Top tips for aspiring renovators

News at Waterfords | 24/05/2017


Whether you are looking for a blank canvas and to cosmetically improve to your taste, or want to gut an entire building and turn it into our dream home, be sure to read our top tips!

Finding a project

Complete wrecks are highly sought after and often get snapped up quickly as they cause more excitement in the property market than your standard home for sale. If you’re looking for a project it’s really important to ensure you are registered with all the estate agents in the area to ensure you are one of the first to know when a potential project comes to the market. Being registered with local estate agents means you will receive information about the property before it even touches Rightmove or Zoopla, putting you at a competitive advantage.

Setting your budget

If you’ve ever watched the Channel 4 TV show Grand Designs, or know someone who has undertaken a renovation project, you will undoubtedly know that unexpected costs are part of the process. Therefore preparing an accurate and carefully planned budget is essential, along with some contingency funds too.

Getting permission

If the home you’ve set your heart on is listed, you will most likely need Listed Building Consent for any work you undertake, both inside and outside the renovation project. Extending or changing a listed building without consent is a criminal offence so it’s vital that you investigate this fully before you buy the property/plot and preferably before you start work on the project.

Where will you live?

It might be possible to temporarily camp out in one or two rooms while the renovation is carried out. However, for larger projects, you’ll probably need to live elsewhere while the builders do their thing. Therefore it is a good idea to factor in the cost of potential temporary accommodation to your overall budget. If you want to be nearby and have a hands on role with the project, you even could decide to hire a mobile home on site. With forward thinking and careful planning, there are lots of creative ways to get around the issue of where to live while the work goes on.

Being realistic about the finish

Even though you plan to create the home of your dreams, it is unlikely that you will get exactly everything you want in every single room! To be more realistic, prioritise the things you’re going to invest in, like the bathrooms and kitchen for example, and be prepared to make compromises elsewhere in the property along the way. For example, in order to manage budgets well, furniture could be acquired bit by bit, rather than in one fell swoop.