Before buying your property a key thing to remember is to make sure you do your research. You need to check how long a property has been on the market for, bearing in mind if the property has been on the market a while, for example six months, then there is a possibility there isn’t a lot of money to be made if it’s a potential investment.
Things to look out for
One Thing to remember is to make sure you’re not buying a property that’s going to swallow your all your available money. Although you have to be prepared for the worst, especially if you are buying an old home, you also need to realise that problems will occur - like when stripping the wall paper part of the wall might be coming off with it, or when replacing the roof tiles you may lose half the roof in the process. But this is why it is vital that you take as many trips as you feel needed with various tradesmen if needed too. This will give you a good idea of how much money you will be spending and what you are letting yourself in for.
How much is there to be done?
Well this depends entirely on the property, and if this is your first home renovation property you don’t want to be taking on too much, as costs can escalate very rapidly. For your first couple of investment properties look at a dated property as theres a higher probably that it will need a lot of work and therefore be cheaper to buy. It is unbelievable how much a lick of paint alongside a new kitchen and bathroom can modernise a house to sell for profit. Leave the big renovation jobs until you have some experience, confidence and normally better funding to finish the job properly.
Be sure to ask the experts, vision isn’t everything!
Get estimates from specialist tradesmen, such as roofers, electricians, as well as damp and timber specialists - they will probably charge nothing or very little for quotes, and then you have an idea of if the property is really worth it once you’ve paid out for all the work it needs.
Money/funding!
You need to be ready for the worst when taking on a wreck, because we all know that so many people end up saying ‘it was twice as expensive as I thought it would be’. Be sure to ensure you have enough funds to play with should it all go wrong. Set yourself a reasonable budget and build in some emergency funds for the future. 15% of the total cost is the usual and reliable guideline.
If you stick to all these factors, within reason you should be able to manage home renovation, and if it is your first property renovation, play it safe. As we all know it’s better to be safe than sorry!
This article was provided by Ryan Hirst who writes helpful guides and tips for Eurofit Direct on their blog
This article was provided by Ryan Hirst who writes helpful guides and tips for Eurofit Direct on their blog
