Old House to New Home: A Guide to Renovating Houses

If you are looking at moving house, you could save a lot of money by purchasing an older house that needs a bit of work. As long as you have the money and time to invest in it, you can transform it into a beautiful new home. You might also want to consider renovating a house and selling it on if you have the spare money. You could see a large return and if you invest it in another property, you can really make your savings grow, and look at turning it into a full time business. It might sound like a simple way to make a lot of money, but it’s not as easy as it looks, there are a lot of considerations to be made. Here are a few key tips to get you started.

Spot the Potential

The first step in any renovation is to choose a property. You need to be able to look past the ugly bits and spot the potential within. Take note of the spaces themselves and think about what they could look like when they are finished. You need to be realistic here, though. If you walk into a house and think that it would be lovely with an extra bathroom upstairs, an extended kitchen and a conservatory on the back, you are being too ambitious. Large structural changes will push the price of your renovation up massively. Look for houses that have all the rooms in the right places, but need a bit of a cosmetic makeover. This will be much more affordable.

You also need to be able to identify the things that will become long-term, expensive issues. If there are large cracks in the walls, or uneven floors, this could be a sign that the building has an underlying problem with the foundations. If this doesn’t become apparent until after you have bought the house, you may end up with a property that you cannot afford to renovate. If this happens, you will be unlikely to sell it on again.

Similarly, you should look for any signs of pest control problems. They can be easily hidden by sellers but will come back to bite you later on. If there are pest issues, you can use companies like Terminix to sort them out, but remember to factor this into your budget before making a decision.

The area that the house is in is also important. Whether you are going to live there yourself, or sell it on, location is everything. Check local schools and amenities, as well as crime rates. At this point it is a good idea to see what other properties in the area have sold for.  

Restoring

Once you’ve found the perfect place, the real hard work begins. If you are quite handy yourself, try to do as much work as possible without hiring professionals. This will keep costs down, but again, don’t be too ambitious. Anything that will affect the safety of the building, should be carried out by professional contractors.

Try to repair as much as you can without having to replace it completely, and where possible, avoid anything that involves planning permission as this will hold up the process a lot.
If you follow these steps, you can turn an old, dilapidated house, into a beautiful new home.