Home Work

You can do it...

by Ken Newton, Mortgage Options, Perth

Have you heard the joke about the gynaecologist who wallpapered his front room through the front door letterbox?

Well, in case you haven't, it's about someone who has difficulty 'switching off' after work. Many of us though, fancy we can simply drop our trousers slightly and become 'Bob the Builder' in seconds.

So, what's the point in 'Doing It Yourself?

Well it might be about physically doing something less dull than one's full time occupation. (Although anything more boring than wallpapering, is hard to imagine). Or, perhaps it's to soak up admiring glances when neighbours spot our creations.

There's a bloke in Wolfhill for example, who gets his kicks from watching people look up at the 'squint' ridge tile he replaced after a storm. Okay, it's at a jaunty angle and he overdid the cement, but he didn't have to pay a real builder to do it. And if people stop to wonder at it, then to him, that's a bonus.

We don't take to the tools just for essential repairs though. Home improvements will add to property value if they make it more desirable. Even a spot of gardening might make a difference. But something more important pushes us towards the Black and Decker. Its called 'lifestyle'.

Wander round B & Q on Sunday afternoon. Folk are out in droves, looking to improve 'lifestyle' in one way or another. It's a natural thing to do. Then, after the job's done, over a glass of chilled white, we wonder about more radical improvements. Should we:

• Stay where we are?
• Sell and move down South?
• Buy a Spanish holiday home?
• Let out and buy a place closer to a loved one?
• Secure a 'second' mortgage, to buy a Harley Davidson?
• Re-mortgage to a cheaper 'first' mortgage?
• Release equity, make a dream come true?
• Get divorced again?
• Downsize and sell the lawnmower?
• Spend the kids' inheritance and take out a lifetime mortgage?

Homeowners can do a lot with their homes these days.

So look after it, it's your baby.