Rehabilitating a house quickly
Whether you have just bought a house that needs to be fixed up, or you are an investor who buys houses in need of some work in order to sell them, there are many things to know about rehabilitating a house.
Of course, if you know the tricks of the trade, you will find that there are ways to make fixing up a house a lot easier and faster.
An article posted on www.reidepot.com by Dan Auito, “Complete home rehab in ten days,” tells some insider secrets into doing a complete rehab in a very short amount of time.
Obviously, depending on your skill level and expertise, it could take longer than ten days to complete. Also, if the house is in really bad shape, things could take longer.
Before you even buy a home to rehabilitate, consider a few of the points discussed in this article because it will save up a lot of time and money in the long run.
If you make sure a few of the most important aspects of the home are not damaged, you will have a much easier time completing the remodel/renovation.
The most important things to look at before starting a rehab is the heating, electrical and plumbing systems. If these systems are in tact, then you will have much easier time completing your remodel.
“These are things that are expensive to correct in relation to the value they return to you upon resale. Most often, people cannot see the inner workings of these systems and they take them for granted.”
“After all, it is mandatory in most, if not all states that you fill out a disclosure form that tells the buyer of every defect that exists or ever has to your knowledge. So inspect the systems of your investment alternatives carefully, as they can be expensive to repair and replace, with minimum dollar return value being realized at the sale.”
Also, be sure that the roof and foundation are also okay. This could mean getting pretty dirty.
“If you have a crawl space, it's time to get your coveralls on and get in there. Now, let's use our heads here and I mean this! Before you enter a dark, supposedly uninhabited, infrequently entered, dark and restrictive to movement area, assess the situation. Ask someone who has knowledge of the dwelling if there has been any animal activity that they know of. You may also encounter bees, wasps, ants, spiders, snakes, slugs, mosquitoes, rats, mice and a host of other inhabitants. Beware and be prepared. It's truly another world in some cases.”
Once you have checked the structure, foundation and roof, you can move on to other parts of the home. Take a good look at the floor since people will be using it everyday!
“Floor coverings fall under the label of cosmetics. That's such a pretty word and that's what you want to concentrate on: cosmetics. So the floors pass my test for sub-flooring and structural integrity is great. Now I can check that the walls are square because they are attached to that floor, and then I can check that the doors all operate properly and are square too.”
After you have made sure that everything is structurally sound, call in the painters, landscapers and all around fixer-uppers to really transform your house.
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