Home improvements during the credit crunch
We’re all feeling the pinch at the moment, what with an increase in petrol prices, a more expensive weekly food shop and higher energy bills.
As a result potential house buyers have become far more cautious as they wait and see what effect interest rate rises will have on household finances.
In the meantime owners should not assume that any money spent on improving their home will increase the value of their property, especially if house prices continue to falter.
Rather than taking on the burden of extra borrowing to fund any work, such as loft extensions, it’s advisable to pay for any improvements out of savings, unless you have substantial equity in your house and a low mortgage.
A recent Abbey report found that the best home improvements, in terms of recouping your investment, were mainly cosmetic, such as a lick of paint.
One sensible improvement for the planet and your purse strings would be to change your boiler to a high efficiency boiler.
Compared to traditional boilers these can save you, on average, between £190 and £240 a year, which can make a massive difference to your bills over 15 years (the current average boiler lifespan).
Aside from that, when the housing market is eventually on the up (fingers crossed!), you’ll be in a great position against other properties in the market when potential buyers compare your energy performance certificate, a compulsory document in the home information pack.
Ben - “Glowworm is junk, very bad reputation for quality of product as well as poor customer service.”
Saturday 07/11/2009, 10:54 am
steve - “I had a ravenheat combi boiler when I first bought my house 15 years ago. I was 21 and the house needed a lot of work so I settled for the cheapest boiler I could find. This worked well for 11 years untill the heat exchanger went. I was advised at the time the boiler was cheap and best to get a new one.
So I got a Viessmann. Had it for 3 years nothing but problems. Went a month with no hot water or heating over last xmas. So in july this year I bought a glow worm. Within 3 weeks it stopped working. And again on Sunday stopped working I have to wait till Wednesday for an engineer. I wish I had repaired the ravenheat. 3 boilers in15 years 2 of which in. The last 3.”
Monday 30/11/2009, 5:27 pm
admin - “Hi Steve
Sorry to hear you are having problems – hopefully you’ll get things sorted on Wednesday. We have a 97% fix rate as our engineers carry a lot of spare with them and know the products inside out so you should be fine and back in working order.
If you don’t get the problem resolved let me know.
I’ve spoken to one of our experts and he believes that your comments may suggest that the system is at fault and not the boiler.
Specifically the Ravenheat boiler would not have had the fine plate heat exchanger found in today’s combi boilers, to maximize heat transfer. Paul tells me it equates to putting a brand new engine in a mk1 Ford Cortina.
For the boiler to experience problems after just three weeks it’s worth asking your installer about the system to ensure that the system water is clean.
As I said I’m sure your installer will be able to help but this may give you extra peace of mind in the meantime.
Let me know how you get on.
Thanks, sally”
Tuesday 01/12/2009, 12:32 pm