Tips on how to choose a reliable builder to increase the value of a property
More and more people are understandably choosing to extend or modernise their home not only to increase the value of their property but to also enable them to investment their money into other properties to create a passive income.
Renovating a property can not only increase its value but also offer the opportunity to then remortgage the property to be able to then pull out money and reinvest it buy purchasing another property. This is particularly beneficial in a climate which has recently seen house prices rapidly increase in value.
The important thing to take into account when thinking of refurbishing a property is to ensure that you hire a reliable and well established builder. However, that is not always an easy thing to do.
When investing large sums of money towards property renovation and refurbishment improvements, it is vital to ensure that you select a financially secure builder with a good reputation to carry out the work for you. There would be nothing worse than to pass on a substantial deposit to a struggling company who would merely use your money on to pay off their creditors. Unfortunately, there are so many such companies and builders facing this problem. The best way to check builders’ credentials to carry out some research on the company. The internet offers an excellent means to do this. You can also check a company’s credentials by visiting Companies House.
A good builder should be able to offer you photographic examples of their work. However, be sure to visit their previous projects and talk to their previous customers rather than simply taking their word for what they show you.
It is also very important to check the builder’s qualifications. A good builder is often an affiliate of an association such as the Master Federation of builders, NHBC, Construction Line and or a member of My Builder or Check-a-trade so you could check out their credentials with them. There are many excellent builders who simply obtain work by having a good reputation and therefore don’t always need to be a member of an association or advertise for work.
Be careful to ensure also that a builder is fully up to date in his knowledge of current planning and building regulations as they change on a regular basis.
Some builders will initially and deliberately under price a project in order to secure work over another builder and then after works have begun, they will quickly attempt to charge additional costs for extra work and or for materials to complete the job that really speaking they should have included as part of their initial quote.
It’s not always a good idea to accept the cheapest quote you receive. It’s sometimes better to pay a little more for a more accurate quote and of course not forgetting the importance of finding a builder who will offer you quality workmanship and a 1st class service and aftercare.
Whenever you’re considering having renovation / refurbishment works carried out on a property whether it’s your own home or an investment property, it is important to check and employ a reliable and well established builder who has a good reputation to ensure that the work carried out will be the most cost effective and of the highest possible quality, otherwise it could end up costing you a lot more money in the long run.