Home Insurance -
Halifax: Brits overspend on home renovations - 15/01/2008
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Britons consistently underestimate the costs of their home improvement projects, Halifax claimed today.
The home insuranceprovider recently conducted a poll on the issue - and now estimates that a total of one in four projects go over budget, forming a total annual overspend of £4.7 billion.
Reasons behind the extra expenditure ranged from building works unearthing unexpected structural problems with homes (20 per cent of poll respondents) to tradesmen charging more than had been pre-arranged (nine per cent).
The most common reason, however, was householders deciding in the course of the work to upgrade to higher-spec fixtures and fittings - causing the overspend in 53 per cent of cases.
Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "It's interesting to see that the major reason for spiraling costs is often due to homeowners adding extras to a project half way through - clearly it is all too easy to get carried away with adding more expensive fixtures and fittings as the project unfolds.
"Before embarking on any home improvement project, homeowners should always check tradesmen have the appropriate accreditations and references for their work - it is also critical that homeowners check that all tradesmen they employ have adequate insurance to cover for any damage caused to their belongings."
Halifax also found that kitchen makeovers, at 24 per cent of the total, were the most likely to go over budget.
The second most likely overspend was found in bathroom improvements, at nine per cent.
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