A quarter of renovation projects go over budget
(15 January 2008)

One in four home makeover projects end up going over budget, according to new research.

A study by Halifax Home Insurance showed that approximately one million Britons end up having to find an extra £4,690 to complete their development.

This creates an annual budgeting shortfall of £4.7 million.

The study also revealed that householders are most likely to blame under budgeting for higher specification fixtures and fittings, with 53 per cent of respondents stating that costs had escalated.

A further one in ten claimed that tradesman had charged them more than they had originally agreed.

Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager at Halifax Home insurance, said: "It's interesting to see that the major reason for spiralling costs is often due to homeowners adding extras to a project halfway through.

"Clearly it is all too easy to get carried away with adding more expensive features and fittings as the project unfolds."

Meanwhile, another survey conducted by Halifax has shown that two third of those questioned believe the government should be doing more about the number of vacant properties.