It can be an exciting time when it comes to thinking about renovating your home, but it’s important to bear in mind that it can be a huge commitment.
Make sure you get a building survey completed
A building survey will highlight any major issues – such as the requirement for a new roofing, or problems such as damp or structural movement. The survey will also highlight any further surveys you may need (such as a specialist asbestos report).
However, it’s worth bearing in mind that a surveyor will not always be able to uncover all of the problems that your house may have and they will not usually give you any idea of what renovations will cost to complete. Foundation repairs may be an aspect that is raised and any structural modifications will be noted.
Leave yourself time to prepare
It can be tempting to start work straight away, particularly if you intend to live in the house during the renovation. Let’s face it, no one wants to live on a building site longer than necessary.
However, it can pay to pause before starting work. This will not only allow you time to thoroughly prepare, but will also provide an opportunity to get to know the house. For instance, you can observe which rooms receive natural light throughout the day, and those spaces you naturally spend time in – and those which you don’t and need remodelling or work, accordingly. Plus, unless you’ve been lining up a builder or trades during the buying process, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to start for some months.
Watch out for damp
There are several causes of damp, with some more costly to fix than others. Damp is often obvious – water marks on floors and walls being tell-tale signs – but not always. Try damp roofing experts for a roof solution.
Causes range from leaking gutters and blocked drains (which are fairly simple to put right) to inappropriate modern interventions, such as cement renders, concrete floors and injected damp-proof courses which prevent an old building ‘breathing’. These are a little more costly to remedy.
Plan the schedule
Before starting any work on your renovation, draw up a schedule of works. Without a schedule the whole process can become chaotic, with tradespeople overlapping, and many jobs that could have been carried out at the same time to save on costs, may end up being undertaken separately.
A schedule lists what work needs to be done to the house, and in what order. In addition to having one schedule for the entire project, it is often helpful to break a project down into phases, such as ‘kitchen extension’, ‘moving bathroom upstairs’, ‘loft conversion’ and so on, and have a schedule for each.
Plan where you will be living
If the property you buy is uninhabitable, you will need somewhere to live while you make it liveable. If you want to stay in your old home while the work is carried out, some mortgage providers offer an option whereby you have your own home valued upfront, and then the sales figures for your property are taken into account for your borrowing needs.
Once you complete your renovation, or often just before, you’ll then put your old house on the market.
