If you happen to be new to real estate investment, then you will likely feel excited when you end up closing escrow on the first purchase you make. It’s a powerful feeling, making headway on your new career, but there are many ways you can improve your abilities and presence on the market – if you know what you’re doing.
There is a lot of hard work involved in being an exceptionally good real estate investor, as you will soon find out, especially when you need to renovate a new investment property. The following tips will give you more information on making it work and how you can improve what you already own:
Budgeting of time and money
When closing time comes around, you will likely have a list of improvements you may have in mind, but you will need to place those in a suitable budget. Repairs will also need to be completed within a month’s time if you want to be able to rent the property out and generate profits without losing your momentum on the market. Once you realize that most improvements will be quite costly, chances are you will need to revise your budget and let some of your ideas go. Be careful in such cases and do your best to do so when you estimate a low-price and quick renovation.
Avoid taking the first bid
You need to check out several bids to ensure you get a fair price for your contracting work that needs doing. The more expensive the job that needs doing, the more bids you need to get. This will quickly become time-consuming and exhausting, but it will be well worth the effort since you can get less expensive bids in the long run. The legwork will take time, so be prepared for what comes ahead.
Flooring issues
Flooring options may include tiles, carpeting, vinyl, wood laminate and hardwood among other solutions. Tiles work great for high moisture areas for obvious reasons, but wood laminate can be much easier to clean in the long run. Carpeting may not be all that great for rentals due to easy staining, plus not every tenant will like the style and color of the carpet, which means you may need to consider other options.
Checking for electrical and plumbing issues
If your chosen property has been built 20 years back or more, then you often need to deal with replacing water valves and electrical wiring. You would do well to have some electricians and plumbers early on, getting some bids and working on it. You will likely need to do some serious junk removal to empty the property, so consider hiring a clearance company to make this happen more easily. You may also need to do this once the contractors are done working, dealing with waste removal as well to keep the place looking good. Water valves and hoses will pose a big risk for flooding, so you will need to change them out even if they look like they may be alright. Electrical covers and outlets may not be a big risk, but they may look pretty worn or out of style, so they may be changed as well for a few short hours.
This guest post is written by Ella Andrews, an avid blogger by hobby, and copywriter by profession. Informational credit to: expert rubbish removal company
