Home Restoration: Choosing the Right Project

Full house renovation by Todd Thomas in progress

Home restoration – how to choose the right project

Although today’s market is not what it used to be, when it comes to undertaking restoration projects there is still good money to be made for the right investment. Here are some basic things to think about which can make the difference between success and failure.

You need to love property and enjoy the business of buying and selling; you should avoid stretching yourself too thin when it comes to the finances, and you must never underestimate a project’s cost, or confuse DIY you have done on your home with property development.

How to Find Homes and Buildings to Restore

Your first step is to get to know what the market is like where you want to buy, who lives there and who wants to live there. If you’ve got in mind a particular type of property you want to develop, you also need to establish that there’s a market for it. Get to know an area.

You can do a lot of research on the internet to get the low-down on property prices and crime statistics, plus neighborhood profiles on all kind of things, such as average earnings. Neighborhood Scout is an excellent site for researching real estate neighborhoods.

There’s no substitute for pounding the sidewalk, though. Even in half a day, you can find out a lot. If you’re a first-time developer, it’s easier to work with what you know, so stick to areas close to where you live.

It’s important to build a profile of the property you’re developing based on how it will be when your restoration is complete. This should involve location, number of rooms, layout and features.

Contact local real estate agents to find out what newly renovated properties that match your profile have sold in the last two months. Real estate sites are a treasure trove of helpful real estate information and location specific current listings and prices.

All you need to do is locate a real estate agent with an advanced Web site in the area that interests you. Look for blog posts about current market conditions, predictions of future demand, foreclosures and short sales. Here are some examples to give you an idea what you can find online.

Top real estate sites often provide neighborhood information like these details on San Diego Neighorhoods provided by SD Realty Pros. Many now also offer free MLS searches like this one for San Diego homes.

Team Nappi provides Tampa Foreclosure Listings, Tampa Short Sales and Tampa Bank Owned Homes. Others provide information on specific cities like these blog posts about AL Gulf Coast Cities.

Excellent real estate bloggers often know each other so look for lists like the one provided by Gulf Shores Real Estate under their Real Estate Friends section.

There’s a big difference between buying a house to live in and buying something to either resell, lease or rent. Buy where the opportunities are – not where you would like to live yourself. Make yourself a checklist:

1. How good is the local transportation? Is it near rail, subway or a good traffic route; what are local parking facilities like?
2. What about schools? Are there good schools? (These make areas desirable but more expensive). Universities and colleges can mean plentiful sources of tenants if you’re considering renting or leasing (but remember to consider summer lulls in your financial calculations and lease terms).
3. Are there good leisure facilities, such as health clubs, sports events, arts centers, parks and open spaces, restaurants and shops?
4. Beware of houses near problem schools, electrical high voltage or mobile phone towers, or that are under a flight path. Look out for signs of poor services or a neighborhood in decline such as litter, shabby street furniture or graffiti.

Every developer wants to be able to spot the next property hotspot and sell for a huge profit. Try not to get too hung up on this as no one knows for certain exactly where these hotspots are going to be. Often, what promises to be up-and-coming can take an age to become gentrified.

Signs of an area becoming more popular include new bars, restaurants and shops or estate agents’ offices, and construction equipment or large dumpsters outside houses, indicating they’re under renovation.

Save yourself a lot of time by looking out for businesses (such as the major high-street stores and coffee chains) that are planning to open up in the area. It’s worth a visit to the library to check out the local press to find out about major developments being planned or improved roads and services.

Areas next to already popular locations are also worth looking at. Anyone who can’t afford the desirable address will often move as close as they possibly can.

Start collecting home renovation ideas now. Once you get started, be on the lookout for home renovation discoveries hidden in walls, floors and ceilings.

When you’ve made your perfect selection, we can help you move your project on to the next stage.

Tagged as: architechture, building restoration, Home Improvement, Home Restoration