Leigh’s Tips On PROPERTY

BUYING & RENOVATION

1. The Asking Price

You’ve got to be cheeky with your offers. I’d hate to have a first offer

accepted! That would tell me I’ve gone in way too high. When you are putting in an offer ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen? They’ll say no. I expect to get a no, but with that I also get an idea of the ball park for the follow up. Do the same when selling – be prepared to be cheeky and ask for a bit more – you may well get it.

2. Bargain Hunting

If you are looking to invest in property, do your research. There is now so much information on the internet that you can easily find the previous prices of properties, and prices in the street or area where you are looking, so you can work out what and where is good to buy before you even start viewing places.

3. Budget

This is the biggest mistake you can make when doing any renovations!

Obviously if you’re planning to stay in your property for the long term you’ll have a different budget to a purely profit based project. But either way, be strict with your budget and build in some contingency funding - 15 per cent of the total cost is an advised guideline.

4. Employing Tradesman

Decide exactly what work you want to undertake before asking for

any quotations. Detail what you want carried out in writing before any price is agreed. Trust is a big issue with any tradesman, so if you can get recommendations from friends that always helps. Sourcing Materials – Spending hours trawling the internet can save you a fortune. Especially if you’re not too specific with what you’re looking for and you have a bit of imagination. I used some great web sites for the bathrooms in my latest house; www.onlinebathrooms.com and

www.bathroomheaven.com

5. Managing the Project

You can employ someone to oversee your project, but I prefer to do it myself. Be prepared though, if you do this there are stresses in dealing with suppliers and tradesmen. However, you do save on cost and have no one else to blame when things aren’t getting done!

If you’d like advice on managing a project or you’re tempted by property development contact your PDM

www.theRPA.co.uk

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