Rules of Renovation

New real estate investors have a lot of questions—and the biggest one is when is the best time to buy a property. With markets always changing, along with interest rates and housing prices, it’s not always clear when it’s the best time to get a good deal. Rules of Renovation gets asked about the timing of buying new properties. If you’ve found a good price on a specific property, the short answer to the question is “yes!” Don’t wait around for the perfect moment; when you’ve found something good get going. If you’re doubting the right timing for purchasing an investment property, keep the following tips in mind: 1. There’s no such thing as the perfect time Any real estate property purchase will always carry some risk, even in the best of times. The perfect, risk-free time to buy will never come along. So don’t sit around waiting for the market, interest rates, and a great price on the perfect property to magically align. If you’ve found a property with potential at a goo...

Renovating Your Flooring? Follow These 4 Tips When new home renovators get excited about their first rehabs, they tend to plan updates to the kitchen, bathroom, and paint colors. These are all great places to modernize an older house or fixer upper—but before you set your budget and make your final plans, walk through the house and look down. What state are the floors in? Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the current original floors are good enough, or that you can get away with installing some cheap carpet. Most potential buyers are looking for a home they’ll want to live in for decades, not a rental with hardy carpet. Increase the value of your home and impress buyers by putting some thought into the type of flooring you will install or restore as part of your rehab. These Rules of Renovation approved tips will help you pick the best flooring while staying on budget. 1. Restore Original Hardwood Flooring Before throwing down some carpet or tearing up the floor, ...

Finding Renovations in the Perfect Neighborhood I love a good home renovation, and nothing makes me happier than renovating in a great neighborhood. Maybe you run across a great home for a great price and you’re ready to put in an offer. No matter how excited you are about your find, you have to make sure to do a little homework on the neighborhood. Picking a great neighborhood is one of the essential rules of renovation. Great neighborhoods may not look exactly like you may expect them to, but with all of the experience I have from being Hilary Farr, house whisperer, I have a few tips and tricks that I can share with you. X Marks the Spot If you’re looking for a renovation project in nice neighborhoods only, you may find yourself looking for a long time. Though fixer-uppers do exist in nice neighborhoods, they are few and far between. Affluent neighborhood renovations are more likely to be found in slightly older neighborhoods. On the flip side, neighborhoods that m...

Picking the Right Kitchen Layout for Your Home The kitchen is often a focal point of the home. As friends and family gather at your house, people gravitate toward the kitchen — it’s natural. I have seen it in my own home and in renovation projects, so trust me when I say that creating a kitchen that not only meets your needs but also functions as a gathering space is essential. I have noticed more and more recently that there is no one right way to lay out a kitchen. Each home is different, and everyone has different tastes and styles. It’s important to pick a kitchen style that meets your needs, fits the space, stays in your budget, and falls in line with your personal taste. Whether you’re starting from scratch or you're revamping the kitchen that you have in your home, there are a few basic kinds of kitchen layouts that you can explore. Here are my three favorite styles that can be modified and fit into any home. Single Galley Kitchen Featuring a narrow layout...