Dream home

Over the years I have lived in a number of properties. By the time I reached my teenage years the number of houses I had called home was in the double digits. Some of the houses were ones we owned, others privately rented.

Having lived in numerous houses and experienced the benefits and downsides of both owning and renting a house, I have developed my own views on what makes a good home.

My thoughts of what makes a good home has inspired me to dream of the perfect home. As my life has changed over the years, from being a single 20-something with no responsibilities to a mum in a family of 4 in her early 30’s my dream home has also changed. Before having my own little family my dream home consisted of a spacious, modern apartment. Then I met Lee and settled down and had kids. Now my dream home is a large home fit for a growing family.

Tips for renting a house

Since I moved out of my childhood family home where I lived with my mum and sister at the age of 18, I have rented a number of properties. Over the 14 years or so (eeek where does the time go?) I have experienced renting a few different properties from very different landlords.

Thankfully I have never had a nightmare landlord and not had any major issues when renting but the experiences have been very different and over the years I have learnt a lot about renting. My experience with renting has helped me learn how best to rent smartly so that I am aware of my rights and responsibilities which help make renting easier for a hassle-free and happy home.

Whilst I have not had any horrific renting experiences personally I have known a few friends who have had terrible times renting and had nightmare landlords. One friend who was not savvy about renting with it being their first time renting a property on their own had a landlord who did not use Tenants Deposit Scheme and she had him refuse to pay any of her deposit back when she moved out in spite of there being no cause not to return it as she had left the property immaculate and is it was the day she moved in. Another friend had major problems getting his landlord to fix any issues or problems in the home even though the landlord was responsible for fixing them and keeping the house in a good state of repair as per their contract.

How to avoid house damages caused by kids.

The latest survey carried out by More Than states that the house damage caused by kids till they reach their 10th birthday may amount to £2000. Kids are more accident prone than adults but it is still quite surprising how much damage they can cause in our households.

This is quite a lot of money to be spent on various fixes and replacements.

Apart from typical issues such as having wallpapers ripped off, painted on carpets or broken windows they are plenty of other damages caused by our youngsters.

15% of parents admitted that they had their kids blocking their toilets or sinks, and the same amount has had a window smashed. 

4% of parents stated that their kids were ever so creative to set something on fire in their homes…

The research proves that 2 in 3 boys seemed to be rather hazardous to their homes, whereas only 1 in 4 girls seemed to be as hazardous in comparison.

Various domestic mishaps seemed to be caused more often by sons aged 4-10 than daughters.

No wonder that about 29% of parents saves some part of their incomes in case they kids cause some accidents in their households and 22% of them never leaves kids unattended when they are playing.

Nonetheless 25% of parents still feel they can’t buy anything delicate for their homes until they kids grow up.

If you are one of them think about preventing your house from kids caused damages. Consider entertaining your kids with washable pens and board games or simply hide the precious belongings for some time until they grow up. 

If you have quite unpredictable and energetic kids you may consider getting accidental damage insurance. Check out More Than home insurance accidental damage cover to see what can be covered through their insurance. The cover will help you cover the repairs or replacements you will need to have in your house and can be optionally added to your regular home insurance.

* Sponsored guest post *