Buying and renovating an old property

Buying an old house with the aim of renovating can be fantastic investment and, if carried out correctly, can provide you with a great return on your investment. However, as we’ve all seen on popular TV programmes, it can all go horribly wrong. The key to success is all about planning and carrying out sufficient research before starting your project.

Initial Research
There are a number of points you need to check before buying the house. First of all you need to find out how easy it will be to get planning permission, particularly if you will be making any structural changes like knocking down walls, or adding an extension. It is also crucial that you get a surveyor to check the structure of the house and find out if there are any underlying problems.

When you have purchased the house
Once the initial research has been carried out and you have determined that the house is a feasible investment, your next step will be to purchase the house. After this has been done you will need to decide whether you will be living in the house during the renovation. This can obviously cause its own problems and stress, and the decision will be based largely on costing factors. Will it be more cost effective to live in the house, or is it worth renting somewhere nearby.

To carry out the renovation you will need to decide whether to hire a building firm to carry out the changes, or hire independent contractors. This will, again, largely depend on cost, but also on the amount of control you want to have over the work.

To manage the work correctly, you will need to make plans about which areas of the house will be worked on in which order. If you are getting separate contractors to carry out different jobs, you need to make sure that they do not all turn up at the same time. Certain jobs need to be carried out in a logical order. For instance, plumbing will need to be carried out prior to the floor being put down.

In order to manage the flow of the project, try to be on site as often as possible. Obviously this may not always be possible, but turning up at intervals throughout the day will help ensure that work is carried out at a consistent pace and you can oversee each stage of the project. To maximise efficiency, it also helps for you to be a constant communication with the contractors, so they can inform you of any potential issues and, likewise, you can tell them if you are unhappy about the way the project is going.

If your renovation spend is limited, make sure that your plans are based primarily on improvements to the house that will increase the overall value of the property. Renovations can take years to complete, so it is important to group stages by priority and consider which stages need to be completed in order to have a liveable home. If you are looking to complete the renovation in its entirety in order to make a profit, always retain a buffer in case the project spend goes over budget. Otherwise you could be a left with a home that is not completed and not liveable, which could cause huge stress to your life and your pocket.

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