Guide to Renovating an Old Property

It’s a good way to make some money while having the joy and satisfaction of making something old and worn new and beautiful again. But it’s not a venture that isn’t without huge challenges, especially to the newbie. So pay attention to the hints and tips in this guide and it will assist you in making the most of it and turn a good profit.

Assess the Scope of Work Before Purchase
The worst thing you can do in this business is to jump on a seemingly good purchase only to find out later that the work involved is much more than first thought. Then you end up scratching your head on how to make the budget work and avoid losing money. When assessing a potential project always thoroughly assess it and get a thorough survey conducted before finalizing anything. A realtor will always talk it up as the bargain of the century, but always take the attitude that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is.

Know How it’s to be Funded
How you fund this project is key. If you have a surplus in your savings and are comfortable using this then you don’t have an issue. But if you need to finance it then you’ll be looking at a commercial mortgage in most cases. Now you may have experience of a normal residential mortgage but these work slightly differently, especially if there is construction or reconstruction work involved, what you will find is that funds will be released in stages as the work progresses.

Hire the Correct Contractors
It’s important to ensure that you get the best contractors to suit your job. It’s very well knowing you need a joiner but you may need one to do a particular job and experience is a factor that is vital here, if your joiner is good but hasn’t worked on this type of house before then they maybe aren’t perfect for this type of job. We had a series of houses that went in a particular style and we always used Eagle Roofing as they knew the type of property and what we wanted out of them.

Have an Exit Strategy
It’s good to plan what you are going to do, including how much profit you will be making. But do you have a plan for what to do if it goes wrong? Not everyone does, but this is even more vital than the plan on how much money you are potentially going to make. If things are not going to plan, how bad do they need to get before you are in danger of going from a profitable venture into a loss-making one, and how bad before the whole project needs to be abandoned? These are the tough questions that it is important to have answers to even before they are asked. Can you sell the land if you don’t get planning permission? Can you sell a half-finished development to another contractor? It’s good to know.