When we moved into our home over six years ago, we had to renovate the whole place. We bought the house off the only owner the home had had since it was built in the 50s. And nothing against the previous owners, but as they got older, it became apparent that they hadn’t done any work to the home for a long time. The house needed everything doing to it to bring it into the 21st century. The electrics, double glazing, new kitchen, new bathroom, new central heating; everything.

It was a lot of work, but it has helped us to add value to it. Since 2010, when we bought the home, it is now expected to go on the market for nearly £200,000 more than we bought it for. I know some of that will be the general house price inflation, but a lot of it has got to be down to the work we did on it.

So if you’re thinking of buying a house that needs renovating, or want to make some home improvements to add some value to your home, here are my tips for doing so.

Know How You’re Financing It

It is no surprise that renovating your home can cost a lot of money. What you want to do will depend on the cost, though. So you need to have a plan in mind of how you are planning to finance it. It might be savings, it might be a loan, you might remortgage to release some equity to finance the improvements. Research from Saga has shown that 61% of people that release some equity in their home, use their money for home improvements. So it certainly is an option.

Set a Strict Budget

When you know how you’ll be financing it, you need to have an idea of how much it is going to cost. So ask around and get some quotes for the work, if you won’t be doing it yourself. Getting at least three quotes is a good indicator if someone is wanting to rip you off or not. But if they’re all a similar amount, then you know that is the rough going rate. If you’re doing the work yourself, then take your time to do your homework. You want to get the best materials you can afford to do the job. So shop around and look for the best prices.

We had a pretty strict budget, though it was quite generous. We knew we had to not go over it. So after getting some professionals in to do work, we did the rest of it ourselves. Luckily, nothing went wrong so we were able to stick to it.

Work Room By Room

Because we moved in and the whole house was a state, we chose to do everything all at once. And to be honest, that was mega tough. I can’t imagine doing it like that now that we have children. It was worse than a student house on some days. We had the kitchen and the bathroom being done at the same time, so it often meant no hot water and cooking everything via a microwave in a dusty and grim living room that was also being redecorated. It was really hard! So unless you’re strapped for time, it would be to do it room by room.

If you’re interested in adding value to your home (who isn’t?!) then this infographic might be of interest: