Use your tradesmen – before you purchase. It doesn’t matter how many times you visit the property or how many people you take with you to look at it each time, you need to know how much is involved and what needs doing so take anyone you can think of and make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into. Roofers,, damp specialists, electrician, plumbers, timber specialists and other such professionals usually charge very little if anything to give you an estimate and explain what needs doing to you, so it is better for you to involve them and get this information before you make a commitment to the property. You’re really going to have to think things through, how much can you make off the property? How much are you able to spend on it? Your expenses will have to be carefully managed, if you’re going to spend more renovating the property than you would from selling it then obviously the task isn’t worth doing – even more so if it’s going to lose you money and take up a year of your time. And it isn’t just fixing the electrics and plumbing up that you need to think about, you have to decorate and create the space in a way that will make it desirable to buyers or tenants. A lot of time and effort will have to go into this process. You need to think very carefully about how you’re financing your efforts in this area, it would probably be beneficial to request financial advice however it is possible to gain a loan or use a small cash amount for the initial stages, make some small improvements to the home to remortgage it and this might pay for the rest. You should set yourself a careful budget as well as having around 15% more as a contingency fund in case of an emergency, this will prevent you from going bust in the worst case scenario. You need to ensure that the project is properly managed, it can be a difficult thing to do yourself so if you aren’t confident about it hire a project manager. You will need someone who can keep on track of when everything is being done, what everything is costing, how many hours people are working on everything, what has been done, what is yet to do and everything else involved in the project. It is an incredibly time consuming process and requires a lot of understanding and organization, which is why it is highly recommended you employ a professional. Author Bio:Katy enjoys writing about anything to do with home improvement. She is particularly interested in home extensions such as the Blenheim Orangery.
