Buying a home is one of the biggest things you’ll ever do in your life. Whether you’re finding your forever home to live in or a place that you want to do up and then either rent out or sell on for a profit, you want to ensure it’s done well. Unless you’re buying somewhere new, there are going to be things you’ll need to do up on a house, particularly if you’re purchasing a “doer-upper”. These houses tend to be cheaper, but do require a lot of work doing to them. If you have the time, money and inclination you can make a fantastic profit, plus it’s a chance to really make it your own. Think of it as basically a blank canvas that you can make into anything you want! If you’re purchasing a home to do up, we’ve put together some top skills and tips that can help you out.
Top tips for purchasing a home
When you purchase a home there are many things that you want to take on board. It can be a bit of a minefield so coming mentally prepared can help ensure it all goes smoothly.
- Look past the decor and appearance of a home. These cosmetic changes can easily be amended by you and instead you should focus on the bare-boned structure of the building
- Consider how much you want to spend and what you will need to purchase first. If there’s a lot that needs doing to the house, will you do the kitchen and bathroom first? How much will you roughly want to spend on these?
- Think about the area the home is in. If a place is too cheap, it could be that the area’s not very nice. Whether you’re looking to live there yourselves or sell it on to someone else, you want the area to be one that you feel safe and has good reselling value.
- Have an idea in mind of how many bedrooms and rooms you want. If it isn’t quite right, is there an extension you can add? Could you knock two rooms into one? These are all things to think about when you’re looking around the property.
- Find out the condition of the house itself. Are the works that need doing purely cosmetic? Or do you need to redo things such as the plumbing and electrics? These can be more time consuming and expensive.
Useful skills to have when purchasing a home to do up
When you’ve purchased a home that you’re going to do up, it can be useful to have a certain set of skills. Having set skills can save you money when it comes to getting help in to do up certain parts of the house and will also be useful for the future too! Transferable skills are always a useful thing to have under your belt. Some of the best skills we recommend you have (or learn) when purchasing a house includes:
Plumbing
Plumbing is a vital aspect to any house, after all, running water is essential for drinking, cooking, showering, washing and more. If you have plumbing skills, not only will you be able to fix any issues that might arise while doing up the house, but also identify them before they can become a bigger problem. From knowing the parts to buy, such as a Black Threaded Pipe to knowing how to fix problems, you’ll be covered. You might need an expert for some of the most advanced issues, but you still stand to save a lot of money and have it be more convenient.
Electrics
If you’re a dab hand at knowing your electrics you’ll be a useful person to have around during a house move! Electrics, as with the water, are a vital aspect to your home. There are a lot of elements to knowing electrics and it’s worth doing a course or researching online so you know how to sort them out. You might need additional help with more complex matters but knowing the basics can be super useful for spotting problems and fixing basic issues. Remember to always be safe when playing with electrics and ensure you know what you’re doing.
Decorating
Decorating is another useful skill to have and will mean you can do up your house without the need for external help. There are many parts to knowing how to decorate depending on how in-depth you want to go. You could learn how to prep walls ready for painting or wallpapering, you could learn the best ways to paint and apply paper and also how to plaster. You could find out the best way to lay flooring and how to figure out what will work in a space and how to remove things that are there already.
Interior design
Having an eye for interior design will be invaluable when it comes to purchasing a home. Knowing the art of where to put things and how to design spaces to make the most of the room that is there will come in handy when it comes to the creative aspects of sorting the appearance of your home. You will also know how to make cheaper items look more expensive, what colours will work well together, what colours will make the space look bigger and how to get the most from the rooms you’re in.
These are just a few things for you to keep in mind when you’re purchasing a home to do. There are so many benefits to getting a home that’s begging for a bit of TLC and for you to put your own stamp on it. From saving money with the actual purchase to being able to make it look exactly how you want it, there’s a lot you can make the most of. What are some top tips you have for skills that come in useful when purchasing a home? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
