Don’t Let Your House Renovation Turn Into A Circus!

By Van Sturgeon

Real Estate Investor

There are so many instances where I get a phone call from someone in the midst of a house renovation, and they need my help. They are overwhelmed by the whole process, and they don’t know what to do. 

Renovations are so easy, right? 

You watch all of those tv shows and videos, and you can see a whole house being built in 7 days. How can my little house renovation be so tough to manage and complete?

Oh...my little whippersnapper...I wish that it was so true! 

Hollywood is full of dreams and fantasies, and if you don’t follow certain steps in the renovation process, you will end up on another tv show called “Renovation Disasters”.

The biggest problem that I have found in any house renovation is the lack of preparation and planning, BEFORE the renovation actually starts. You need to start with a goal and then a list of what you want completed in your renovation.

Once you have that list, then you identify the items that you want installed or renovated. You know...Things like the type and color of the carpet, the makes and models of the new appliances, and how many new recessed lights you want over the dining room table.

All of this stuff needs to be figured out, way before you start calling contractors and getting prices.

Once you’ve got that stuff out of the way, then you need to create yourself a document called the “Scope of Work”. A scope of work lists all of the work within your renovation, and the specification of the items that you want in your renovation.

This is the most important document that will hold the key to your renovation happiness, as it is the document that everyone refers to when in doubt about the renovation process. You will have the steps of the renovation process and the types of products that you want installed. 

Within this document, you will have identified the contractor who will do each task.

Within this document, you will know how long each task is going to take. 

Of course, there is no point in preparing a schedule if you don’t stick to it! This is your job as the acting “general contractor” who is managing the renovation. You need to check that the contractors are executing the steps that you have outlined, and they are on schedule. 

There will be times when some steps will be changed around, while other tasks and steps are essential. You want to be careful in changing the essential tasks or steps within the renovation process, as the whole project timelines will be delayed.

As you can see, a lot of problems can be eliminated by proper planning and preparation, before a renovation starts. No matter how big or small your renovation is, you should always have a “Scope of Work'' prepared and have all of your contractors follow it.

By doing all of those things, you just might avoid a cameo appearance on the most popular tv shows out there, “Renovation Disasters”!!!

For more information on house renovations and real estate investing, visit www.vansturgeon.com to help you in your real estate investment journey.