Reasons to renovate
Before embarking upon a renovation project it's important that you decide why you want to renovate. Renovation is no mean feat, you'll have to make numerous decisions and if you want to make the right choices, clear goals and ambitions will help you out enormously in the decision-making process.
According to Michael Holmes, Editor-in-Chief of Homebuilding and Renovating magazine, these are the main reasons why people go into renovation:
- Renovating for investment - for those who want to live in the home they decide to renovate for a long time to come.
- Climbing the property ladder - a more commercial approach where home owners may decide to capitalise on their current home and sell-on after a few years perhaps. Developing your main home is by far the most tax-efficient way to develop property as you'll get financial relief from the government as long as you stick to the rules made by HM Revenue and Customs.
- Renovating for affordability - this is the choice made by people who need to improve their home more through necessity than desire. Buying a new home at a knock-down price and then doing it up is an option for those who might not be able to afford the home they want further up the ladder. In this case, one or two smaller renovations will pave the way for you to attain a more valuable long-term home.
- Renovating as a developer - if you've renovated one property you may well decide to go on to make a career out of property renovation either part-time or full time. This can be a very rewarding career, both financially and creatively but does carry a higher level of risk.
- Renovating as an investor landlord - go one step further and you can get extra capital to finance your renovations by renting out the newly renovated properties in your portfolio.
