home improvements

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Remodeling Your Home

Some people enjoy remodeling their home and making it their own. Others not so much. In this write up we will cover some of the things that you should do and mostly things you should avoid when planning and executing any remodeling in your home.

But first, if you think you have to remodel your house before selling it – think again. Here at Mandich Property Group we will buy your house in as is condition. Even if you have things you don’t want to take with you – it’s not a problem. Reach out to us at (770) 756-8680 or visit our website to complete a brief form and we will contact you shortly.

Now – on with some tips on Remodeling your home!

Create A Budget

This seems like a no brainer, but is often overlooked. Planning a budget is a must. If you have to go to an outlet store and start getting prices – do it! As investors we can tell you from experience that we almost always run over budget. We do try to stick to it, but in the end we want a product that we are proud of and that a new home owner will enjoy. The last thing you want to do is cut corners at the end of a project just to get it completed, only to not be satisfied with the end result.

Ayn-Monique Klahre from Real Simple goes on to explain even more about the importance of planning a budget:

Since the general rule of thumb is that it’s going to cost more and take longer than you think, make sure you have a big enough cushion in there that you’re not breaking the bank (adding an extra 10 to 20 percent more to the initial estimate is a good start). “If by some miracle you come in under your number, you’ll be happy to have a little extra for decorating!” says DiClerico.

As a general rule, you’ll want to spend more on things you interact with—like cabinets with doors you’ll open and close dozens of times a day—versus things you use less, like decorative tile.

Read The Full Article “The 7 Most Common Home Renovation Mistakes to Avoid

The last sentence in that snippet is extremely important. If you are doing a kitchen remodel you don’t want to spend all of your money on marble tile and granite counter tops only to have to buy cheap appliances because you are out of money.

Know Your Limitations

Just like Clint Eastwood said in the movie Magnum Force – “A man has GOT to know his limitations”, the same holds true when it comes to remodeling your home. There have been countless times when we have gone to a property that someone wants to sell and it’s very obvious that

  • they did the remodeling work and had no clue as to what they were doing or
  • they hired a sub par contractor or may have took the lowest bid

In either case we knew that the work would have to be redone.

Donna Boyle Schwartz talks about this in her article from Bob Vila’s blog:

Be realistic about your DIY skills. You may be a wizard at painting, and you may even be fairly proficient with Sheetrock and decorative molding, but certain projects are best left to the pros. Indeed, many communities require that plumbing and electrical work be performed by a licensed contractor. The last thing you want to do is take on a project that is beyond your level of expertise and then have to pay a professional to come in and fix your mistakes. Figure out what you can and, more importantly, cannot do yourself before you start a project.

Read The Full Article “The 7 Deadly Sins of Home Remodeling

It’s extremely important to remember that if you are doing any kind of addition you should always hire a licensed contractor for plumbing and electrical work and get the proper permits.

Choose Your Contractors Carefully

So now you may know that you can’t or don’t want to do everything in your home remodel. Maybe you just don’t have the time, that’s totally fine, the last thing you want to do is get in over your head.

When it comes to hiring a contractor do yourself a favor and get quotes from at least 3, more preferably if it’s a larger project. Nationwide’s Blog (yes, the insurance company) has some great tips on choosing your contractor:

Don’t rush your decision on hiring a contractor. Interview multiple contractors and reach out to their references and previous clients. Make sure each contractor understands what you want. Don’t hesitate to ask them questions about materials, layout and the construction process. Don’t select your contractor based on price alone; compare price quotes and references, and make sure you can work easily with them.

Read The Full Article “The Biggest Home Renovation Mistakes to Avoid

We would add that you should also research them on the web. Look at their Google listing and check out their reviews. If they have a lot of bad ones – well maybe you should think twice about using them.

Every homeowner (including investors) want the same thing from a contractor, Good, Cheap, Fast work. The problem is that really only two of those at a time is possible. Here is a diagram that helps explain:

For example, if you want good work cheap – then it won’t be fast. If you want cheap work fast – then the quality of the work will suffer and if you want high quality work done quickly – you guessed it – it won’t be cheap!

Doing Projects In The Correct Order

This is something else that is commonly overlooked. This can be really important if your storage is small. You don’t want your new appliances delivered before they are ready to be installed and you have no place to put them.

Tami Brehse from Business Insider explains more:

Budgeting is an obvious part of the planning process, but many homeowners neglect another important part that requires strategy: workflow. Poor planning here can result in delays and added costs.

“When remodeling, things need to occur in a certain order,” Helling said. “For example, you don’t want to refinish flooring and then paint.”

Paint — or a crew of painters and gear — can easily damage brand new floor coverings, so flooring should almost always be done last in a renovation project.

Another commonly overlooked part of the workflow is cleanup. Will your project require a dumpster? What about a truck to haul away debris? Think through your project from start to finish to ensure you’ve accounted for all the necessary steps in the process.

Read The Full Article “The 8 biggest mistakes people make when remodeling their homes, according to real estate agents

Finally here is a quick video from News 5 out of Cleveland that gives some quick pointers:

Summing It Up

Remodeling can be a daunting task, but if you plan properly you shouldn’t have as much stress and will be able to save some of your hair 😉 . Create your budget, check out your contractors and in general – plan properly. Try and have fun and don’t yell at your spouse or significant other to much!

Want to learn more about how We Buy Houses? Then check out this article.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Remodeling Your Home Read More »

Getting Bathrooms Ready To Help Sell Your House Faster

If you are getting ready to put your property on the market one of the best things you can do to help increase your properties selling value is some maintenance or upgrades to your bathrooms. In this short article we will cover a few things that you can do on a budget as well as things you have to take into consideration when making updates.

Simple Touch Ups and Maintenance To Increase Value

Almost everyone knows that kitchens and bathrooms are what really set off one property from another. A bathroom can be a relaxing oasis for many housewives and mothers to escape a hectic day. For this reason you need to pay specific attention to the bathrooms before you put your property up for sale.

Surprisingly enough there are some things that you can do to help breath new life into your existing bathroom to help sell your house faster. Most people think that they have to do a complete gut and remodel. However, if you bathroom has “good bones” you will be able to save yourself a few bucks.

A few of those things were covered in an article by This Old House:

Brokers, one and all, say spiffing up the kitchen and bath is a sure bet for adding value to your home. Surveyed brokers say these kinds of improvements can get expensive. It may not be economical to do a major renovation if you are trying to spend as little as possible before putting a house up for sale. But some upgrades are cheap, easy, and fast…especially in the bathroom.

Replace frosted glass for clear glass, clean the grout, remove rust stains, apply fresh caulk, update doorknobs and cabinet pulls, replace faucets, and install a low-flush toilet. Even buying a new toilet seat can make a difference. Bailey says, “You can spend $500 on a bathroom, and it’s totally tuned up.”

Read The Full Article “Brokers Tell All: 10 Ways to Boost House Value” Here

Great tips, especially for being able to spend $500 or less to breath new life in to a bathroom in a house that you are getting ready to sell. However, if you do plan on replacing the toilet make sure that it is something that you feel comfortable with, or higher a professional. If a toilet is not installed correctly – well it can be a real mess and end up costing you much more!

Things To Take Into Consideration For Major Remodels

Your bathroom might just be to outdated to just “put some lipstick” on to make it appealing to a potential buyer.  Your bathroom may have green or pink tile from the 60’s or 70’s and you need to perform a major renovation before putting the property on the market.

It can be a real hassle, and the last thing you want is to get it all done and not end up with a product that is NOT functional. Some things that you have to think about before starting your project was covered by Zillow in a short article:

Mistake 1: Ignoring proper spacing and layout

Bathrooms may seem straightforward, but a lack of spatial awareness in the renovation planning stages can lead to problems down the road.

Remember: Just because you can fit something into the bathroom design doesn’t mean it can function within that space. Always keep function in the forefront of your mind and in your design.

For example, if you choose a shower with a door, your bathroom layout should leave plenty of room for it to fully open. No potential home buyer will want to squeeze out of a partially opened shower door every morning. Other considerations include providing enough space to comfortably get on and off the toilet, open cabinet doors, etc.

Spatial considerations also include making sure elements of the room are close enough together to function. For example, the toilet paper holder should be within a child’s arm’s reach of the toilet, and outlets should be easily accessible from the counter.

Mistake 2: Choosing the wrong materials

Because of the sink, toilet and shower, bathrooms deal with more moisture than any other room in the house. Homeowners also use many of the strongest cleaning products on bathroom surfaces. Both of these factors, if not taken into consideration, can lead to significant damage if you don’t select the right materials for the job.

Go with materials that can stand up to harsh cleaners and are not highly susceptible to mold, warping or distortion. Avoid porous materials that will retain moisture and allow hidden mold to grow.

Read The Full Article “What NOT to Do When Remodeling Bathrooms” Here

Great tips. The last thing you want is to finish your bathroom after spending thousands of dollars on it only to find that it’s hard for more than one person to use it at a time. Also choosing the wrong materials can really make things bad. Have you ever seen a bathroom that had carpet in it around the toilet and bath tub? We have and we can tell you from experience that it is GROSS! Also, your house may have hardwoods throughout, but real hardwoods won’t be able to hold up against the added moisture from a tub. Now days you can find actual tile that looks like hardwood if that is the route you want to go.

Summing It Up

If your bathroom isn’t to far gone, or if your house is newer, say 15 years old or so – you can just do a little maintenance and have your bathroom looking new again. If however you have an ugly bathroom you will have to do a little more to get it ready to go on the market. Just remember to do some prior planning and use the right materials.

If all of this is too much for you, remember, here at Mandich Property Group we buy houses in any condition. We don’t care how old or rough looking your bathroom is, we will buy it as is.

Getting Bathrooms Ready To Help Sell Your House Faster Read More »

Scroll to Top