It's Yours...(now what?)

Work in Progress: Construction is already well under way on this house extension—adding a loft to the existing main house, and a new three-storey wing to the side. Don't be deceived by the blue sky - this photo was taken in February 2008. More pictures are below.

Starting Out

Change the locks. Clean the sink. Transfer telephone and utilities. Unpack. The first few minutes, days and weeks of ownership are fraught with activity and, for many, unforeseen dilemmas. This new-owner's diary illustrates the kinds of things you may have to deal with.

Getting Help

Make sure you hire the right person to do the right job. A general handyman may be competent at most tasks but competent may not be good enough. For quality work, you may have to hire specialists in each trade. Builders has more information on construction in general, and Internet lists websites that link tradespeople with homeowners.

Getting Income

Under the rent-a-room scheme, you can let a room for up to £4,250 (£2,125 if letting jointly) per year tax free. Renters as well as homeowners can join this scheme, but check the lease and the insurance and mortgage terms and conditions first.

To qualify for the tax benefits granted to holiday lets, your property must be available to let for a minimum of 140 days per year (at least 70 on a commercial-rent basis). It must also be in the UK and furnished.

Who Should You Hire?

Whether you need a plumber, electrician, roofer or other tradesperson, the best way to find a good one is from personal recommendations. Ask friends and neighbours. Be wary of people ringing your doorbell or phoning you cold or contacting you via leaflets through your letterbox.

Be especially careful of anyone who provides only a telephone number - especially only a mobile number - and no address. This is not just my advice. This view is shared by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

What Should You Know?

Here are some questions that the OFT suggests you put to any builders before you hire them:

How long have they been in business?

Do they belong to a trade association? If so, what does membership mean (is it a warrant of a certain level of accomplishment, or can anyone join provided they pay a joining fee? Use the Internet to find the websites of the various organisations and look into their membership requirements.)

Does the builder have references? Can you see samples of their work?

Is the builder backed by an insurance scheme so that you are protected if the builder goes out of business (or disappears)?

The side extension does not yet reach the third storey. The loft atop the original part of the house will extend into the new extension.

How Big Will this Job Be?

Most building projects will invariably be bigger and more expensive than you realise - or budgeted for.

How much work, for example, do you think goes into paving a front garden to convert it into a car-parking area. The photographs on the builders page chronicle a seemingly small job that involved many separate tasks, huge amounts of materials (and several deliveries by lorries), and skiploads of waste. Although the bulk of the job was done in under two months, it was another four months before the builder got around to doing the very last bit - grouting the paving stones and cleaning up.

The house was uninhabitable throughout most of the renovation.

Surprise I

You may not have realised how big and complicated and messy the job would be, but your builder probably knew—or would have known if he had thought about it. And it is probably in his interest not to think about it or tell you all he knows, because he will earn extra money from the additional work involved.

PWP Tip At the earliest possible stage, ask your builder to fully describe all aspects of the job, including cleanup and followup. If something is being moved, removed or changed, will that action affect other things?

A simple example illustrates knock-on effects: you replace a large painting with a smaller one. The large painting has left an outline on the wall, so you may have to redecorate the wall (and even if you use the same colour paint, the newly painted wall may look different from the others, necessity repainting the entire room). Help yourself by trying to visualise all aspect of the job, from before it begins (what materials are involved, who obtains there, where will they be stored?) to cleanup at the end.

PWP Tip Before you make your final decisions about a building or renovation job, tell relevant merchants what you are proposing to do, and how you plan on going about it, and ask their opinion. The downside to this approach is that they may suggest the ultra-professional approach, which involves many stages, lots of material, and more money from them. But, for example, a seller of tiles and other floor finishings may warn you off a tile that looks good but does not wear well, or needs frequent cleaning or is difficult to clean. Discuss what you have learned with your builder.

The scale of the renovation is evident now that the basic work has been completed, but the builders are still sprucing up the front of the house, and the interior. This picture was taken in September 2008 —eight months after the pictures on the top of this page. The end is nigh, surely, and the work nearly doubled the size of the house.

Surprise II

Your builder has done a good job for you but, if you were more knowledgeable especially about materials, you might have gotten an even better job. Simple example: decorator does a nice paint job and you are happy. But he has used rubbish paint, and after five years or less, you need to decorate again.

Not so simple example: your decorator does a great job painting the rendered exterior of your house. But the job would have been even better, and longer lasting, if he had used sealer before applying the paint. It would have cost more and taken long, but the job would have been better.

IHT

IHT is payable on your net assets over £312,000. And everyone has an annual exemption. But tax is on your overall assets, not just your property: savings, automobiles, stocks and shares and the like (yes, even your fancy wristwatch and, depending on when they were given, certain gifts) form part of your estate.

Assets include items or money "you may have given away during your lifetime," says the Direct Government website (www.direct.gov.uk). This DirectGov site contains an overview of IHT (including a section on exemptions) in clear and simple language. It also has links to other helpful sites, including the Customer Guide to Inheritance Tax produced by HMRC. Also see www.willswithoutpain.com

Please, No More Lawyers

So what do you do it you are above the IHT threshold? If you are way above, a financial advisor and/or solicitor is a necessity. A will is also recommended, especially for people with potential complications. These days, a complication may consist of nothing more than having remarried and had children from more than one spouse or partner. In other words, many of us have enough assets (especially through property) and enough relatives or near-relatives to justify the cost and effort of getting a proper will drawn up.

Fixing and Renovating and Extending and...

Electrical - A government website provides basic information on new rules (now more than five years old) on electrical work: (competentperson.co.uk/files/consumerbooklet.pdf)

Gas - Registration with CORGI (www.corgi-gas-safety.com) provides legal as well as professional reassurance. Corgi stand for Council for Registered Gas Installers. Registration is a legal requirement for businesses and self-employed people working on gas fittings or appliances. Around 55,000 gas installation businesses employing approximately 110,000 gas fitting operatives are currently registered.

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