Last updated on July 27th, 2020 at 04:49 am
Buying an existing property to renovate is a great way to create your own dream home or turn a profit when you re-sell. However, there are some serious red flags that you need to consider.
Poor foundations
Regardless of the extent of your renovations, unless you’re planning on pulling the house down and starting from scratch, you need to ensure that the property you buy is built on a sturdy foundation. Exterior cracks and tilt could be signs that the building’s foundations have shifted over time, meaning that they are no longer leveled and may not be sturdy enough to support your vision.
If you’re worried about the foundations of the building, then this is potentially a costly problem to fix, and so it’s usually best to steer well clear. 
Previous ownership
You may not think to look into the ownership records of your future home, but skipping this step could land you in hot water that you’d rather avoid.
A huge red flag on most properties is a quick turnaround between owners, implying that people move in and don’t hang around for a reason. Ownership can now easily be tracked online, and if you do see that the home you wish to buy has had a lot of previous owners, then it’s worth conducting a more thorough inspection before buying to make sure that nothing is untoward.
Unwanted protected guests
If you’re planning to renovate the roof of your home or to put in a roof extension, then you need to make sure that the property you buy is free from any unwanted protected guests. Bats are protected in Canada, which means that they cannot be treated like other household pests.
Once bats move in, it can be challenging to get them to move out again, and you won’t be able to do any renovation work if it puts them in harm’s way. Thus, it’s always best to focus on bat prevention so that you don’t end up with your renovations on hold while you negotiate their eviction. 
The property market value of the area
If you’re buying to renovate and then to re-sell, then be sure to pay close attention to the property market value of the area you plan to buy in. Make sure that you are riding an upward trajectory. Renovations themselves are often enough to substantially lift the resale price of the property. Wherever possible, you should try to make the most of a market surge to maximize the final resale value of your home.
If you notice that the property market for the area you plan to buy in is going down, you may want to hold fire to ensure that things start to pick up again before committing to the area.
Renovations are never easy. However, there are curveballs that one can avoid simply just by planning and keeping it cool. Have you ever renovated a property before? Do you have any tips to add? Let me know in the comments.
