Renovations can be costly, and if you are unlucky to experience any mistakes or mishaps, they can wind up turning a profitable project into a money trap.
If you’re an owner building looking to start a project, be sure to keep some of these common renovation mistakes in mind ahead of your next project and avoid these common renovation disasters.
-Bad painting – inferior painting can be costly to fix, and it is far more technical than most expect so be sure to engage the professionals if you know have the know-how to do it yourself properly.
A house paint should including filling in any cracks with filler, sanding back the area until smooth, cleaning the walls and ceilings if there is any mould and doing an under coat and a few top coats.
If you don’t have time to do this properly, you could end up with a botched paint job which can be a major turn-off to prospective property investors and home owners.
-Avoiding repairs or faults – it’s important to have a genuinely thorough look at your property and fix any obvious faults during the renovation rather than putting this off until later.
If you have a big crack in the roof, or if you have something that needs to be fixed, don’t cover it up and hope for the best - fix everything, including leaking taps, broken fences and wobbly tiles.
- Ensure all work is up to standard – it’s tempting to provide a quick fix when you are an owner building looking to flip the house and move on in record time, but you should ensure any maintenance or renovations are not patch up jobs but properly carried out and meet standards.
If there are any issues you may be liable, and a property inspector will more than likely pick it up anyway, and you’ll have to fix it at your cost down the track.
- Spending too much – if you are buying to renovate and sell you need to consider than any overspending will take cash directly out of your potential earnings from the renovation so be thrifty and don’t overspend on your budget for unnecessary items.
Have a list of negotiable and non-negotiable items for your renovation and don’t budge!
Owner builders should always have both eyes open when it comes to renovations and keep their eyes on the prize. If you’re looking to renovate and sell quickly your budget and undertaking good quality work so you get a quick sale should be in the forefront of your mind.
If you’re passionate about renovating and looking to become an owner builder we have the qualification to suit your needs. We offer a fair trading approved certification via an online owner builder course that is suitable for NSW and QLD residents.
To find out more click here to discover everything you need to know about becoming an owner builder today.