thought. You are not just looking at and
appraising the home in front of you, but you
are trying to see the home as it will be. Now
if money is no object, this may not be all that
hard, however, most people will want it to be
financially wise to do the improvements.
After all, what is the sense in buying a house
at say, $120,000 then putting $45,000 into
upgrades to end up with a house with a
market value of $160,000? What I am
saying is consider if the improvements you
see for that home is appropriate for that
neighbourhood. Start by comparing similar
homes that have sold recently within a mile
of the home you are considering. Check the
price difference between a, ready to move
in, house and the one that needs all that
work? Ask local estate agents for an
appraisal of how much the house would be
worth once it has been fixed up as you plan.
If there is not a considerable difference to
your favour, maybe you will wish to
reconsider.
Be realistic about what you are willing to
take on. If you have good connections in the
building trades or perhaps you have
renovating a property before, then a run
down house should pose very few real
challenges. If the house is a real wreck,
consider renting a place to live before
moving in. Your builders will likely work more
quickly if owners are not under foot.
Besides, no-one really wants to live in a
building site. This is also part of the cost of
your renovation.
Use professionals for advice right from the
beginning. Start with a good home inspector
to do a comprehensive inspection of the
property. This would be ideally after you
have the seller's comprehensive list of the
work he says he completed. The inspector
to tell you what he thinks of the quality of the
workmanship. The home inspector may find
some things that you missed. These are
things you need to know. If the project is very
large you may wish to hire an architect as a
consultant. Be sure that all the old systems
are checked out. This means electrical,
water and heating for sure. If the seller had
replaced any of the appliances or had
contractors do work, they may have
warranties that you can and should have
transferred to yourself.
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