One of the most interesting projects to take on is to buy an older home and turn it into something with value and character. Another advantage of old home renovation is that you can often make a very good return on your investment if you don’t spend too much, and you make good choices along the way. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of risk involved with bringing a new home back to life. You could discover too late that there are hazardous materials in the building which may be costly to remove. And it is also possible that there are problems with the foundation, or some of the services like plumbing and electricity. Before you buy, here are some of the most common project killers.
- Hazardous Materials: Back in the day you could build your house out of whatever you wanted. Many hazards were still unknown. Lead and asbestos are the two most common materials that show up. Lead can be in the plumbing, and in the paint, and maybe in some of the decorative features. There are home test kits you can buy to check your paint for lead. Asbestos can be hiding in your ceiling tiles, around your pipes, your insulation and roof tiles. There are services that can take care of asbestos roof removal in Perth. It is important to make sure all the hazardous waste ends up in a proper facility.
- Foundational Problems: Although easily spotted by experts, some people have got themselves into trouble purchasing a home with a bad foundation. It is possible that a foundation can be so bad that there is nothing to do but start over. Having a qualified inspector look at the home before you buy should keep this from happening to you.
- Incompatible Services: You might think you are buying a home that already has plumbing, electrical, and working HVAC. But if any of these services are not up to code, you could be looking at a substantial bill to start again from scratch. Once again, and inspector can save you a lot of trouble here.
Other problems that people run into are things like: The original materials are no longer manufactured, the room sizes are odd and difficult to change, and previous bad repair work must be torn out and started over. Flipping homes is a buyer beware situation. Experience is a great teacher, but houses are expensive. If you are wanting to renovate an old house, make sure you have expert opinions as often as you can. And remember there are no sure things in real estate.
