Insurance News Archive
Home improvements 'save money'
Property improvement specialists are likely to be able save households money in the long term, one celebrity property experts claims.
According to Phil Spencer, small and relatively cheap home improvements such as insulating a hot water tank can yield an immediate return.
The expert who presented Channel 4 programmes - such as Location, Location, Location and Relocation, Relocation - believes there are upgrade options for all budgets but people should be careful to ensure what they do is appropriate to their particular property.
"If you put the right solar panels on the right house and it all works then you can probably save somewhere between a third and a half of your energy bills," he added.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' Building Cost Information Service reported in June that the average cost of home improvements had risen by 20 per cent over the course of the past two years.
It noted that roofing costs had gone up by more than one-quarter (26 per cent), plumbing and electrical work by 22 per cent and painting by 17 per cent.
Research by Lloyds recently found that half of estate agents had seen an increase in the number of people taking their property off the market to make improvements.
31 Oct 2008
