Sunday, May 27, 2007
Category:
Home Improvements
According to a survey conducted by esure home insurance, this summer the majority of homeowners who have gardens, that is 92% of Brits, will be looking to spend £56 million over the next three months.
One in ten homeowners will be spending in excess of £500 on garden improvements this summer. As a result of this the value of household contents will increase and according to esure it could lead to a rise in garden theft especially as the longest day of the year will see longer, lighter evenings.
While it may be a peak time for opportunistic thieves, over half of homeowners have never thought about improving the security of their gardens to prevent thieves from wandering off with costly items. Items that are left out overnight are especially vulnerable such as lawnmowers and bikes. One in twenty gardeners have thought about improving their garden security to keep pesky thieves out but have done nothing about it.
Another area that is overlooked by homeowners is garden sheds. With an average content worth £550 for two thirds of homeowners, nearly one in ten do not securely lock their sheds when not in use, leaving the contents as easy pickings for thieves. The survey conducted by esure has shown that over 1.4 million homeowners had something stolen from their garden shed last year. From the survey, esure has found the top five items that homeowners will be planning to buy for their garden this summer. With over half the votes, plants or shrubs were the main purchase of 64% of homeowners. Other items included garden furniture, tools, patio or decking and ponds or water features.
Nikki Sellers, Head of Home Insurance for esure said: "With the lighter evenings and pleasant summertime temperatures, many of us will be spending more time and money on our gardens, than the inside of our homes and will be splashing out on costly new garden furniture and equipment. However, it is all too easy to retire inside as it gets darker, leaving items unsecured in our gardens or sheds unlocked as easy targets for opportunistic thieves.
"But these investments need protecting. It is imperative that everyone should get in to the habit of safely tidying away and locking up their garden gear whilst also taking reasonable care of securing their household perimeters”.
Esure.com has put together some ideas to ensure that homeowner’s gardens stay secure this summer. By keeping an inventory of items kept in the garden and outbuildings, it could ensure that any claims made are straightforward especially if photographs are taken of the items. Strong padlocks, dense hedges and noisy surfaces such as crunchy gravel can act as deterrents to thieves, as can security lighting and ensuring that when putting up a shed, the windows are facing the garden rather than the street.
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This summer if homeowners are looking to improve their gardens and garden security, a
secured loan could be one of the many options available to them to help fund such improvements. Many options are available for homeowners wishing to make the most of their gardens and the warm sunny weather. With a secured loan, new decking could be added providing a hard surface to place a new barbeque and even a large wooden garden table to ensure that all guests have a place to sit when hosting those all important BBQ’s on pleasant summer evenings. As well as providing more space to entertain guests, a secured loan could allow for a landscape gardener to come in and tidy up unruly borders and out of control hedges. With a newly landscaped garden, what could go better than a relaxing water feature to capture the atmosphere and ensure that homeowners spend every moment of summer in their gardens. A secured loan is made payable over a term to suit the borrower from 5 to 25 years and any amount from £10,000 and £100,000.
