Money Talk
Consumer expert Sue Hayward’s savvy finance tips and advice
When doing up our homes most of us are happy to splash a fresh coat of paint on the walls, but bigger jobs are better left to the professionals, unless you know what you’re doing.
Our passion for DIY costs us a whopping £7 billion when our “Bodge A Job” attempts need professional repairs, according to Aviva home insurance. That’s around £836 a time!
And bigger projects won’t all boost the value of your pad either. Here are three projects that can pull down the price of your property…
Turning a spare bedroom into a bathroom or knocking two small rooms into one sounds great but can slash 20% off the price. Agents say this is because buyers property search by the number of bedrooms. One less can make your home less saleable.
Done properly, an extension can boost the price of your home. But if you don’t get planning permission, or make a mess of it, it can have costly repercussions. You can wave goodbye to 15% of the value this way. Rules on when you need planning permission are complex so chat to your local council first.
Turning the garage into another room, say for student kids when they’re home from university, means more living space but can knock 7% off the price as agents say buyers want parking and storage.
◆ Check home insurance for accidental damage cover in case of accidents.
◆ One in ten stump up over £2,000 to fixed our bodged DIY jobs.
◆ Calling in the professionals? Go on recommendation, get several quotes to compare and check if they include VAT.
◆ Here’s a guide to the “boost or bust” factor of popular home renovations: WWW.SCS.CO.UK/LIFESTYLE/DIY-DISASTERS