Many real estate investors and homeowners perceive the ‘what to do’ as the biggest challenge in successful home improvement projects, but timing can be just as critical.
Get the order of your scope of work wrong and you’ll see returns drop, projects taking a lot longer than expected, and of course plenty of increased frustration, if not sabotaging your project altogether.
Budget is a big part of this. If there are big uncertainties about the vastness and costs of a potential item like electrical wiring or plumbing you might want to tackle those early. It would be terrible to paint and put in new cabinets or marble bathrooms and glass enclosed showers only to have to rip everything back out and redo it later because a home’s wiring or plumbing need to be completely replaced.
However, this extends down to smaller things too. For example; painting the roof or the walls first, or when to install flooring, as well as even when to bring new appliances or materials on site when they could be damaged by different contracting teams or even stolen.
There are also frequent debates about when to begin advertising or showing a home for sale when you are rehabbing or making over a property. Some want to wait until everything is complete. This can have its advantages, but so can marketing from day one to capture additional buyers and perhaps sell quickly before more money is invested and holding costs begin to eat away at profit margins.
With this in mind; while some might instinctively feel they ought to worry about cosmetics first; it is often the more daunting structural issues which scare off most buyers and can have the most positive impact on home improvement projects.
In fact, many in the market for buying a home may rather pay a little less for a property and add the finishing cosmetic design touches that really fit their tastes rather than paying for them to be redone as soon as they close on the place. Therefore, it is important to familiarize yourself with the most in demand features.
So before you pick up that hammer or paint brush, place that order, or head off to Home Depot again; make sure your home renovation time line is tweaked and ready to ensure a smooth project, while maximizing potential returns and net proceeds from the sale.
