PRESENTED BY:

HAYLEN GROUP INC

WWW.HAYLENGROUP.COM

DON’T FALL IN LOVE BEFORE YOU REALLY

KNOW THE DEAL

“Have a team of top-notch professionals—anagent who specializes in historic neighborhoods, agood home inspector, and a general contractor withexperience renovating older properties—walkthrough and identify all critical issues,” West says.

Topping the list: lousy wiring and plumbing, drafty orotherwise inefficient windows, badly slopingfoundations. “Get estimates from at least threecontractors for repairs,” West says. “You might findthat the extra costs and time involved are justbeyond your reach.”

DON’T CREATE A BUDGET WITH NO WIGGLE

ROOM

When you undertake a reno project, you always

need to leave some space in the budget for those

unforeseen hiccups, like a lead pipe in a wall you

were going to tear down, or water damage in a

ceiling,” he says. “Factor in an extra 10% into the

budget to tackle those problems, as well as some

extra time to get unplanned work completed.

DON’T LOSE SIGHT OF THE

PLACE’S CHARACTER

Some of these homes have design elements that can’t

be replicated easily such as detailed crown moldings or

ornate fireplaces in nearly every room,” West says.

“Design around those details instead of removing them.”

Keep in mind, too, that there might be limitations on

what you can change if the surrounding area is

designated as a historic neighborhood by your city or

state, or if it’s listed on the National Register of Historic

Places, which contains more than 90,000 listings across

the United States. Make sure you run your renovation

plans by code enforcement and your local historic

preservation board before any work gets underway.

DON’T TRY TO SAVE MONEY BY DOING IT ALL

YOURSELF

Sure, you might be an arena-level rock star when it

comes to painting walls and installing light fixtures,

but leave the major projects to the pros. Electrical

rewiring, foundation and structural repairs, and

reconfiguring plumbing aren’t tasks suited for the

casual DIYer. Bring in experienced contractors who

have worked on older homes before (ask for

references!)—unless you want bigger, more

expensive headaches down the road. Trust us on

this one.

DON’T IGNORE THE THINGS YOU CAN’T SEE

Asbestos, lead, radon, wood rot, and mold are

common environmental issues that crop up

frequently in historic home renovations, especially if

a property has been vacant for a long time. Hire a

licensed home inspector who can catch these

issues early on and recommend companies to

address them. If significant mitigation work is

required, you’ll be in a good position to negotiate

those items (or the price) with the seller.

CONTACT US

Haylen Group Inc.

Silicon Valley (Santana Row Location)

560 S Winchester Blvd

Suite 500

San Jose,

CA 95128

http://www.haylengroup.com/

Resource:-http://goo.gl/UPj9eU