New Landlords: Making Renovation Plans

08 Nov New Landlords: Making Renovation Plans

When making your first property investment, you are bound to get that ‘first buy’ excitement. That’s totally normal. After the initial excitement wears off, it’s time to get to work with renovations. Depending on the condition of the property renovations may take more or less of your time. It helps if you break down the renovations into smaller parts, otherwise it may become over whelming. However, having a renovation plan will ease the tensions and help to get things done more efficiently.

First look at the property thoroughly, making sure to write down all items needs to be fixed and prioritize projects accordingly. This is your ticket to monthly wealth or selling values. The better the renovations on the property, the better your chances of getting the asking prices you want. These are six major areas that you need to remember during these times: Budget your time wisely, expect to invest lots of sweat, don’t take your first bid on the home, do painting and flooring, check all plumbing and electrical, and lastly don’t buy low priced supplies in order to save money.

Budgeting your time:

When starting a major renovation of a property, you have to ensure that your time is being used properly. There will be days when there just doesn’t seem to be much to do, but don’t get caught up in that-THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO! The first step is to do a thorough investigation of the property. Look for things such as roof issues, water and/or fire damage and other issues that should be fixed that may take longer. Once you identify the major issues you can then proceed in making a plan to make renovations accordingly.

Getting your hands dirty: 

Now this is the good stuff, getting your hand dirty and fixing the broken. After you have mapped out the damages, it becomes easy to plan what needs to be fixed and in what order. If you want to speed things up it would behoove you to do more than one project at a time. When working alone this may become more hassle than good. Once you have found the plan suitable to your needs it’s time to get to work. Always remember when making renovations, although there are many things you can do on your own, when in doubt, call a professional in the field of the damaged and get it done right the first time. You don’t want to redo a renovation project, that can cost more money and time than you may have.

Just say NO to the first bid:

It is always exciting to get a bid on a property, but it feels even better when you can get an offer that allows for all of your work to be repaid. Usually the first bid is lower than what you want or is just enough for you to get your money back without a full payout. The more expensive the job, the higher the bid should be.

Painting and floors are a MUST:

Don’t waste your time telling yourself the floors and the paint can stay until later. These are easy to fix and are a MUST when renovating any home. This is especially important in homes older than 10 years. The price may be costly but it is well worth it when it adds value to your bids and/or the rent you will receive. Painting should be fairly easy. Using natural colors throughout the entire house makes it easy to do any touch ups along the way. There are many types of flooring that can be used but you have to consider all options. For kitchens and bathrooms, it is better to use tile because these areas hold moisture and can lead to bigger issues. Wood laminate looks great, it’s durable and easy to clean. Carpet is slowly starting to fade its way out of homes and for great reason. It stains easily, and if you are renting to others they may want something different with each new tenant. You can find pretty good prices if you shop around. Many prices may even include installation.

Check the plumbing and electrical:

Rule of thumb with renovations, any house over 10-20 need their water and electrical outlets replace. This should be one of priority tasks on your renovation plan. Get your bids early, this is something you would do while the property is empty. Plumbing issues such as water valves, supply line hoses, washing machine and dish washer hoses and drains are high risk for floods and leaks. Even if after you check the property and you don’t feel the need to change anything, DO IT ANYWAYS, change everything! Electrical does not pose such a high risk but they usually look horrible because of all the coats of paint. This is as easily done as getting an electrician to change all the outlets and on/off switches in maybe a day or less.

No lowest-priced supplies:

Things can get a little pricey but don’t just buy the least expensive supplies because the first bid was not what you wanted. You don’t want to end up buying the more expensive supply items that could in the long run create avoidable budget issues.

Although these are basic guidelines, in order to get the best result, it is necessary to seek guidance from more experienced real estate investors who knows the areas. This may not be a walk in the park but the advice will be great and you need all of the information you can get. Being a real estate investor is hard and still rewarding.