TrustMark's recent survey could help you overcome some of the objections of potential customers who are considering whether they should get someone in or try doing the job themselves.

 

The survey suggests around 91% of people would reduce their valuation and offer on a house where there are signs of badly carried out DIY jobs, whilst 54% of people would be less likely to put an offer in at all. Additionally, those surveyed indicated they would reduce their offer by an average of 11% (something in the region of an average £25,000 reduction).


The data from TrustMark the government backed body which aims to improve standards of tradespeople, showed that dodgy DIY with many (13%) saying they’d reduce their offer by over 20%!


This kind of information could be crucial for tradespeople when speaking to prospective customers about the benefits of choosing a tradesperson over having a go yourself.


Simon Ayers, chief executive of TrustMark said “While DIY projects can be immensely rewarding, homeowners should be wary of attempting DIY beyond their skill-set – as these results show, inadequate work can seriously reduce the value of their homes, or even put prospective buyers off completely,”


“It’s worth noting that some of the most off-putting DIY flaws – like faulty wiring and ill-placed electrical sockets – are as dangerous as they are devaluing: homeowners should never attempt to carry out electrical or rewiring work without a trained expert. While it can be tempting for those without a network of reliable tradesmen to try their hand at DIY instead, it’s worth getting a qualified expert in for those jobs you can’t do yourself to be sure you’re preserving the value of the property.”


The most off putting visible signs of a dodgy DIY job include:

 

  • Visible wiring – 40%
  • Ill-fitting or unfinished kitchen units – 18%
  • Inconveniently or poorly placed electrical sockets – 10%
  • Ill-fitting or unfinished bathroom units – 5%
  • Squeaky floorboards – 5%
  • Badly painted walls or woodwork – 2%
  • Poor grouting / tiling – 2%
  • Poorly landscaped gardens – 2%
  • Dripping taps – 1%
  • Poorly fitted carpets – 1%
  • Poorly hung wallpaper – 1%
  • Don’t know – 12%