We are very pleased that the HomeFit app is proving useful, particularly for rental properties aiming to achieve the Healthy Homes Standards,” he said.
“We have not been charging submission fees for the past three months. This was a saving of $100 plus GST. We hope this has been useful and helped business flowing through this difficult time.”
With the relaxation of Covid-19 virus response levels around the country, HomeFit has been able to move to a lower fee per home. From 1 October these new fees are now applicable on all new submissions. The new financial year rate now applies to casual submissions, which is $60 plus GST.
At the same time, pre-purchase bulk assessment fees are being introduced. This means an assessor can buy multiple assessment submissions in advance and gain discounts on the submission fee rate. This carries the potential for a substantial drop in fees per home: the more submissions you make, the cheaper the average cost.
The key benefits of assessing a property through HomeFit are:
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the opportunity to help show whether a home or rental is warm and healthy with a HomeFit certificate
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it provides an independent, unbiased, third party check on the quality of the home, backed by a not-for-profit industry body with no product selling motive
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a clear report is produced showing compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards and areas to improve
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as well as checking whether the home complies with the HHS, HomeFit offers a full assessment of additional key health and efficiency features.
For further information on the standards, www.nzgbc.org.nz/homefit.