UK Homeowners Renovate to Get Their Perfect Home

A new survey has found that the majority of UK homeowners carry out renovation work in order to design their dream home rather than to increase the value and sell it on. This shows that property owners want to create a home that meets their needs and that they can enjoy living in rather than to make a profit.

The research, which was carried out by Zopa, a peer-to-peer lending service, highlighted that 67% of those who had carried out renovations were aiming to stay there for more than five years. It also showed that there has been a rise so far this year in the amount of money that has been borrowed for home improvements - it has increased by 54% compared to the start of 2015.

The main area of the home that consumers focus on is the kitchen, with 34% using their money to pay for a kitchen redesign and, out of those who didn't believe their home was perfect yet, 19% would prefer a larger kitchen.

Skilled Workers

We might be increasing the amount of money that we spend on property renovations, but that doesn't mean that we want to do all the work ourselves, and the research also showed that the majority of people were employing professionals to carry out tasks from installing new kitchens and bathrooms to fitting balcony railings. Almost three-quarters of the respondents (73%) employ professionals, and 45% used skilled workers for the whole project, with just 13% doing the work themselves.

This is often because homeowners are not confident about their skills when it comes to doing certain types of renovation work, but we are often happy to carry out simpler tasks. For instance, 77% would consider doing the painting, but only 6% would attempt any masonry work.

Increase in Value

Even though most homeowners carry out renovations to create their ideal property, they will also be happy with any increase in value that is associated with the work. Nearly all those who responded (98%) agreed that the work they had done has added value, but only 4.2% were thinking of moving home to access this money.

When it comes to your perfect home, only you will know what's right, and doing renovation work allows you to achieve this rather than making do with someone else's dream. However, it's always important to ensure that the work is carried out correctly and that professionals are employed when necessary to avoid any issues arising.