January 9, 2014

3 Tips for a Successful Renovation

Renovations are a stressful process! Be sure to follow these great tips from our guest blogger Julie Broad of revnyou.com

You’ve snagged a great deal but it needs a full update. In our case it was a fabulous family home in Nanaimo, BC which we picked up for $278,000.

This home is located in an area where houses of this size sell for $350,000 – $400,000. It was in it’s original 1970’s condition and the market was in a winter slow down. The seller was under pressure from his girlfriend to “just sell” so they could buy a new place together. We got a great deal and a big renovation project.

Our renovation, which included all flooring, a new kitchen, a full interior paint job and 3 bathroom renovations, was on time and on budget! Total renovation cost was just under $35,000 and the new value, according to the bank appraisal was $340,000.

To create this kind of success here are three major tips to help your renovation project:

1 – Project Planning! Plan the project, get the quotes and line up your trades BEFORE you close on the property. Look at your plan and identify where the bottlenecks will be so that you can focus on pushing those items forward. Make a list of who is doing what and when it is scheduled to be complete. And make a GIANT shopping list to carry with you everywhere.

2 – Is Not Just the Price: Ask a lot of questions – especially of the cheapest quote and the most expensive quote. Often the cheap quotes are leaving a lot of things out that the expensive quotes build in. Make sure you know precisely what is and is not included before you decide who to hire for your job. Often the cheapest quote can end up costing you more than the other quotes if you aren’t paying attention to what is and is not included.

3 – Buy On Sale: With your list in hand, start noting the retail prices at the major stores of the items. Watch for sales. In our major renovation project above, I started by taking photographs of the major items we needed with their price tags. For example, I was watching for laminate flooring deals, kitchen cabinet sales and bathroom vanity discounts. With my list in hand at all times, I was always able to price check items. When some of the major items like flooring and kitchen cabinets were on sale I pounced and loaded up. For the other items, find the best deals and buy as much as you can in one day to negotiate discounts – even if it’s getting delivery thrown in for free. The Home Depot truck rental is a brilliant way to transport your bulk purchase. The first 75 minutes were only $20 plus gas which worked out to $50 for us basically. It didn’t exactly drive like a dream on the road but it was functional and saved us a TON of delivery charges.

And, of course, add time and money to your plan for contingency. Stuff happens …and in renovations it almost always happens when you didn’t plan for it.

 

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Julie Broad has been investing since 2001, is the Amazon #1 Bestselling author of ‘More than Cashflow’, and is a sought after expert and speaker across Canada, appearing on multiple tv shows like CTV News and GlobalTV. Connect with her at her award winning website www.revnyou.com.