Refurbishment of a property is something that many people feel that can do easily. But if you have seen some of the disasters which I have, then you would appreciate there is some skill involved.

The main word which applies to any project, but very importantly to property renovation and refurbishment is Planning. This is without doubt the most vital first action – taking time at this stage is essential, and worthwhile to save time, energy and money later.

Once you have found a property to renovate, or if you are renovating/refurbishing an owned property, take some time to make a list of the work to be done. With your own property of course you will want to make a full list. With a property to be purchased for renting then the list needs to be divided into essential jobs, that must be done, and those that are not so urgent but will add value and make the house more rentable.

So list for essentials and list for non-essentials but that will add value.
I personally believe that the most worthwhile properties to renovate are the Victorian houses, built mainly between 1875 and 1900 of which there are thousands in most towns and cities in the country. The reasons are simple. They are built with solid brick walls, (no dreaded cavity walls), with seasoned timber and with rooms of good proportions. They are also very popular with buyers.

So back to Planning. It’s probably easier to mention some disasters I have seen to illustrate where planning has been non-existent.

• The house which was completely and delightfully decorated and then at the first hint of rain, the roof leaked!

• Or the house where dry rot was discovered at the point when the vendor was selling the house and the mortgage surveyor demanded major works, of the order of £5000.

• Or the house where some fool decided to remove a chimney breast without considering the weight of the stack poised above (see photo)

Planning is the art of foreseeing all the problems BEFORE YOU START TO DO ANYTHING, and preferably before you agree to buy the property. I will be covering the tips and tricks to buying the property that you want at the right price, later in these articles. That also is an art which you can learn.

For a property that you are thinking of purchasing either for yourself or for investment – just look at the property from the kerb and judge whether major work needs doing. Take a good overall look at the house from the front first. You can visually see quite a lot of the features of the property just from standing some distance and looking. Taking photographs here too is a good idea. Start from the top

• Roof and chimney breasts – type of roof, any tiles slipped, condition of roof (in comparison with others in the street)
• does the roof sag in the middle?
• gutters and down pipes – do these look decayed, broken, leading, is there wet or discolouration on the walls around or underneath?
• window frames – condition, good, rotted, flaked paint, type – wooden, plastic,
• brickwork – good condition, crumbling
• door – attractive, type, need repainting?
• front garden and gate if any – condition?

The plan here is to decide what items can be repaired or replaced cheaply and which will be expensive. Don’t forget, you are not looking to buy a perfect house, but one which needs refurbishing.

If you can, also look at the side and rear aspects of the property with this list in mind. Give yourself time on this inspection.

Obviously in order to complete your initial assessment, you will need to get into the house. If it’s empty, that will be much easier than if it is full of furniture.

However the essential points are much the same.

First thing to do on entering the house – is to SMELL. Take a deep breath and smell the house. Seems odd? No not at all, many disturbing conditions can be detected from scent.

• Is there a smell of mushrooms when you go into the house, this could indicate dry rot.

• Smell of damp or mustiness, indicates leaks, damaged damp course or no damp course at all (Some vendors will try to hide dampness by covering it with furniture, but the scent of damp can still be obvious.)

When inspecting the house further watch for:-

• wet patches on the ceiling (Leaky roof)

• or at floor level on the downstairs rooms (rising damp)

• check windows and window frames for dark mould – damp/condensation

• check for rotting wood, skirting boards, window sills

Next point to check is the fuse box, does it look an old pattern in which case the wiring will need replacing.

Now for the other rooms

• Does the bathroom look antique?
• Is the kitchen modern or due for replacing and a new one installed?

And finally what are the decorations like.

I once looked at a house where the ceilings were painted black and the walls deep purple. Not easy to sell a property like that (unless you know any friendly Goths!) So you will almost always need to re-decorate the property since the appearance is what sells houses.

So to sum up, before you agree to buy your dream renovation project, take a very careful look inside and outside and then do your costings. I will explain how to do this in detail in future articles and this will dictate if you make a healthy profit or a thumping loss.

In my ecourse Property Development for Profit, I thoroughly walk you through all of these points in great detail. There is a special offer for Just Do Property customers which still includes all the ecourse, the extra ebooks and the personal consultations with myself.

In future articles I am looking forward to explaining more details that the professional refurbisher needs to know.

If you would like to ask Dennis a question click here

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