Dear Readers,

Today I want to talk to you about how to Renovate on the Cheap. Why? Because we all like to save money… 

These days, with London being so expensive, people often assume that people have a lot of money to spend on renovations. This may or may not be true. However, what is almost certainly true, is that 99% of property owners, would rather spend less than more on renovations.

In this post, I want to talk about a strategy for renovations (strategy = to do list), which will keep your costs down. So as to renovate on the cheap, but without it looking like what you did was… err… renovate on the cheap. 

How Come You Know So Much About This?

“So much”? Why thank you…!

Well, as usual, I will be talking out of experience (usually, I talk out of experience – sometimes I talk out of my bottom). Essentially, I’ve had to renovate on the cheap a bunch of times, and I’m gonna tell you what I’ve learned. 

(Another) One Of My Stories

When I bought my first House (to let), I was pretty broke the minute I bought it. However, I still wanted to redo everything, just to make sure it was “great” for the new tenants (it was not in good shape). I wanted to make it a great place to live, so as to have tenants, happy to be there, and “happy” (as it were) to pay what I was asking. Even though the idea was good (conceptually speaking), it wasn’t the best strategy regarding my return on investment. 

Why not?

Well, my problem was that I didn’t know what to prioritise. What should I start with? What should I do last? I thought I knew, but actually I didn’t know. And so I messed up (yes, I’ve messed up a lot in my life). 

How Did You Mess Up Then?

Well, this is just one example, but anyway…

The old owner, had carpeted the whole house, with a “cheapish” carpet. It was a neutral colour. Underneath, there was wooden flooring, which was in poor shape. I decided that I was going to fix the floors, to make the house that much nicer. It’s what I’d now call… “a terrible decision”. The previous owner, clearly knew what he was doing when he put in the carpet. It wasn’t great, but it was brand new, gave the place a clean feel and was a much cheaper option than what I was going for. I wanted to sand and varnish the flooring… when a perfectly good carpet was already there! It was perhaps the last thing I should have done. 

Well, being “so much wiser” now, here I am, to tell my younger (and less wise self), how to go about things. To that end, I’ve made me a list…

Renovate On The Cheap – “The List” – Part I

Before we even start with the list, let me say that there are some legal requirements nowadays, so you should make sure you sort those out. These include gas and electrical safety certificates, amongst other things. I’ve previously mentioned the electrics at least… but make sure you know what the score is overall before you get started!

Now, in order to maximise your rental income (or even sell the place), the house has to look new(ish), clean and spacious (as much as that is possible). The potential tenant must see it, and think, “yeah, I could live here…”. More to the point, a bunch of potential tenants must think that, so as to raise the price a little bit.

(Note: When I say new(ish) I mean renovated. No one’s going to see a house built in the 60s and think “I don’t remember that being there yesterday…”)

So, in a little bit of order, here’s the lil’ list :

1. Place must be clean, so ensure that you’ve got it cleaned (though you may want to clean it after you do all your works). I’ve put this first, because if there’s only one thing you can do, this is it. 

2. Must feel new(ish)… cheap little trick is to change the sockets, door handles, cupboard knobs etc assuming all these things were looking old. These little things are relatively cheap, and yet give the place a fresher feel, even if the cupboards themselves aren’t so new.

3. To look “new and fresh”, it’s gonna have to be freshly painted. Now, remember, this should be done after you change knobs, sockets, etc, as changing that stuff might leave marks on the walls. It’s a shame to have the freshly painted house suddenly have little marks and scratches on the walls! 

4. Make sure the garden (if you have one) is in good nick. If you’re not a gardener, what you can do (at the very least) is mow the lawn (even if it’s not a lawn, but a weed field…).

One Size Does Not Fit All

Now, there’s no one rule which applies in all situations and the above list will not apply in that order to everyone. However, the list itself is a good starting point. Tweak it (if necessary) to meet your requirements. 

Some More Details

I won’t bother giving you details about how to clean your house… we’ll start with the aesthetics a little. Little things, like changing the light switches, the sockets and other fittings can make a house feel much newer. Especially if you have things in the house, which are over 20 years old or last renovated 20 years ago (e.g. beds), then those should go. This applies to small things like lamps/light fittings and switches, but also bigger things, like the kitchen (more on this later). As a starting point, look out for all little fittings that look outdated or damaged, and change them. Changing electrical sockets is not very hard, but if you’re at all unsure about any electrical aspect, get someone competent to help.

Painting

Once you’ve done all the bits and pieces above, you can start with the painting. Now, the house needs be done in neutral colours as you’ve heard a million times before. Boring? Yes… but alas, it’s gotta be so. 

There’s three reasons for this. Firstly, most people have different tastes to you, so they are likely to not like your favourite colours. Secondly, most people don’t mind neutral colours as much as they might dislike our own personal tastes (not you specifically! Just anyone’s…! :-). Thirdly, neutral colours are generally light colours, and so make your place look “cleaner” but also more spacious.

Spacious

On this note, I want to also mention the use of mirrors. I know it sounds silly, but the truth is, mirrors do make places look bigger. So, if you have a tight space, which you’ve noticed people comment on, put a mirror (preferably a large one), and you’ll almost certainly reduce the negative comments you get. 

Back the painting now…!

Painting On The Cheap

The best way to save money on painting, is to do it yourself or with a mate (or two). If you ask around, you’ll definitely find you’ve got a couple of mates, who will not mind painting your house with you. Not to generalise, but helping a mate paint his house is… errr… “easy to get permission for” (think married men). Additionally, as it turns out, men will generally say they spent 8 hours painting, when in fact, it was more like 4 hours painting, and 4 hours drinking beer (just sayin…). 

Now, a few important points:

Now, the bedrooms, halls etc, will all need probably need to be repainted. However, they don’t all necessarily need three coats of paint. They need to look fresh, and one coat may even be enough in some cases. Some rooms though, will require three coats (or more if you’re unlucky), especially if they have been painted with dark colours previously.

(If the wall is a little damaged, do fix it before you paint. Just painting might feel like a tempting shortcut, but you’ll regret it later!)

Gardening

Very little to say here. Just tidy it up. No overgrown bits and pieces allowed (grass or weeds), no excess of old leaves on the floor, no unsightly compost heaps and no dead bird from two weeks ago. Keep it tidy! 

“The List” – Part II

(This list is so special, it’s got two parts!)

5. Bathrooms, kitchens and other bits and pieces. Now, this stuff is not cheap, so I didn’t want to put it with the above list. The truth is that if this stuff looks old, it’s probably because it is. At one point this stuff must be changed. As a general rule, if your kitchen or bathroom has not been changed in 20 years, it’s probably gotta go. Now, in some cases, you can salvage parts of the kitchen or bathroom. For example, sometimes, kitchen cabinets can be repainted or revarnished (depending on the wood), which can make a huge difference to the appearance, and can be cheap. This applies also to wooden windows which may otherwise look old, but be fully functional. Regrettably, sometimes you’ve got to throw everything out, and start over, but often, there’s enough to salvage, to make it worth your while.

Going High Tech

In this day and age, there’s a lot of support out there in terms of apps, to help you with what you need. For our case specifically, you can get an app to help you choose the paint colour (e.g. Paint My Place). You take a pic of your place, and the app will show you how it’ll look with the colour of your choice, so as to help you pick the best colour. However, there are many other apps out there, that’ll help you do many things around your house, such as measure your room sizes and calculate how many tiles are required for a certain space. Whatever you need to do, there’s likely an app that’ll help you! Some apps will save you money, others may save you time. Since time is money… you win either way! 

Final Important Little Nugget 

Now, in this post, I’ve tried to go into some detail into the various bits and pieces which I consider important, when you’re trying to renovate on the cheap. However, the truth is, that without experience, it’s quite hard to know what you’re doing. So, if you’re having trouble or are unsure, try to seek the advice of people you believe have the answers. If you don’t know anyone who can advise you, ask your mates if they know someone. Someone should be able to help, but even if not, you can go to your hardware store for advice (though be wary of taking advice from a teenage employee!).

If all you get is that teenage kid, then there’s the online option. In case you don’t want to ask me (always an option though!), you can go to a forum, where you’ll get lots of people answering your questions, and you can make a judgement as to which answer best suits your circumstances. Sometimes, it’s inevitable that we make our own mistakes, but if you can benefit from someone’s experience (and have more in your pocket as a result), why not do it?

And with that, I leave you dear Readers. I hope this post has been useful to you, and I hope your renovation goes smoothly. Any questions, please feel free, and if you have no questions, just tell me how your renovation went! As you know… I love to hear all about these things!

All the best,
SJ

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