Sometimes, the best way to make money from a property purchase is to buy a home in poor condition. Those kinds of properties are pretty cheap and easy and quick to buy. You can then make renovations to the home and turn it into something that looks a little more like a good investment. Here are the eight steps that you’ll need to take.
- Make Plans and Rethink the Layout
The first stage is the planning stage, and this is something that you will need to take your time on. Renovating an old home is not a small task, and things can go badly wrong if you jump straight in without a plan. You might want to hire an architect if you want to make large-scale changes to the structure of the home. But that’s not always necessary. If you simply want to chance the layout by knocking through some stud walls and opening up the space, you can do this yourself. But make sure that you know exactly what you want to before you actually undertake any work on the home.
- Start Restoring Original Features
One of the big challenges of restoring an old home is knowing what you should restore and what you should replace. There is no easy solution to this problem. It will depend on the kind of home that you’re restoring and what you want to achieve when all the work has been completed. If the home does have some interesting original features, you should consider renovating them though. Even if you want to achieve a really modern design, it’s still possible to incorporate original elements into that. Old doors, floorboards, windows and beams can all be restored to lend some authenticity to the home.
- Make Exterior Changes
The outside of the property is just as important as the inside, especially if you want to sell or rent out the property later. People often decide what they think about a home before even walking into it. So, you need those first impressions to be good if you want to find a buyer or renter in the future. Start by tending to the front garden. If the property hasn’t been lived in for a while, it will probably be messy and overgrown. You can hire a landscape gardener to do this work for you. And then make sure the paintwork on the home and the front door are bright and fresh. Finally, you can add some flowers in a hanging basket to finish things off.
- Add New Furniture and Storage Options
The furniture you put in your home will depend on what you plan to do with it. If you want to rent it out, you will probably need to furnish it fully. But if you simply want to sell the property, then you’ll only need to include the basics. If there are any wooden items that need to be stained, you can get the right finishing products from a company like Weatherall. Then there is storage to think about. This is a big deal breaker for many people when they are looking for a home. They don’t want to have to live in a home that doesn’t have enough storage options for them and their family.
- Update the Heating and Insulation
If the home is so old that it doesn’t even have modern heating and insulation in place, this is something you need to put right. No one will want to buy or live in a home that doesn’t even have a modern central heating system, and insulation is very important too. You can ask an expert to look at your situation for you and recommend the relevant changes to the heating system. You should ensure that the walls and roof of the property are properly insulated. There is no sense in spending money on a new heating system if the home’s doesn’t have the insulation to keep that heat inside it.
- Consider an Extension
An extension is not always necessary, but if you feel that your old home needs a little extra space, you should consider it. When you own a relatively small home with a large amount of land behind it, there is always the temptation to extend it. It’s a pretty big construction job, and it will cost you some money. But it will also add a lot of value to the property, so it might be a smart move in the long-term. If you do decide to take this route, you should weigh up all the pros and cons of doing so in advance.
- Incorporate Green Features
Most old homes are not very green or sustainable. But there’s no reason it has to stay that way. When you are making changes, you should consider incorporating some green features. I’ve already mentioned insulation, and it’s important not to forget about this. It’s impossible for your home to be green if it’s not insulated. Other things you can do include installing sustainable energy generation appliances. This is relatively easy to do, so make sure that you at least consider it. Solar panels and wind turbines are the most common options, but there are others out there. You should also make sure you use energy-efficient appliances if you are renting out a furnished home.
- Make the Finishing Touches
You’ll probably be pretty tired of the whole renovation experience by now, but you’ll be almost there. If there are any news that you erected, they will need to be painted, and any other decorative touches should be attended to as well. It’s pretty simple to do these things by yourself. In most cases, all you need is a paintbrush and a tin of paint. After that, you should inspect the home and look for any faults or inconsistencies. When you are carrying out a lot of work on a property, it’s easy to make mistakes or fail to make everything look presentable. Check all the caulking and those small things that are easy to miss.
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