Before you buy

Before you buy a house, there are a number of things which you should check so you do not get any nasty surprises when it's too late.

First, check how easy it will be to get planning permission for the house. If you wish to make any structural changes, for example putting doors in to make an en suite or knocking down any walls, then you will need planning permission from the council.

Also, check the deeds for the house to find out where the boundaries lie for the garden, in case you want to add any extensions onto the house.

Get a surveyor in to see exactly what state the structure of the house is in. If you need to replace any walls or parts of the roof this is going to cost you time and money, so it is best to get an indication before you buy. The surveyor should be able to tell you exactly how much this will cost you, and you may be able to agree with the owner to get some money off the asking price. Your estate agent should be able to help you with these negotiations.

Make a plan of what changes you would like to make to the house, so you know exactly how the finished product would look. This will help you decide which rooms you want where, and will give you an indication of exactly how much work will be necessary.

Once you have brought the house

One immediate question is whether you are going to live in the house while renovating. This decision will dictate the order in which you renovate the house. It may be necessary to complete one floor first so that you can use this one to live in while the rest of the house is developed. As ever, the deciding factors will be cost and time, either of renting somewhere off-site or potentially holding up the renovation process by moving around the house.

Next, you need to decide whether you are going to hire a building firm to take control of the work for you, or whether you are going to hire contractors independently. Again this will depend on how much money you have to spend, but another factor is how much control you want over the renovations. If you are going to hire the contractors independently then it is essential that you have a plan of what needs to be done to the house. You may find it helpful to hire an architect or builder to get their advice about structural changes.

If you are hiring the contractors independently, make sure that you do not get them all to come at the same time. Plan the order in which you wish the work to happen, and make sure that this logically runs together. For example, do not ask the electricians to come after the plasterers, as they will have to work beneath the walls which have been plastered. It is advisable to have plumbing installed in the house, if it is not already, before any of the other work gets done, as many of the other contractors will need to use water with their work. It is also advisable to get the structural changes completed swiftly after the plumbing, so that the main outline of the house is in place.

Try and be on-site as much as possible whilst you have contractors working on your house. Obviously this may be impossible if you are working, but dropping in on your lunch hours if possible, or coming home from work early some days will give you an opportunity to see the contractors at work. It will also mean that they do not know when you will be there or not and will subsequently (or hopefully!) encourage them to work at a consistent pace. It also means that you can check that the right work is being done, and allows you to communicate with the contractors about how the work is going. If you are not going to be in the house at the same time as them for a long period of time, try and get them to leave daily or weekly feedback so you know how the work is progressing.

If you are limited with your spending amount then make a list of the most important tasks to be completed. Renovation can be done over many years, so you should decide what the essentials are. For example, carpeting your house can be very expensive, so one alternative, if possible, is bare wood flooring throughout the house until you can afford to lay carpets.

One of the simple rules of renovating your house is never spend money on making a major change that will not increase the selling price of the house. Although this may sometimes limit your choices, it means that you are not making empty investments. This rule applies even if you are planning to live in your house for a considerable amount of time before you sell. Try not to get too emotionally attached to the property.