Guy Robinson
Senior Director, Head of Residential Agency
If you’re planning on buying a home to renovate, there are plenty of things you’ll need to consider. We guide you through how to find your perfect renovation project…
Location, location, location
Getting the right home for renovation doesn’t start with the structure or condition of the property. Like all good property purchases – whether it’s a holiday home, buy-to-let or investment property – location is king.
As with any property purchase it pays to know the area. Everything from staying up to date with local house prices, to knowing of any new developments, can help make sure you pay the right price for your project.
For those fixed on a certain location it pays to know it well. This means staying in touch with your estate agent for possible bargains and even driving around looking for potential projects. If you do spot something you feel is an option, find out who owns it. It might be that they had no plans for it and would be willing to sell privately.
It the property has been empty for longer than two years, you could benefit from reduced VAT costs. The government has reduced VAT to 5% for renovations of homes empty for two years or more.
Also, regularly check local council planning websites for any large developments nearby. Homes that are being renovated to sell or rent could have their value affected if there’s a large influx of new homes.
If you’re renovating with an eye to adding value – even if you don’t plan to sell for a number of years – look at the price ceiling for the area. A £250,000 property that needs £200,000 of work might seem like a bargain, but if the most a property has sold for in that postcode is £400,000 then you could struggle to break even when you come to sell.
Access also needs to be considered. Not just to the land, but also to qualified tradespeople. An old cottage in the middle of the countryside might look ideal, but if you can’t get large vehicles up to it, or there’s no plumber for 100 miles, the cost of your renovation could rapidly rise.
Look for easy fixes
Renovating a home – whether to live in or sell for a profit – can be a big and costly project. When looking for the right property, find ones that have easy fixes. This doesn’t mean just giving them a lick of paint, but it does mean knowing what adds the most value or desirability for the least cost and effort.
How much work you want to do on your renovation property comes down to a number of factors, from how experienced you are at DIY, to the time and money you can invest in it. But there are a few easy fixes to look for in potential properties that can transform it from a project into a home.
Decorative fixes are a good place to start. Properties being sold with dated wallpaper, dark paint work or strangely coloured bathroom suites can often put everyday buyers off. When repainting, check the quality of the plasterwork to avoid cracking down the line.
And while some these are seen as big jobs for someone looking to move in right away, if you’re considering renovating, these are easy fixes and shouldn’t put you off. Even changing a bathroom suite from dated pistachio to a modern white can be done in a day or two.
Lucy Clark, co-director of The Olive Design Studio, says: “It’s important to invest in a property that has potential to add to over time, even if you can’t afford to do it straight away – such as loft extensions, basements, or reconfiguring the spaces so you can really add value to your home.”
Updating and refreshing architectural details is a great way to add personality and value to your property, says Lucy.
“We completed a development project for a Strutt and Parker client at Godfrey Street. The client had a specific budget so structural alterations were to be avoided to keep costs to a minimum. We updated most of the architectural details being sympathetic to the property. This included the cornice, skirting, architraves, doors and ironmongery.”
A good tip is to have a budget set for such work beforehand, and then to take a builder along with you on viewing to give you a better idea of how much it would cost and how long it will take.
For bathrooms, Lucy recommends they’re done in a timeless manner so they don’t date and that the existing soil stack is taken into account when reconfiguring bathrooms. This will ensure no additional plumbing costs are incurred.
Also carry out a water pressure test to ensure the new sanitary ware can cope with the existing plumbing system in place.
And check for planning permission on a property. It could be that plans have already been approved to extend, dig down into the basement or demolish the garage block. If so, this could mean you can get to work right away instead of having to hang around for weeks, waiting for planning to go through.
Uncover major issues
That empty farm building and derelict mansion may have stood that way for so long for good reason. They might seem like a bargain and full of potential, but the reality is that probably no one’s touched them because they’re bound to have some major issues that are just too much to tackle.
Aside from taking a builder along, there’s someone else you’ll need when purchasing a renovation property – a surveyor. Even the most ambitions renovation projects would be stalled by finding major structural issues with a property. These can include rotting timbers and faulty foundations.
Take care when buying any home that has been abandoned or derelict for many years. If roof tiles have come off then water could have seeped into everything, undermining its structural integrity, especially in older buildings that have timber frames.
Movement cracks are common in older homes so shouldn’t instantly put you off. But if you can fit your finger into a crack, it’s worth getting it checked, as it could be a sign of subsidence.
Asbestos is worth checking for before you agree to buy a property. Any home over 30 years old could have asbestos in the floor or walls. Left alone, it shouldn’t cause any issues but if you’re planning on installing new flooring or adding insulation, you could disturb the toxic substance.
Rewiring and plumbing issues, while manageable, can also end up taking time and costing money. These are rarely contained to a single area and will often mean a total overhaul of the systems.
Lucy adds: “A lot of the properties we have renovated have dated lighting and electrics and it is so important these are up to industry and building regulation standard.
“What is important is that you future-proof the wiring to CAT 5 or 6 so you can add high-tech audio visual down the line when budget allows.”
Finally, look out for homes that are located in Conservation Zones or National Parks, or ones that are listed. While they are often full of charm, you can be limited in what you’re allowed to do with them, and the materials you can use.