By: Sarah Miller
So you have decided you want a bit of a challenge in buying your next house. You are going to invest on a fixer-upper home but you still want to save on renovations. Here are a few tips:
Tip 1:
Ask your contractor for inexpensive materials. Some contractors have left over materials and parts from previous jobs they have handled and you can ask if they you could use those scrap materials in renovating your fixer-upper home. Left over materials aren't all in bad condition and won't hurt your home’s sturdiness and functionality plus they are cheaper than buying new materials at home supply stores.
Tip 2:
Choose reliable materials. Just because you are saving up on fixing your fixer upper doesn't mean you should go cheap on everything. There are some materials that can be bought cheaply and there are some that are a little bit pricey but worth it. Investing in good quality, sturdy materials that will last you almost a lifetime is the wisest thing. It will save you money in the long run, it will also save you from consuming time and effort fixing things all over again.
Tip 3:
Take it down yourself. You can demolish some of the parts of your fixer-upper home yourself. The harder and more dangerous parts to be demolished can be done by a contractor. This way you save up on hiring costs.
Tip 4:
Sell reusable materials. While in the process of taking down some parts of your fixer-upper home, there may be some scrap materials that you won’t need but will be very useful for some other people. Scrap wood, metal, fixtures and other things could be sold to other people who, just like yourself are looking forward to saving a great deal of money.
Tip 5:
Save up on architect fees. Naturally you are going to need an architect to map out the design plan for your fixer upper. Hiring an architect usually doesn't come cheap but you can minimize costs by contracting an architect for a one time visit and consultation and the architect will then design the renovation plan for your fixer-upper home. This will cost less rather than hiring your architect for multiple visits and meetings.
Tip 6:
Leave the sink and the toilet. Moving the sink or toilet will cost big bucks because plumbing prices aren't cheap. As much as possible leave the toilet and sink alone.
Renovating a fixer upper home isn't easy and inexpensive but you can use some of these tips to save a few bucks.
