Backyard renovations turning buyers away

Home improvement is a national pastime in New Zealand, but DIY could actually be slashing your property's value.

Badly done do-it-yourself jobs can reduce a home's value by as much as 5 per cent, a survey has found.

Wayne Boberg, of Boberg First National in Epsom, said: "If it's obvious, it's a bit like a leaky home - there's not a buyer for it anywhere. Nobody wants to know."

John O'Roarke, managing director of LV= home insurance which commissioned the survey, told Britain's Daily Telegraph that not only could bungling DIY jobs devalue your home but, if they caused a serious problem, they could invalidate your home insurance cover.

Certified builder David Brown says the problem with DIYers is they often take shortcuts. "These guys don't realise that even if you don't need a consent, you still need to build in accordance with the Building Act."

And as home buyers are increasingly getting professional building inspections before they put in an offer, shoddy DIY jobs are no longer going unnoticed, says Brown.

To read the full NZ Herald article, click here

Posted: 9 May 2010

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