British homebuyers are placing redecorating ahead of legal and safety considerations when they move into a new property, a new study reveals.
According to the research by AA Legal Services, many new buyers opting to choose curtains (52 per cent) or paint walls (54 per cent) ahead of writing a will or sorting out home insurance during the first three months in their new house.
The report stresses the importance of carrying out legal and safety measures such as writing wills, organising life insurance, changing the electoral roll and ensuring the title deeds are in the correct names, with younger homebuyers most likely to fail to carry out important security and legal checks.
Just seven per cent of people make a will within the first few months of moving in and just 40 per cent of couples who own homes have the property in just one name, according to the poll of more than 2,000 homebuyers.
James Molloy, AA Legal Services head, said: "Although it may seem like a gloomy chore, it is vital to the get legalities sorted out to save complications further down the line.
A recent study by Abbey found that the average Briton will spend a whopping £54,400 moving home during the course of a lifetime, currently more than twice the average national salary. The average cost of moving each time is an estimated £16,000 and it is important to ensure that all steps are taken to ensure there are no legal complications, including those that are not carried out by solicitors.