Archived Entries
April 2010
Need a Planning Consultant? Look no further...
AAH Planning Consultants is a professional planning consultancy, whose consultants are chartered Town Planners and accredited members of the Royal Town Planning Institute. AAH is able to offer expert advice for all works that may or may not require planning. Should you require further information please visit the website www.aahplanning.com.
Alternatively you can put any questions you may have around your planning requirements to AAH via our 'Ask AAH' feature, which can be found on our home page.
Home Insurance the Easy Way
Orchard Planning Solutions is delighted to welcome to Money Supermarket.com to the site this month.
As the UK's biggest comparison site Money Supermarket.com makes searching for home insurance easy with over 60 leading home insurance companies to compare quotes from. As well as this, you can read their home insurance guides and learn how to find the cheapest buildings and contents insurance to meet your personal requirements, learn about leading UK home insurance companies and see their top tips for obtaining cheaper house insurance quotes.
How to Cut the Cost of your Extension the Imaginative Way
Like me, are you one of these people who cannot help rummaging around in a builder's skip? I remember going to a party and noticing a skip which was fit to bursting with discarded bricks and was ready to make its sad final journey to the local tip. My wife knew immediately what was running through my mind and to her dismay, the next 25 minutes was spent loading the car with bricks which now sit proudly in my garden wall. As the old adage goes, where there is muck, there is brass. In these times of economic belt tightening, we all need to think twice about how we can make the best use of our existing materials before consigning them to the tip. Old floorboards, doors, radiators, bricks, breeze blocks can all be used in imaginative ways which can ultimately save you money. For example, the less you throw away, the smaller the skip you will require or indeed no skip at all! Bear in mind that as a private individual, you can dispose of waste in your local tip for free.
Also, rather than buying new materials, why not think about purchasing salvaged materials from either the internet or salvage yards? Not only are the materials a great deal cheaper than buying from new but they offer instant character. For example, second hand items that offer good value include roof tiles, bricks, internal doors, timber floorboards, fireplaces and roll-top baths.
Yes, the easy option is to buy new but think what a great talking point you could create by telling your friends how you found your bath in the neighbour's skip!
Home Insurance
There's a wide range of different approaches you can take to look after your property and your family, but taking out home insurance is a good starting point. Keeping your possessions covered isn't necessarily expensive to do, and by taking a few simple steps you can bring your premiums right down.
For example, it might be worth joining your local neighbourhood watch scheme. Not only can you save on your insurance premiums (Many companies offer up to a 5% discount simply for being a member), but doing so means you're part of a community that exists purely to keep each other safe from crime - after all, having house insurance is all well and good, but not having to claim on it in the first place is far more preferable.
Another way to keep your premiums low is to improve the security in and around your home. This can initially be expensive, but when you consider that on average a theft leaves the British homeowner £2,000 worse off and that fitting certain equipment will also lower your home insurance premiums, in the long run it is a worthwhile outlay.
How much security you want to fit is entirely your decision; you may want to simply fit extra locks, or go the whole hog and install a full alarm system. Of course, the more you do the safer you will be, and fitting things like a NACOSS certified alarm or uPVC door will mean your premiums decrease.
Just remember, preventing crime is better than simply covering the damages - homes that have previously been burgled are statistically more likely to be attacked again as thieves know that not only have they been able to break into the property before, but that the items will likely have been replaced. They also have an idea of when you're out, and all this knowledge means that the burglars are better equipped to steal from you again. A good quality alarm that is visible from the exterior of your home is a good line of defence as criminals are less likely to consider a house with visible deterrents, as while home insurance is a good last resort, claiming on it is a stressful process that will just add extra stress to an already difficult situation.
