Money News
A new online service that provides homeowners with a quick answer to the crucial "move or improve?" mortgage dilemma, has been launched. For a flat fee of £495, the Property Potential Report from Betternest tells homeowners how much space they can add to their home, how much it will cost and what value it will add to their property.
The report can be ordered online by completing a three-step application process on the Betternest.co.uk website. Delivered within five working days, the 20 page report includes planning searches, 3D visualisations of the optimum development, a detailed project cost and post-work property value based on current market conditions. It will also reveal whether the property can be extended without planning permission due to Permitted Development Rights.
The service is the brainchild of Betternest Chief Executive Simon Smith, a former MD of a successful architectural practice in London with personal experience of managing dozens of home improvement projects.
"Until now there has been no way for a homeowner to accurately assess their property improvement potential without commissioning designs and submitting planning applications. It's an expensive, time consuming and often frustrating process that puts many people off," he said.
"he beauty of the Property Potential Report is that we do all the work, with a quick turnaround, for an affordable one-off fee. Our report tells homeowners all they need to know to make that crucial 'move or improve' decision."
Smith predicts strong demand for the service throughout the UK following a successful pilot in London earlier this year. "While the credit crunch is making big mortgages tougher to secure, the falling property market is causing buying chains to collapse and encouraging gazundering.
"It's a double whammy that makes staying put and improving your existing home an even more attractive option than ever before."
15 July 2008 © Moneyextra.com
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