You bought an older home for several reasons, with the first one being the lower price. You also love the house’s location; it’s near parks, shopping, and close to the highway. After going through the first year to get an idea of the costs, you’re now ready to begin the process of restoration.
The Financing
Chances are high that your older home will need major updates to its plumbing and electricity as well as interior remodeling. Just those two repairs can cost upwards of $10,000.00 or more. Before you start the search for the perfect plumber, electrician, and contractor, you’ll need to have your financing in place. This way you’ll know the amount you can borrow and then, once you know the exact amount, you can figure out where the best places are to spend the money. Home equity loans are something that many homeowners apply for, especially when it comes to updating their home.
Get Several Quotes
You may be tempted by the finances secured to hire the first professional contractor just to get the process in motion. However, that would be a huge mistake followed by many regrets. This is not a process that you want to rush. Contact several professionals in each field and then acquire written, not verbal, quotes. Too many homeowners who hired the first contractor they met are still in the small claims courts across the states. Reputable, certified and properly insured are all requirements you should have when searching for a licensed professional to work on your home.
The Maybe’s
While plumbing and electrical work may be something you need to hire a professional for, there are many other projects that are much smaller and that you are able to complete yourself and save money. These may include things like replacing faucets, showerheads, and outlet covers. If you have an entire home to paint, you more than likely can do it yourself. However, there’s a lot of work involved in completing the project. In some cases, especially if you have a time-frame for the completion, hiring local painters will allow you to have all your ceilings and walls done in a matter of a couple of days.
The Exterior
Often, an older home that’s not maintained also needs work to be done on its exterior. Once again, this can run into a large sum of money. The roof is more than likely in good enough condition to pass an initial home inspection. However, the porch, steps, and yard may leave much to be desired. Luckily, these are not immediate things that you have to fix in order to live there. In the event that you have money left over from the HELOC, you can use the balance to start cleaning up your outdoors.
Other Decisions
Before investing in customizing the interior, you need to ask yourself a few questions. The first one would be how long you plan to live in the dwelling? Is it large enough to accommodate yourself and your family in the future? Or are you more than likely going to need to purchase a larger home in the next 5 years? The reason for these questions is to make a decision on the expense of the interior. For example, putting in stainless steel appliances and quartz countertops is something you would do for your own personal pleasure. The same applies to the quality of the cabinets and the flooring. This is not to say that you won’t need to spend money to have nice things. It’s simply that you want to get the most in return from your home for the short term.
Older homes have character and can be quite appealing to first-time homebuyers on a tight budget. With a few renovations and the willingness to do some of the work on your own, you can create a beautiful house worthy of calling home.
