Property market watch on Home Services

Apr

Property market watch

posted by admin in Home Inspection

L&G has based its figures on the minimum hourly wage, saying 41 per cent of us would rather splash out ï¿¡700 a year on help than roll up our own sleeves.

This is probably a good thing, if you then read the other report from Halifax Insurance, which claims more than half a million people in Britain have their properties damaged by their neighbours’ home improvement disasters every year. The average cost of the damage is just under ï¿¡300, and in one out of three cases, the victims had to foot the bill themselves.

The botched DIY jobs included pierced pipes leading to flooding, demolition of party walls and smashed ornaments.

Says David Rochester of Halifax Home Insurance: “A number of errant DIY-ers are not just damaging their properties, but their neighbours’ too. More than two thirds of the victims chose to pay towards the cost of repair rather than create a fuss. Perhaps they weren’t aware they could have claimed the damage on their neighbour’s insurance policy.”

Or perhaps they were all too aware many of the demon DIY-ers don’t have insurance anyway. Or maybe it’s more prudent to pay up quietly than confront a large, stupid man with a mallet.

Meanwhile, over at Legal & General, they are asking - in the face of the credit crunch - if we are willing to give up some of our paid help as a belt-tightening exercise. In London, the answer may well be no, as it is the region where most people employ help in the home, claiming their lifestyles are too hectic to flick a duster round themselves.

At least 30 per cent of those questioned were honest enough to reply they paid for help because they just preferred not to do the chores themselves. Surprisingly, it is the under-25s who hire the most help.

A final word of caution: L&G suggests people check with their insurance companies that home contents are protected against damage caused by someone employed by them, such as a cleaner or builder.

Tags: anc, flood, Flooding, Home Improvement, insurance, insurance companies, insurance policy, lt, properties