General news

Homebuyers receiving financial aid from family

Those struggling to get themselves onto the UK property ladder are increasingly turning to their families for financial help. That is according to Bernard Clarke, spokesperson for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), who asserted that "[family is] increasingly the main option for first-time buyers". He said that, in the current tough economic climate, a greater ...

28th Apr 2008

Housing industry 'slowly' addressing environmental issues

There has not been a significant increase in the number of house builders adapting their architectural designs to meet environmental standards. That is according to Julian Brooks, managing director at GreenMoves, who maintained that these issues were being addressed by the housing industry "slowly" or "not at all". He commented: "House builders tend ...

25th Apr 2008

Energy bills can be reduced by taking 'small steps'

Homeowners who are looking to reduce the cost of their energy bills can take a series of "small steps", an expert has advised. According to Nigel Berman, founder of Nigel's Eco Store, 'eco kettles' are a good way for a home to become more energy-efficient as it prevents people for boiling an unnecessary amount of water. He noted that this product helped homeowners ...

22nd Apr 2008

Home contents insurance may need updating annually

The ever-changing nature of the contents of a house means that homeowners need to determine whether their insurance policies need to be updated annually. That is according to insurance comparison website Confused, which has asserted that the value of a home's contents "should be reviewed at least once a year". Debra Williams, managing director of Confused, has ...

21st Apr 2008

Little change in home insurance premiums

The rise in home insurance premiums is beginning to cool off, despite widespread predictions that there would be significant premium hikes this year. That is according to the latest benchmark AA British Insurance Premium Index, released yesterday (Thursday, April 17th), which revealed that there was little change in the cost of home insurance over the first quarter of 2008. ...

18th Apr 2008

House building is 'crucial' to sustainability

House building is an extremely strong news topic at the moment and the issue is high on a number of agendas. That is according to Rupert Bates, editorial director of website showhouse, who maintained that he'd "never known a time where house building has been so high on political, economical and social agendas". He asserted that the topic was "crucial" ...

16th Apr 2008

Taking out sufficient home insurance is a 'civic duty'

It is a "social responsibility" for homeowners to ensure that they have taken out an adequate insurance policy on their property. That is according to Peter Staddon, head of technical services at the British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba), who maintained that home insurance is quite often at the bottom of the priority list for people on low incomes. He said ...

15th Apr 2008

Homeowners urged to check insurance policy covers garden contents

British homeowners are pouring an increasing amount of money into improving their gardens, leaving themselves open to the risk of being underinsured. That is the claim made by Lloyds TSB Insurance, which has conducted research showing that a typical UK home has garden contents worth an impressive £1,237. However, despite this considerable investment, 55 per cent of ...

15th Apr 2008

Many home improvement disasters impact on neighbours

When home improvements go wrong, homeowners can potentially damage not just their own property but also that of their neighbours. That is according to new research from Halifax Home Insurance, which revealed that each year millions of pounds worth of damage is caused to properties as a result of someone else's disastrous DIY endeavours. Even more astonishingly, it was ...

14th Apr 2008

Lack of demand is reason for number of empty homes

Lack of demand for the purchase or rental of property in some parts of the UK is largely responsible for the excess number of empty homes. That is according to Henry Oliver, policy advisor for the Empty Homes Agency, an independent campaigning charity, who maintained that there was a variety of different reasons behind the empty homes problem. He noted that, in certain ...