How to rehab your home?

Rehabbing a home is connected to lots of work, and decisions. The first major decision you will have to make is whether you want to do the work yourself or hire a contractor. This decision should not be made without thinking your rehab through. Depending on whether you want to fix up your own home, or whether it is real estate you are planning to lease out, your decision will be different. If you plan to rehab a place you want to lease, you probably have lots of other things on your mind. In this case we recommend you hire a contractor, so you won’t waste your valuable time on renovating. However if you want to fix up minor issues in your own home, doing it yourself might save you some money and could therefore be worth your time.

1. How much work needs to be done?

Before you start rehabbing, you should thoroughly inspect your property to see how much work needs to be done. Depending on the amount of work, you should consider whether you want to tackle the rehab yourself, or hire a contractor to do the work for you. If you plan on doing some minor repairs, such as painting, it may be worth getting your own hands dirty, depending on the time and budget that is available to you. However if you plan on undergoing major renovations your results will probably be better with the hiring of a professional contractor.

2. Make a checklist

After you know how much work has to be done, and whether you want to hire a contractor, we advise you to make a detailed checklist on what needs to be done. This way the renovation is fully under your control, and you can make sure that nothing will be forgotten. It will also help once the rehab is done to make sure that all the work is done properly.

3. Permits

Sometimes rehabbing a property will require permits. Make sure that you have all the permits you need, so that you can work on your property without worrying about local building code violations. If you decided to hire a contractor he will most likely be able to help you with your permits. In case you decided to tackle the renovation yourself you can contact the local building department for inquiries regarding the necessary permits. Depending on the type of renovation you plan on undergoing, you may need different kinds of permits.

4. Rehabbing your property

Now that you are done with the bureaucratic part of your undertaking, you can get to work. You want to start by removing rubbish, including damaged objects and things you will replace, like wallpapers, floors, toilets, etc. If you are also renovating the exterior of your property the next step will be trimming trees, removing fences, and getting rid of anything else you want to replace. Next, you should take care of any issues you want to solve regarding your roof or foundation. Once this is done, you can focus on the renovation. When it comes to your interior, you want to start with replacing windows or doors, if they are part of your checklist. Doing this first is important to avoid any damages caused by weather. The next big step will take care of all the major repairs and replacements inside the property, whether it is plumbing, or electricity related.
You will finish up with minor fixings, like covering up holes in the walls, painting walls, installing appliances, and organizing your furniture. Finally comes the fun part, be creative and decorate your new property with plants, paintings, candles, and more.

We hope this list was helpful to you and you will enjoy your newly renovated property.