ALTERATIONS ADD VALUE AND ARE A WISE INVESTMENT?

Aren’t they?

During my career as a Surveyor and Valuer I have seen it all – strange people and strange homes plus interesting people and a few absolutely marvellous homes.

Piranha in giant fish tanks in your main bedroom, polystyrene tile cladding heaven to student condensation and smoke invoked squalor all in one day. I have seen DIY heaven and hell, from bedrooms with a WC in them to showers in a kitchen.

However, what does surprise me is that many people think they have added value when, in reality they have decreased value and at a high cost to themselves.

Most of us have seen the TV Shows that revamp homes, often at low cost and effort from what is considered to be a poor starting position. What the following is designed to show is that YOU REALLY MUST THINK before you completed any DIY or get any Contractor in.

Think – think – think and think again.

1. What is a defect? Nothing is perfect and so do I really need to fix it?
2. Can the defect wait or would a delay cause even greater problems?
3. Do I need any permissions, consents or approvals before I do something?
4. Am I maintaining property value or causing value to fall as a result of my actions?
5. Do I need to increase the Buildings Insurance cover after an improvement?
6. Do I need to serve a Party Wall Act Notice on my neighbour(s)?
7. Is the land I am building on actually mine?
8. What Health & Safety regulations surround what I am about to do?
9. The list is endless…………….

Let me get something off my chest – I have adverse reactions to several matters that I mainly saw in my early career when in the Portsmouth-to-Fareham areas (not that bad taste is restricted to these areas – trust me, bad taste is generic):-

• Polystyrene tiles – these melt on your head and also release toxic fumes in the event of a fire but people seem to think they keep the heat in and so they are OK – not so, avoid them at all costs.
• Gnomes – now I like to think I have a good sense of humour but when you see gnomes in gardens (anyone number above, say, one) and my hackles are instantly raised: houses with gnomes usually mean the owners are “of an age” or “of a mind” that clashes with me. The gnome lover seems to fall under the spell (of the gnomes?) of becoming unable to understand “good taste and decorum”. With gnomes often you will see all manner of other offending matters – usually those in this listing but many more as well. I apologise to the worlds’ gnome lovers, and to any gnomes reading this article and to any Gnome Council members who get to hear of my comments, but why do gnome lover homes incorporate so many naff features? (naff is a technical term reserved for Gnome homes).
• Stone-Cladding – the world does not need reconstituted stone cladding in any shape or form. It can damage cavity wall ties; it bridges wall damp proof courses and causes dampness; it looks awful (even with contrast colour stones intermingled) and we all know that it basically screens a home lot of trouble.
• Non-matching-neighbour-improvements : these are usually found on terrace housing, often also on semi-detached houses. You know: you reclad your roof with red tiles and next door does their roof with blue tiles. You have large pane, while plastic double glazed windows, your neighbour has leaded-lights with mock-Tudor-simulation-wood brown double glazing installed. Stand back and can you really say the streetscene has been improved by such diversity?
• Dark Kitchens and kitchen units – Upgrade the kitchen: good idea and one that will probably add a lot of value to your home. Well, it would have done if you had been sensible about it. Why would anyone want dark cupboards with dark wall tiles and dark floor finishes? Keep it light! And whilst in this rant, what about lighting? Does one sickly old-style light bulb in the centre of the ceiling really inspire gastronomic delights?
• Over Technical works – I once inspected a rural home with the biggest decking area you will ever see: the whole of the rear, large garden. The owner reported that he had installed three miles of plastic pipes within which ground water heat exchange was taking place. Several hours later I understood what he had done – an early form of ground water heat exchange – but his buyer (my survey client) was not so understanding and decided he would buy elsewhere. I am not being “ungreen” here – indeed I actively encourage energy improvements but the problem is “will your potential buyer like what you have done?’.

On a serious note, what I am saying here is that many “improvements” are not on the positive side: indeed many detract from good function, high value and actually reduce saleability and perhaps value. However, beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder!

Now, lets’ move on and discuss the real issues:-

WORKS could be described as any alteration, renewal, revision, covering or other such work that alters the current state and condition or function of a building or building element or service.

For some of these things formal Consents will be required because they are either potentially dangerous or might adversely affect another party if things don’t go according to plan. Let me illustrate ……..

EG – If you live in a home that adjoins, or is close to (within defined dimensions), another home and you wish to alter or adapt a party wall (not just a wall but instead anything that affects the neighbouring structure) then you must either contact that person and agree all aspects of the works scheduled OR serve a Party Wall Act notice which is a legal document and which has legal consequences.

EG – If you live in a Listed Building and/or within a home inside a Conservation Area then many works must first be outlined and then approved by Conservationists before anything is done. Indeed, in some cases if you fail to maintain such a home your Local Authority could enter your land/home to complete essential repairs and recover the full costs from you even if you objected to the works in the first place!

EG – For matters such as Asbestos Removal, Replacement Windows and Boilers only certain prep-Approved Contractors can complete the works and even then strict Health & Safety regulations apply (perhaps greatly increasing your costs).

If you choose works that do not require pre-Consents or the input of “others” you still cannot ignore all others. English law states that you even have a duty to ensure that burglars are not unnecessarily injured and if you have Contractors in and fail to tell them of a hidden danger then you could be sued of such people come to harm.

What is annoying to a Surveyor and Valuer is that nothing prevents people from choosing to complete stupid works. To improve insulation and reduce condensation many people place sheets of polystyrene under thick wallpaper or even add polystyrene tiles on ceilings. Such materials are lethal in the event of a fire in the building and could even invalidate Insurance cover in certain scenarios.

What is annoying to Surveyors and Valuers is that some people over-improve their homes. For any area the local property market will have a price ceiling over which homes really do not increase in value whatever you do to them. Therefore it is a common fault for such owners to not recognise this and to waste money on a new swimming pool only to find nobody wants to subsequently buy their home.

Home owners are encouraged to think of the basics —–

• Is a repair essential?
• If a leave it, will it cost much more later or spoil the intended function of that element?
• Has the element/service/appliance reached the end of its useful life?
• Can I get a grant or discount that makes the work proposed more affordable and a better investment in that by the time I move on the work will have paid for itself by reduced annual maintenance or energy costs?
• Is the work generally well considered by potential buyers?
• Will the work cause any offence or breach any Regulations or law?
• Do I need to get structural calculations done or plans drawn up?
• Will I have to remove the work/element in order to dispose of the home (I once saw a £25,000 shower pod within a small 2 bedroom Victorian terrace home in a rural village – the owner had to remove the pod (through the roof) before anybody would even consider buying the house: the so-called improvement actually put people off buying.

You need to focus on the real issues —–

Will what I do improve saleability?

Will what I do increase or maintain the mortgageability of the home?

Will what I do be legal?

Will what I do follow modern tastes, styles and trends?

Will what I do breach any lease or restrictive covenant?

Will what I do impact adversely on anyone or other building?

Will what I do breach any Right-of-Light?

Will what I do maintain or improve my property value?

You would be amazed how many people bend or breach these common-sense rules to their ultimate detriment.

Most people move within 5 years-or-so and so why would anybody waste money for a short term benefit? Health grounds? Special Access reasons? Special reasons to stay – like living next door to parents? etc…… These are the exceptions.

So – the next time you may be thinking about a sizeable expenditure on your home, why not take professional advice to protect yourself and your wealth?