Home Help

Every home improvement programme tells us a lick of paint or more ambitious improvements like a conservatory boost the desirability of your property.

But changing lifestyles, taste and expectations from buyers make it more important than ever that you think carefully before you reach for a paint brush or talk to the builder.

Jon Sykes, spokesman from Halifax says there is such a thing as bad DIY.

“Changes that are purely down to personal preference and a desire to have the latest ‘must have’ features can strip value from your property when it comes to selling it,” says Sykes.

“Essential repairs and replacements are always worthwhile, because avoiding them can lead to bigger problems in the future. And, if you’re making improvements remember that any alterations must be sympathetic to the surroundings, done to a good standard and compliant with building and planning regulations.”

Home buyer’s expectations are also on the rise with people buying later in life and so used to certain standards who are also really stretching to afford property prices and so want more for their money.

“Over the last twenty years, the quality of housing stock has also raised significantly,” says John Waldron, spokesman for estate agent Connells.

“The availability of DIY packs and brand new properties with a high quality finish means buyers expect a lot more now than they did a few years ago. People expect to see everything in the kitchen now from dishwashers to fridge freezers and bathrooms have become far more contemporary, with many expecting a little more than the traditional three-piece suite.”

Recent research from the Halifax suggests homebuyers think a modern fitted kitchen adds the most value to a property, with double glazing and conservatories also appearing in the top three.

The most undesirable features include limescale or mould, lack of parking or properties without a garden.

Waldron also believes that DIY can harm your property price.

His no-nos include garages converted into an extra room but with no windows, extra bedrooms or bathrooms which can only be reached through an existing bedroom and conservatories only accessible from the outside.

Home Information Packs

Soon, sellers will have another reason to keep up the care and maintenance of their properties because Home Information Packs (HIPs) should reward homeowners with nothing to hide.

From 1 June 2007, legally, sellers will have to be able to offer buyers a Home Condition Report outlining their home’s problem areas and overall condition. The report grades all property features from 1 (poor) to 3 (good) and the pack also includes all guarantees and warranties for building work as well as an energy efficiency report. Research from the Energy Efficiency Trust shows nearly 70 per cent of Brits feel energy efficiency is important when buying a home, which could make features like energy saving condensing boilers or cavity wall insulation more active selling points at an earlier stage.

Currently, only 20 per cent of buyers pay for a survey, so HIPs should make buying a home more transparent and change accepted selling practices which have often put buyers at a disadvantage. Jeremy Leaf, national housing spokesperson for RICS, says: “Sellers will have to be much better prepared than they have been in the past with fewer spontaneous sellers speculatively testing out the market to see how much their properties are worth.”

Affording what you want

If saving isn’t a feasible option, many renovators choose a further advance. This is an extra lump sum borrowed from your mortgage lender which is added to your home loan. Remortgaging to a different lender is another option if your current lender is unhappy to lend you more, but provided earnings can cover the bigger repayments and there are no credit problems, it should be a straightforward discussion. If you can stick with your current lender you may save yourself the application fees you often pay to move lenders – although there are plenty of fee-free deals around.

However, unless you have plenty of equity – the part of the property you own outright – your lender may limit the amount you can borrow.

Simon Tyler, managing director, Chase De Vere Mortgage Management, says: “If you have a mortgage worth of £80,000 on a £100,000 property and the lender has a maximum Loan To Value (LTV) of 95 per cent on your mortgage deal, you will only be able to borrow a further £15,000.”

However, he adds: “If the work you plan to carry out will add significant value to your property, your lender may consider staged payments. This involves a valuer coming out to assess the proposed renovation and agreeing a final value for the property, once the work is completed.”

The funds are then released in stages, with further visits from the valuer until the job is finished to the required standards when the rest of the funds are released. Most lenders will consider staged payments, if the proposition is viable, says Tyler.

Unsecured loans are another option, although these loans will cost you more. Interest rates are higher than the mortgage rates you pay with the first two options and the loan term will be shorter, say five or ten years, which will also make your monthly repayments more expensive.

But these loans can be useful, says Tyler.

“An advantage might be that you won’t bump into any loan-to-value limitations, so if it is work that you want to carry out for your own reasons that won’t necessarily add to the value of the property, an unsecured loan may be a decent option,” he adds.