Dennis Coote Property Renovations Seminar

“Secret Renovation Techniques to boost your Property Profits”

byDennis Coote

©Novapublications 2008/9

Who am I?

Dennis Coote PhD MA FPCS

•Renovated over 400 properties

•Written a best seller e-book “Renovation Riches”

•Fellow of the Property Consultants Society

•Currently buying in UK and Spain

•Co-Founder of The Hampshire Property Club

•Speaker at many Seminars on Renovations


Planning ahead

No one

Plans to Fail

but many people

Fail to Plan

the result is the same


Preparing to look at houses

• Your basic tool kit

• Notebook and pen

• Digital camera

• Street Map

• Long tape measure

• Electrical Tester (?)

• Torch


Location• Check the property several times of the day• Check if possible on a rainy day• Make sure you are not near a chip shop or pub• Make sure you are not near a school• Make sure you are not on a hill with a steep driveway • Is the neighbourhood attractive and in keeping with others?• Is it near a stream or river?• Are there strange neighbours? (Noisy? Scrap? Rubbish?)• Is it easy to park nearby?• Is it on a council estate?


Get details of houses you are interested in

• These may be from estate agents or from other sources

• Sort out the ones you are interested in and then put them in geographical order

• ©Novapublications 2008/9

To make a profit, you must Buy at the right price.

The profit you make is made when you BUY not when you

SELL


How to find Purchase Pricesmost of these are free

• http://www.houseprices.co.uk (free)

• http://www.myhouseprice.com

• http://www.myproperty-value.co.uk

• http://www.landreg.gov.uk


HMOs• Houses in multiple occupation can be a very

good proposition for the investor.• Remember you must have a local authority

licence and various works may have to be carried out.

• Self closing firedoors• Boxing in of staircase• Fire precautions• Wired glass in skylights and external doors• Locks on doors and others requirements

A HMO licence in Reading costs from £450 to £800 for a five year period.The fine for not having one can be £20,000

• ©Novapublications 2008/9

Relaxation of Planning Rules

From 1st October last, the rules that Local Authorities have followed for Planning Applications have been completely changed

The new rules include:

You can add a conservatory without planning permissionAdding a loft conversionConverting a garage to living accommodationAnd there are many more relaxations

The full list can be accessed at www.planningportal.gov.uk


Why renovate at all?

It takes time, energy and money so is it worth it?

YES!If it’s the right property

But there are some I would walk away from


Properties I would walk away from

• With Dry Rot

• Bad location

• Prices don’t stack up

• Any property that has been renovated professionally

• Any property that has been ‘done up’ by an amateur

• Post war concrete construction


Age of Property

• Victorian

• Well built by craftsmen

• No cavity walls

• Slate roofs (100 yrs)

• Excellent proportion rooms

• Plentiful supply

• Later than Victorian

• Unseasoned timber

• Poorly built

• Tiled roofs

• Cavity Walls (wall ties)

• Sub-standard brickwork


PROPERTY CHECK LISTDate of first checkAddress

Vendor’s Name Phone Number

Photo Taken Y/NNEED TO SELL URGENTLY YES/NO Tenure FREEHOLD / LEASEHOLDReason for selling

EXTERNALROOF Slates/Tiles/Other Condition:

WALLS Brick/Stone/rendered/other Condition

BRICKWORK

GUTTERS AND DOWNPIPES Plastic/Other

WINDOWFRAMES / DOORS UPVC/wooden/metal/other

GARDENS / BOUNDARIES / SHEDS / GARAGE

GENERAL CONDITION

INTERNAL (If you are permitted)FLOORS Downstairs floorboards/solid floor Upstairs?

ELECTRICAL Fuse box/circuit trips

PLUMBING any comments that need to be made

GAS On premises?

DECORATIONS Good/traditional/funky

CARPETS Condition? Can you lift them a little?

SUBSIDENCE any evidence of internal or external cracks

INFESTATION any smell of mushrooms, sight of woodlice etc

Vendors Asking Price £Comparables (1) Address £ Comparables (2) Address £ Comparables (3) Address £

Arrange for PRE-SURVEY REPORT YES/NOGIVEN FORM FOR SEVEN DAYS HOLDING?PROMISE TO RE-CONTACT WITHIN SEVEN DAYS

Property Check List


Meeting the ValuerHow to get the valuation you want

Make sure the vendor is not presentMake sure the Estate Agent (if there is one) is not presentGet the key yourself from the vendor or agent (sign for it)Know your comparables for the areaTake the board down temporarilyAccompany the valuer (ask first)

OR go to www.meetthesurveyor.com


Essential Items for a Property

• i.e. When you have finished the work!

• Central Heating

• Up to date wiring

• Power Shower

• No dampness

• Clean Decorations

• Sound roof


Basic RequirementsHaving a good team around you!

• Tradesmen, Electrician,plumber,carpenter,decorator,general

labourer, etc

• Bank Manager• Mortgage Broker• Solicitor (NSNF)

• Estate Agents ?• Office Back up

©Novapublications 2008

Finding Tradesmen• Don’t use Yellow Pages

• Don’t use family or friends ever!

• Don’t use a main contractor who will ‘manage’ all trades

• The cheapest quote is not the best!

• Do look at local paper adverts

• Do look around the neighbourhood for tradesmen

• Do ask other people who have had work done to recommend

• Do ask more than one tradesman of each trade

• From April 1st 2009, No more Corgi. There is a new organisation under the Health and

Safety Executive which will issue a Gas Safety Certificate.


Sequence of Work• General Labourer (Clearing the decks, disposing of rubbish etc• Roofer + Electrician (1st fix) + Plumber (1st Fix)• Damp proof Course (if needed)• Carpenter (kitchen units if needed)• Plasterer• Electrician (2nd fix) + Plumber (2nd Fix)• Carpenter (skirtings etc)• Decorator• General labourer (Cleaning up)

• This is all about planning the work. You don’t want the electrician to come in after the walls are plastered. Plan,Plan,Plan all the time!


Cutting a loft trap


Advanced dampness in a room

Advanced Dampness in a roomStachybotrys chartarum

Can be dangerous if inhaled, must be removed!


Rising Damp

Rising Damp


Nasty Niffs

• Tobacco smoke

• Dogs

• Cats

• Parrots

• Old cooking oil

• Old food smells

• Drains

• Smelly Babies

• Dry Rot


Nice homely smells

•Coffee

•Fresh Baking

•Nice flowers

•Some perfumes


Infestation

• Woodworm

• Wet rot

• Dry Rot

• Woodlice

• Mice

• Rats

• Bats


Decorations etc….

• Colours for Walls internally• (Don’t paint straight on to wallpaper)

• Ceilings always white

• Paintwork always white

• Colours for carpets

• External paintwork

• Wood laminate floors??


Adding an Upstairs Bathroom


Agreement to

Purchase Residential Property

Between

Seller……………………………………………………………………………………Purchaser……………………………………………………………………………….

Purchasers Telephone Number…………………

Property [Full address and Postcode of Property to be sold]………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Whereas the Vendor agrees to sell and the Buyer agrees to buy subject to survey, the above named property. The Vendor agrees to give SOLE OPTION to the Buyer to purchase the property for a period of SEVEN DAYS.

Subject to survey, the Purchaser will before the end of the period aforementioned, make a formal offer to purchase. The Vendor is under no legal obligation to accept this or any offer once the Option Period has expired.Signed by the Vendor……………………………………………………….

Signed by the Purchaser………………………………………………………

Date…………………………………………………………………………..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Offer Price £…

©NovaPublications 2008

Agreement to Purchase

Don’t miss anything on your first look


Problems with properties later then Victorian(and between the wars)

• Cavity Walls (and wall ties)

• Green timber

• Decayed and porous bricks

• Poor quality mortar

• Concrete panel construction

• Generally poor workmanship (due to lack of Building Controls)


Work that must be done

Any repairs to roof

Any repairs to gutters and down pipes

Any repairs to window frames

Any subsidence

Any re-pointing of brickwork

Any defective flashings

Any decayed timber floors

Any infestation or rot

Remove debris and rubbish from garden and tidy up.


Work that may not need to be done

(though some of these MAY help to sell your property)

Internal decorations

New Kitchen

New Bathroom (unless there is no bathroom)

External painting

Double glazing

Cavity wall insulation

New carpets


Factors that will REDUCE the value of your property

Stone cladding to the exterior

Ivy or other climbing plants on walls of house

Any unusual or bizarre colour schemes inside or out

Excessive size of trees or bushes near to the house.

An untidy garden.

Neighbours with cluttered gardens.

Noisy and nosy neighbours.


Buy it now! Very comprehensive e-course which covers all aspects of renovation in detail, and you get all the

others e-books free as well!

www.renovationriches.com

New edition out soon which will include a price increase©Novapublications 2008

The Hampshire Property ClubIf you are within travelling distance of Basingstoke on the first Thursday in the month you can be assured of a very warm welcome at the Holiday Inn.

The meeting starts at 7.15pm and networking among some very astute property people takes place.

At around 8pm we have a speaker who will talk on an advertised subject.

Ranjan himself was one of our recent speakers which drew a record crowd.

To join our club, it’s free, go to for full details

http://www.hampshirepropertyclub.co.uk

Dennis Coote Property Renovations Seminar

Real Estate

Transcript of Dennis Coote Property Renovations Seminar