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Home & Garden Articles
Tips For Choosing a House For Renovation
Wed 20 May 2009 - 10:43
Tips For Choosing a House For Renovation
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Duncan_Wilson]Duncan Wilson
If you are a first timer, delving into the home improvement/house renovation world for the first time, you may want some help with the initial choosing of the house. Often your heart speaks louder than sense, but at a time like this, when there is so much money involved, it is important to suppress your heart somewhat and go with what the facts are saying.
Here, I've enlisted my top five tips when it comes to choosing the right renovation project:
1. The most important, and indeed obvious, thing to do when buying any home is to get a proper building report carried out by a professional building surveyor. This will highlight any structural defects the property may have and will simply save you from parting with your money on a house that is due to fall down next year. Some areas may offer additional property reports, often held at the local council offices. Ours were called LIM report and Property Bag. The LIM (Land Information Memorandum) basically told us everything the property had been through since it was built, i.e. any additions, extensions, refused permissions to build, past issues, etc. The Property Bag had the blueprints for the original house, details of how the septic tank was installed and operated and lots of other information on the building. I strongly recommend you view these or their equivalents, where available.
2. Are cosmetics the main problem with the house? Can you envisage the interior looking fantastic with just a new coat of paint and a new carpet? If so, this is looking good.
3. Get a second opinion. Take a friend or family member, preferably someone with DIY or renovation experience to have a look around the house with you. Ask them for their opinions and ideas. Attempt to suss out whether they would buy the property, if in your situation. Don't try and cannonball them into agreeing to help at this stage! Save that for the house-warming...
4. Write down the first five or ten things you want to change and have a look online for some job costs. I know you will probably do the work yourself, but it's a good idea to get a worse case scenario quote, just in case you decide against carrying out the work yourself.
5. What chattels are included in the sale? Often chattels will include the stove/cooker and an open fire/log burner. They usually won't include paintings, vases or anything of this nature, even if the home isn't lived in. Real estate agents often hire items like these in to assist with the sale. If you are going to be relying on any of these items being included in the sale, ensure you check they are in good working order. Also, from the time you declare the sale unconditional to the time you move in, try to make a final inspection visit. Check these items are still present and in the same condition.
Want to read about lowering renovation costs? Read my article on [http://www.youmakeahome.com/general/renovating-cost/]lowering home renovation costs. You can also follow the progress of my own home renovation at [http://www.youmakeahome.com]youmakeahome.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Duncan_Wilson http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-For-Choosing-a-House-For-Renovation&id=2358644
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