Recently I met with a great couple who bought an older home. It has lots of potential — and lots of room for improvement.
The couple has a significant amount of money budgeted. But after walking through the home to discuss all the things they want to accomplish — plus the things that need taking care or — they found themselves coming up quite a bit short in their budget for all those tasks. This is not an unusual experience.
If you are looking at homes with the intent to remodel or improve, keep a few thoughts in mind to make sure your dreams can be converted to reality in a budget you can manage.
- Once your offer is accepted on the house, meet with a trusted remodeler to go over your anticipated changes and determine their approximate costs. This should be part of your feasibility study. If the costs exceed what you can comfortably spend, this gives you the chance to reconsider the purchase while you still have some time.
- Be realistic about what you can spend on the remodel — or if you may have to do it in phases over time.
- Have a list of the projects you want done and prioritize their order.
Buying a house is an exciting process but don’t let your excitement overshadow the need to complete your due diligence in all phases. A few hours of time and preparation now will keep things moving smoothly and help you avoid disappointment down the line.
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