If you are into purchasing homes to renovate and sell at a profit, you have to be ever more careful with your budget so it’s important to get home renovation advice from the experts. Then at the end of the day, you will actually get something back – and hopefully, enough to make the whole deal worthwhile, otherwise you’ll be wasting time, effort and money, not to mention going backwards financially.
It’s important to start from the end and work backwards when working out your budget. Know what good homes like the ones you are buying are bringing in that location so you’ll get a good idea of what you’ll get when you sell. Then you can subtract the buying price and what you’ll spend on renovations. If your sums don’t add up to a profit, don’t buy that flipper, or find ways to save on the renovations needed.
Once you know it’s a good prospect for a flipper, you can go ahead with peace of mind and enjoy the challenge of renovating. That brings us to the question, what kind of renovations bring the best return on investment?
- Kitchen renovations are always a good idea since no one wants to work in an old-fashioned, inefficient kitchen. It might be possible to renew the lighting, bench tops, cupboard doors and windows.
- Painting the inside of the home adds good value because it makes the home look almost new and can change a drab and dreary home into something light, airy and welcoming for a smallish cost.
- Bathrooms are a good bet. By adding a frameless glass shower stall and/or a new bath, or by having new tiles, the bathroom can be easily modernised. Even easier fixes are new taps, a paint job on the ceiling and untiled walls, new taps and different or more storage. You might also consider a larger window to let more light in.
- The facade is an important renovation detail. If the home has street appeal buyers will be encouraged to look inside. Even painting the front door and trim, cleaning mould off the footpath and swinging a new gate will make a big difference. Add some shrubs and a new mailbox and the front of the house will say, “Come in.”
- What you do will depend on the condition of the various elements in the home. It might be necessary to get rid of all the old carpeting. What you do after that will depend on what you find underneath. If you are lucky there will be real timber floors that only require sanding back and polishing.
- Since heating water is a big part of the electricity bill, adding solar-assisted hot water is sure to be a winner. But be sure you point it out to potential buyers, since they may be busy looking at other more visible things.