With all the different DIY and property shows on television it is perhaps no surprise that they have inspired the nation to get their hands dirty and get into DIY. This is what the Alliance and Leicester found.
Decorating is top of the list for improving the appearance of the home, closely followed by installing a new bathroom and changing the flooring. The Alliance and Leicester though suggested loft conversions or fitting a new kitchen would be the best options for increasing the value of the home. In the past these have often been funded through the mortgage though this may not be as accessible now.
At the end of the day it comes down to the balance between enjoying living in a property and making it more valuable and desirable when it comes to selling. This is the dilemma every property owner faces say the Alliance and Leicester, but at the end of the day a home should be just that.
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The Abbey National has announced rate cuts on their two and three year fixed rate mortgages of up to 0.15 percent, the second round of cuts in the last 10 days.
The lowest 2 year fixed rate Abbey National mortgage can now be had at 6.34 percent, with a fee of GBP999, while the equivalent three year offer is just 6.29 percent. These mortgages require at least a 25 percent deposit to qualify.
Soon to be breaking the 6 percent barrier is a new Abbey National mortgage with a 5.99 percent rate, though the maximum loan to value will be 70 percent rather than the usual 75 percent. This will be for a three year fixed term and has a fee of GBP1,695, with a maximum loan value of GBP250,000.
According the the Alliance and Leicester mortgage department there are around 3.25 million homeowners who would like to move house in the coming year.
This appears also to drive the move to home improvements, although that is also being pushed on by those who feel that they will be unable to move and so are improving their homes to make them better suited to their current requirements. The Alliance and Leicester found that around 20 percent of homeowners are making home improvements in order to make their property more attractive to buyers whilst half of them are doing it to avoid the issues associated with selling.
One the key areas people want to improve, said the Alliance and Leicester, is the number of bedrooms, always a key issue, especially with families. This is one of the biggest reasons for moving, especially as it can be very costly or totally impractical to add a bedroom to many properties.
