Top 10 Home Reno DIY Projects in the UK

 

Originally Posted On: https://bifolddoorsuk.com/blog/top-10-home-reno-diy-projects-in-the-uk/

 

As we’ve highlighted in some of our other posts on the Bi Fold Doors UK blog page, home renos are a favourite past time for those of us in the UK. With our lovely, ambient winters, why wouldn’t we want to be building something?! GoCompare Home Insurance runs a survey of homeowners, and one of the things we enjoy looking at is their Top 10 list of DIY Home Renovation projects. So we thought we’d share the results…

10. Improved insulation

13 in every 100 homeowners to undertake a DIY project in the last year upgraded their existing insulation. With electricity bills ever rising, it’s surely to be expected. Luckily, our BiFold Doors come with high-tech insulation!

9. Exterior redecoration

This is a pretty common item to see in DIY lists – a lick of paint or a wall garden on the outside of a home can change it from drab to dynamic. The great thing about BiFold Doors is that, well, you can then enjoy that dynamism!

8. New shed or garden building

One thing that has been growing over the past few years is our desire to experience the outdoors more often. A big part of that is getting out into your yard and watching the birds fly around. Another great idea is to enjoy those sights from the comfort of your armchair, whilst looking through your beautiful new aluminium Bifold Doors.

7. New windows/double glazing

Now we’re talking. People appreciating the importance of nice, big, clear aluminium windows to admire the garden through. But whilst this might go okay, we don’t recommend installing BiFold products on your own. Get someone experienced in to do it for you.

6. New boiler or central heating

1 in 4 homeowners to under take a DIY project installed a new boiler or upgraded to central heating (that’s a whopping 25%). That’s a big amount of boilers getting fitted, by local companies like Evans Heating. We guess people are getting ready to sit inside and watch winter unfold through their lovely new folding doors!

5. New kitchen

A lot of people renovated their existing kitchen to make it look a bit more swanky. Or perhaps it was just to make it more user-friendly for all the cooking their doing. We expect this was a result of all the entertaining homeowners are undertaking following the installation of their…. you guessed it!

4. Garden makeover

See number 8!

3. New bathroom

Whilst we all love a new bathroom, there is something we should say about this. It’s all well and good to want that rainforest shower-head and the trendy, polished concrete basin with those lovely antique brass taps. However, we don’t recommend installing folding doors in here. It’s just the sort of place you need some privacy.

2. New flooring

Flooring is something that we feel has long been overlooked in home renovation projects. Carpet and lino are great, but there’s something really satisfying about watching those floorboard make their way seamlessly into your bifold doors at the end.

1. Interior redecoration

Now the winner: interior redesign! 50% of people to undertake a DIY included this on their project list in the past 12 months, which shows a real sense of ‘home is where the heart is’. Whilst we’ve been a bit tongue in cheek about our connection to the above renos, we’d love to hear about how your redesigning the inside of your homes! Leave a comment underneath.

3 Things To Know Before You Invest In Property In The UK

Originally Posted On: https://propertyinvestormarket.com/real-estate/3-things-to-know-before-you-invest-in-property-in-the-uk/

Before you take your hard-earned money and invest in a property in the UK, there are a few things you need to know. Keep reading to find out what they are.

Being a UK landlord is tough

You may think that being a landlord in the UK is one of the most straightforward jobs there is. After all, all you need to do is find a tenant, and then you get to sit back and rake in the money, right? Well, sadly, it can be a lot more taxing than that.

In fact, UK landlords have a range of responsibilities that they must fulfil, including safety inspections, routine maintenance and emergency repairs. Of course, if you are in between tenants, you will also need to make sure your property is cleaned, painted and made habitable for the next people that rent it.

The good news is that a lot of this hard graft can be avoided if you opt to use a property management service. In fact, they will be able to deal with all sorts of issues for you from finding people to lease your property, to dealing with complaints and repairs.

Of course, such services do not come for free, and that means you will need to deduct any management service costs from your property investment profits.

UK property ownership isn’t always clear cut

You buy a property, you own it, right? Well yes and no, because when it comes to property investing things aren’t always as clear as investors would like.

Firstly, there are two types of ownership in the UK, including freehold and leasehold. You must know the difference between them before you invest though, because the first means you have the deeds to the building and the land it’s built on. While the second means you only have the deeds to the building for a set amount of time. After which it will revert back to the original owner. Of course, if you are buying to renovate, or demolish this will have a massive impact on what you can do.

Additionally, it’s essential to realise that if you buy a property while married in the UK, it is seen as jointly owned by you and your spouse. Conversely, property owned before marriage will be counted as separate to any joint finances. Therefore if you are looking to retain your investment no matter what, buying when you are single is the best idea.

Flippin’ ain’t easy 

Flipping may sound like easy money, bit just like any other investment there is risk involved. One issue that many people forget to account for is that you may not be able to sell the property you have renovated straight away. Something that means your capital will be tied up with no way to get to it.

Additionally, it’s easy to get in over your head when it comes to buying a property to flip it, especially if you buy at auction. This is because often UK auction homes go sight unseen or with just a cursory inspection. Something that means they could be full of serious and costly structural problems you will have to sort before being able to sell them on.