After quite a bit of deliberation and research (we were contemplating building a new home) we are now looking at buying an older home and doing some basic renovations.
We think that if we got a home at the right price we could renovate kitchen, bathroom, laundry and redo floors.
A few homes we have looked at seem to have leaks under the eaves maybe gutter problems or a broken tile, but this makes me feel a bit nervous...so thought I would come on here for some advice.
What would you look for when buying a home to renovate? And what is there to consider? Am going to check out a few of the blogs here
Think of your budget you want to spend, then add another 30% on top.
Get the electrical wiring checked, plumbing as well (sewer line checks).
Look for cracks, look for the big trees near the cracks, look for Asbestos.
Is it insulated?
If you have wooden floors, consider that if there's tiling on top, that it might take a long time and hard work to remove the tiles if board has been nailed and glued to the floor. Nearly forgot to mention, you might need new interior doors as a result of doing the floors, the doors now are too short and there's gaps galore everywhere.
That's not even looking at the key rooms... yet! By the time my hubby and I finish our place, we would have spent close to 30 - 35K. we're up to 18k at the moment, not including the fact that at some point we need to replace all the windows (He wants double glazing).
Save money by doing all the painting yourself. It's worth it.
I love renovating and have done over a dozen homes.
My advice is:
Buy the worst house on the best street. (location can vary from state to state - some states you are better off close to the beach, others close to the city)
Depending on how bad the place is, and whether you intend putting additions on, and whether it is being done up to keep or sell for profit, as to how much money you will need.
Doing up to sell, do everything you possibly can yourself, don't fall in love with the house or you will spend too much. The bathroom and kitchen are 2 areas where you need to get it right.
How much you spend doing it up to keep will depend on what luxuries you want.
My renos to sell have cost as little as $20,000 up to $110,000. Be careful though, you may like it and then life will never be the same again. A little warning, if you have kids and are going to live in the house whilst renovating, expect a lot of grief.
Get a building inspection done before you commit to buying. A good one will identify structural problems, termite problems and any urgent repairs required. Some houses need a good 10k spent on them before you even start to make visible changes. For example the house I recently bought had some termite damage and required sub floor work as a result. This also identified an issue with under house damp conditions which will require additional drainage outside. Including termite treatment thats 10k before I've even made any visible changes. Another problem I have is a roof that is sagging in parts - the question is do I ignore it as it's only asthetic or will this be a problem when it comes to resale? To re-tile or colorbond the roof after repairing would cost at least 15k. Older homes also tend to have poor insulation particularly houses built on stumps.
It's the things you can't see visually that can become the greatest expense and will not necessarily add value. So I guess it depends on whether you are renovating to sell or to live in. IMO renovating to sell and make profit in a declining market is not going to make you any money and possibly even loose some. My dream would be to buy the worst house in the best street and knock the thing down and build a new one - sometimes I wish a big tree would flatten my house so I could build it from scratch. That said I'm sure there is a certain amout of satisfaction in renovating as well as being alot cheaper than a full replacement.
we've only just started but I have to say that i wouldn't do a major reno for your first house. It's our first house but i have a family of builders telling me what to do all the time, all i have to do is what they say, rather than worrying about finding the tradespeople to do the work and having to instil trust in people i don't know.
i'm glad we are getting the experience but everything major in terms of $$ was completely hidden to our eyes