Wasting money

Dogged Devotion.
“Many people see their dog as one of the family, which explains why 82 per cent of the dog owners who held a funeral said a proper service to mark their passing is the least they deserve after a lifetime of devotion. A dedicated one per cent of all dog owners would have their faithful companion stuffed. But giving a pet a proper send off does not come cheaply. Twenty-nine per cent would have their dog cremated and its ashes scattered somewhere special and one in 10 (nine per cent) would commission a work of art. Read more...

Speed cameras
Direct Line research reveals that despite 93 per cent of motorists claiming they have a sound knowledge of speed limits, in reality only half of all UK motorists are unable to correctly identify the limit on a dual carriageway (70mph). Emma Holyer, Direct Line’s Motor spokesperson, said:. “Speed cameras exist because speeding is one of the biggest dangers on UK roads with one in three road deaths attributed to it so motorists do need to keep their speed down and be aware of the limits. In addition to knowingly flouting the law, many motorists have no idea what the speed limits actually are. Read more..

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Wasting Money

Wasting money

Wasting money on home improvements 15/06/2006

Britain’s homeowners have spent more than £154 billion on tasteless home improvements that will actually reduce the value of their properties, according to new research from Direct Line Home Insurance.

More than 20 million Brits** (49 per cent) have carried out, or plan to make alterations that property experts say are likely to erode the value of their homes. The most costly changes include laying cheap wooden flooring (33 per cent of these), installing PVC windows (32 per cent) and removing fireplaces (20 per cent), according to a list of ‘design crimes’ compiled by Direct Line Home Insurance in collaboration with surveyors Habitus.

According to the research, these alterations can reduce the value of a property by up to five per cent, knocking £9,637 off the average house price***.

Dog owners vet bill.
These fees have forced dog owners to take drastic action leaving seven per cent with no option but to put down their sick dog according to new research from Direct Line. Many owners are risking their long-term financial security to avoid putting their dog down. The legislation could mean that vets will have to record the date, product, quantity, manufacturer's batch number, expiry date and client details of all drugs that they dispense. Twenty two per cent of dog owners said that they would consider this drastic step if faced with treatment that they couldn't afford. Read more...

Despite this, nearly half (48 per cent) of those making changes mistakenly think that they will add value, with one in ten (11 per cent) estimating that they will net more than £10,000 as a result.

The list of design faux pas doesn’t end with home alterations. The 1.8 million homeowners digging fishponds in their gardens could suffer an average of £3,854 each in lost value and concreted over front gardens may set the owners back by a similar amount, according to Habitus.

Many of these costly home improvements are inspired by home makeover shows, with one in twenty (6 per cent) saying that TV shows motivate them to make these changes. A desire to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ is also in evidence, with a similar number (7 per cent) saying that they copied alterations that their friends or relatives had made.

The homeowners themselves may not be the only ones paying the price for bad taste. Nearly a million**** Brits reckon that neighbours’ tasteless alterations have reduced the value of their own homes.

Nor are bad taste home improvements purely a 21st Century phenomenon. Today’s homeowners are still paying the price for design fads from previous decades, with pebble-dash and stone-cladding both estimated to reduce the value of a property by up to 5 per cent.

Commenting on the findings, Direct Line Home Insurance Spokesperson Simon Ziviani said:

“Taste is a subjective thing, but our research does show that certain home improvements have a detrimental effect on property values. Homeowners need to think extremely carefully before making changes to their properties, to ensure that they don’t end up costing them dearly.

“From an insurance perspective, it’s also important for homeowners to remember that changes they make to their interiors may affect the value of their home contents.

Unapproved Building Work
Building professionals also bear some responsibility for this increase with close to one in ten (7 per cent) building projects in the UK delayed or cancelled3 because a building professional wrongly told the homeowner that planning permission was granted. Unapproved Building Work BRITS WASTE 313MILLION ON UNAPPROVED BUILDING WORK. “We would advise all homeowners to make sure they are aware of the legal requirements before undertaking any building work. Read more...

One in ten (11 per cent) people tell us that they wouldn’t re-assess their home contents insurance if they made alterations, which is a mistake that could end up costing them even more in the long run.”

For more information, log on to Direct Line Home Insurance

Notes:

* 71 per cent of UK population have made alterations in the last ten years, or are planning to in the next 12 months =32,258,776

70 per cent of these had carried/are planning to carry out one of the ‘design crimes’ identified = 22,581,143

They spent an average of £6,854, therefore total spend = £154,771,154, 122

** 70 per cent had carried out design crimes in the past ten years, or plan to in the next 12 months =22,581,143

*** Average UK house price is £192,745 according to Land Registry figures

**** 2 per cent of UK adults =908,697

Direct Line Insurance plc, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Calls may be recorded. Conditions apply.

Wasting money
The list of design faux pas doesn’t end with home alterations. Wasting money Wasting money on home improvements 15/06/2006 Britain’s homeowners have spent more than £154 billion on tasteless home improvements that will actually reduce the value of their properties, according to new research from Direct Line Home Insurance. Calls may be recorded. Nearly a million**** Brits reckon that neighbours’ tasteless alterations have reduced the value of their own homes. Nor are bad taste home improvements purely a 21st Century phenomenon. direct life home contents and buildings insurance Read more..

Parents are a cause for conecern.
If the adult UK population is 45,434,897 (ONS) and 4% spent at least £200 on home repairs = 0.04 x 45,434,897 x £200 = £363,479,176. Many offspring are dipping into their own pockets to provide financial support. In a bid to help their elders, one in 10 of the country’s grown up children (eight per cent) make sure they are with their over 60s parents when tradesmen carry out repairs, with 11 per cent conducting their own regular house checks. Read more...

Young drivers facing high costs.
With the cost of buying and running a car nearing £5,700* in its first year, joining the car-ladder is out of reach for many wannabe motorists, with university costs (21 per cent of those who can drive but do not own a car), debt (12 per cent) and low wages (42 per cent) as the top three unavoidable expenses preventing them from getting a car of their own. Read more...

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