Property Snakes and Ladders

Last night I watch Sarah Beeny?s Property Snakes And Ladders on Channel 4 and in this episode she went to Leatherhead & Battersea and saw two people who have invested in propery with the help of their parents and were looking to make a quick buck. Unfortunately they invested in their property at the peak of the housing boom and subsequently property prices were collapsing around them leaving them with properties that would sell for little profit or even a loss, and that?s even if they were able to sell them at all.

Of course they are in terrible situations but there is always a risk when investing, and surely if you are borrowing hundreds of thousands of pounds then you must be well aware that something could go wrong. Nothing is a dead cert but many were convinced that the property market would never crash and that prices would always increase. I have to admit that for a while I thought the same thing but there was always going to be a time when it would slow down but no one really saw it happening so soon and so dramatically.

I do enjoy Sarah Beeny?s programmes and have to admit that I have a soft spot for her, although she much have about a dozen kids by now as it seems like she is pregnant in every series of Property Ladder I have watched.

Anyway? back to me. I haven?t had a huge budget to work on my house. In fact I haven?t really had a budget at all, but I?ve kept all my receipts and I will be adding them up shortly to see how much I?ve been spending. I have a rough idea but it doesn?t really matter too much for me as I?m not looking to be a property developer, and instead this will be my home so any money I?m spending is not about resale value but how it makes my home look.

I?ve got this afternoon booked off work so today I will be having a go at being a carpet fitter. I?ve already been a tiler, a plasterer, a painter,  a plumber, a wallpaperer, an everything really, and I feel quite confident that I will be able to lay a carpet too. It?s been amazing how much info I?ve been able to get off the internet which has saved me money in getting professionals in. Of course I?ve had to get people in to deal with gas installations but that?s the law, and perhaps everythings a little slower with just me working on the house, but I must admit that I?ll be happy when it?s all done because I?ll be able to turn around and say ?I did that?. I will also be able to point at any faults and know that I?ll be to blame for them too.

It would be interesting to see what my house would be worth once I?ve fully renovated it, but in this market none of the valuations are true, and why would I need to know its worth when I know I?ll be living there and won?t be selling. When I do decide to sell though the market had better of recovered!