Why You Shouldn't Try to Paint Your House Yourself

If you are moving home and trying to encourage a sale, or if you just want to give your property a lick of paint for your own satisfaction and out of respect for the neighbors and the neighbourhood, then painting your building is one of the very best ways to do this. The fact is that our walls take up by far the largest surface area of our property and so this is the best way to make the biggest impact to the appearance of the building.

When you decide to go ahead with this renovation you then have two options - to do the job yourself, or to hire a professional in to do it for you. So what do you do? Well by far the best option is to go with the professional service - and here we will look at why that is.

Time

First of all, few of us have time to paint our entire house and this is something that takes a considerable amount of time. When you hire a painting service, that's their job so they are going to work on it eight hours a day until the job is complete. This then means there's minimal time where the house is left looking blotchy and uneven and worse than it did before you started, and it means the whole ordeal will be over sooner.

Appearance

Of course a professional service is going to do a much more professional job than you will when they paint your home. This isn't a dig at your painting skills, it's just a simple fact seeing as they will be doing this on a daily basis and will have had professional training. Painting a house is harder to do than you might think, and if you try to do it yourself you will inevitably end up with streaks, air bubbles, marks where you leaned against the wall with the ladder (it takes a lot of forward planning) and places where the rain ruined your still-wet paint. If you are painting your house in order to sell then of course this rather defeats the object.

Safety

Another matter that you need to consider is your safety. If you are up on a ladder with a bucket of paint and a strong wind blows then this is very dangerous indeed and you can easily fall and seriously injure yourself. It's only safe to paint your house if you are a professional, if you have the right equipment, and if someone is there to hold the ladder. Do it yourself and you will be putting yourself at serious risk.

Cost

So painting the building yourself will save you money of course, but you might be surprised to learn that you'll save a lot less than you at first thought. You will save money on the labor yes, but you will still lose money on the paint you buy (which a professional service will get at discounted prices) and on the equipment like the huge ladders that will rarely get used again.

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House Surveys Explained - What Different Types of Surveys Are There?

As there are a number of different kinds of house surveys and reports it can often be a struggle to determine what each one is for and what each one meets. However, each survey has its own particular benefits and performs an individual action.

Though, they may seem the same, each has its own purpose. So, what does each report do and for what scenario is it suitable?

Home Buyer's Report

This type of report is specifically performed when looking to purchase a property. It is designed to highlight problems with the structural safety of a home and provides a general oversight of a home prior to purchase. It looks out for the most major issues with the property, such as problems with dampness, or roofing amongst, other areas. It is not meant to provide granular detail, but an overview of a property prior to commitment by the purchaser before entering into an agreement to buy a house. Generally the home buyer's report takes between 2-4 hours to complete and is carried out by an independent reporter, who will let you know of any issues that may arise and which may require further investigation at a more in-depth level.

Building Survey

This is more suited to older residences, or homes that aren't built from standard materials, such as timber homes or homes with a thatched roof. They take up to a full day to complete and are a more rigorous survey than the home buyer's report. This report will look in depth at the structural soundness of the building and determines whether there are problems. As it's more descriptive and takes a deep look into the house and its structure, it will usually show issues, though this doesn't mean you shouldn't purchase the home. The high level of detail means few homes will ever come clean from this report. Building surveys are performed by members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Naturally, the cost of a building survey tends to be considerably higher than that of a general homebuyers report.

New Build Snagging

The snagging survey, as you may have guessed, is performed on new build properties. It is usually carried out by the house builders themselves and the homeowners prior to sign off of the property as completed. Snagging list items can range from tiny paint overspills to issues with dripping taps, loose tiles, poorly siliconed sealants, right up to major issues with the property, including structural cracking and roof problems. In the event that the purchaser is unhappy with the snagging list carried out with the property developer or an issue arises at a later point with the new house, an independent surveyor may be called out to go over a snagging list again.

Valuation Survey

This survey is performed by the mortgage lender to ensure the price of the home is worth the mortgage. This determination of market value aims to ensure that the property will not go into negative equity if the lender has to sell it and the amount lent by the mortgage company will be covered at the very least (however, in a turbulent economic climate of course, this may still be unavoidable). These surveys are generally carried out in a few hours, but are often an obligatory requirement prior to release and approval for a mortgage on a property.

Energy Performance Certificate

This survey looks into the energy performance of a building and determines whether it is efficient enough to be rated above the average in the UK. The survey determines the efficiency of a building on a scale of A-E, with A-C being more efficient than the average UK home. This survey is arranged by the seller of the home and is now an obligatory requirement as part of the sales process. Knowing the energy efficiency of a building can save you thousands in the long run. The survey looks at issues such as ventilation, insulation, lighting, heating, and other 'green' elements which may affect the overall energy efficient nature of a property.

Finding A Surveyor

If you're considering finding a surveyor to carry out one of the surveys detailed above you should ensure that you compare several quotes from surveyors as you should with any type of service provider.

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