Of course you have seen a lot of home renovation programs. Asking this question definitely gets you an already obvious answer. It would be surprising if you have not encountered this kind of show as there are already a lot of home remodelling programs in the television. They are very entertaining to watch. The big problem, however, is that you are not so sure to which side these supposedly DIY renovations cater to. They might say that they offer assistance to families who intend to create some changes in their homes. The problem, though, is that these designers assume that the families who watch their show all have unlimited bank account to spend on the renovations and that each family family that watches their program have their own trusted personal designer and a group of 20 people to help them out for free. This idea would have been perfect only if it is the usual case.
These shows do not consider property investors as these programs do not take into consideration the value aspect vs. expenses factor. For property investors, the most important thing to consider would be to do renovations at a cost that would not hurt decisions on selling/renting/revaluing a certain property to avoid over-capitalising.
Something I’ve noticed is that when investors renovate property themselves, they self-design so that they don’t cut into their profit by spending money on a designer. Fair enough if the designer is going to chomp into your profit too much. However getting professional advice (or at the least following the pointers that follow!) will accelerate your chances of making a profit – just as using a real estate agent to sell your property will increase the probable sell price.
Get your mindset right. This renovation is not your own home and you do not have to live there. Consider your likely buyers or tenants and keep them in mind the whole time. Put away the pretty glossy magazines and get down to business! You are looking at what ‘hard’ changes (things that are fixed) to make rather than the ’soft’ (furniture, artwork) which is what you’ll find in most interior design magazines.
Make a list of every single element in every single room. And I mean every single element. For example in a kitchen you would itemise out: cabinetry carcass, doors, handles, kick-strip, bench-top, sink, tap, splashback, then the lighting, power points, flooring, window treatments, among others.
Price out all the work before you start. Get written quotes and only give the contractors the go ahead once you have ALL your pricing together. Always include a contingency. You will save yourself big headaches and probably some costly mistakes.
Tell a little white lie to the contractors or project manager about the expected completion date. Keep this to yourself and keep the pressure on as if this date were correct.
Visit the site briefly and frequently to resolve any issues and keep an eye on progress. Be as nice as pie to your contractors as they will be the ones to save you money if they LIKE you!
Pay your contractors on time after they have finished every last detail on your project.
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