The reason for the endless list of sorry tales is largely due to the number of homeowners who fail to get independent advice from salesmen and end up paying well over the odds for work carried out to their property. Sometimes the work is unnecessary; while on other occasions the work is unprofessional and fails to repair the damage.
Thankfully, we are set to see a diminishing amount of people unhappy with the results of their home improvements thanks to Help My House, which is now in its second year troubleshooting homeowners’ problems.
The nationwide organisation, which comprises 19 registered architects from the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI), was set up by Anthony Brabazon in a bid to solve the rising tide of dissatisfaction amongst homeowners carrying out home improvements on their properties.
Help My House has become a vital service in Ireland today. With no sign of recovery for the property market and an increasing number of people facing negative equity, more and more property owners are choosing to improve their homes rather than upgrade. Last year, over 175 benefited from this flat fee service. City based homeowners pay a fee of €150 including VAT while all others are charged €200. Homeowners can either log onto the website www.helpmyhouse.ie or call 01 6683519. Within two days the area architect will contact them and a visit will be arranged within two weeks. At the end of the site visit, the architect will provide a written report with recommended solutions for the client.
“I recently had a client in North Dublin who was complaining about a roof leak. The roof was guaranteed so the man had called up the roof company and they had visited his house. The company failed to find the source of the problem, which was actually just a severe case of condensation,” said Anthony Brabazon. “When I checked the house I discovered that the kitchen extractor wasn’t connected properly to the outside of the house. If the problem had not been properly identified, there is a good chance the homeowner would have taken the drastic step of replacing the entire roof. Worse than that, the problem would still have remained.”
According to Brabazon, Help My House is thriving during our recessionary times because people are increasingly looking for low cost solutions to their house problems. “We are very used to dealing with people on tight budgets and fortunately we are in a position to help them.”
Help My House has become a vital service in Ireland today. With no sign of recovery for the property market and an increasing number of people facing negative equity, more and more property owners are choosing to improve their homes rather than upgrade. Last year, over 175 benefited from this flat fee service. City based homeowners pay a fee of €150 including VAT while all others are charged €200. Homeowners can either log onto the website www.helpmyhouse.ie or call 01 6683519. Within two days the area architect will contact them and a visit will be arranged within two weeks. At the end of the site visit, the architect will provide a written report with recommended solutions for the client.
“I recently had a client in North Dublin who was complaining about a roof leak. The roof was guaranteed so the man had called up the roof company and they had visited his house. The company failed to find the source of the problem, which was actually just a severe case of condensation,” said Anthony Brabazon. “When I checked the house I discovered that the kitchen extractor wasn’t connected properly to the outside of the house. If the problem had not been properly identified, there is a good chance the homeowner would have taken the drastic step of replacing the entire roof. Worse than that, the problem would still have remained.”
According to Brabazon, Help My House is thriving during our recessionary times because people are increasingly looking for low cost solutions to their house problems. “We are very used to dealing with people on tight budgets and fortunately we are in a position to help them.”
