DIY efforts to boost house price can backfire

HOMEOWNERS taking the DIY approach to improving their property could find their efforts backfire as shoddy workmanship reduces the value of their home.

Research out today from insurer LV> shows many people attempt complicated home-improvement jobs to boost their property asking price, only for it to have the reverse effect. Homeowners knocking down walls and taking on gas, plumbing and electric works without calling on professional help could also invalidate home insurance policies, it claimed.

More than four million UK homeowners have tackled electrical jobs in their home without professional help, while more than a million have taken structural work into their own hands, such as knocking down walls, the research found. Almost a million have done work such as loft conversions and 500,000 have tried potentially dangerous tasks such as gas repairs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But botched DIY jobs can reduce property values, according to estate agents surveyed by LV>. It found that 69 per cent of estate agents said DIY renovation work they had seen made no difference to asking prices, while work carried out badly had slashed more than 5 per cent from some asking prices.

Related topics: