Dennis Coote provides advice on renovating properties for profit. He recommends carefully selecting properties, planning renovations, hiring reliable tradespeople, and ensuring properties have essential features like heating and good wiring when finished. Paying attention to location, construction quality, and potential issues can help choose properties that increase in value after renovation.

1. “ Secret Renovation Techniques to boost your Property Profits” by Dennis Coote ©Novapublications 2008/9

2. 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 ©Novapublications 2008/9

3. Planning ahead No one Plans to Fail but many people Fail to Plan the result is the same ©Novapublications 2008/9

4. Preparing to look at houses Your basic tool kit Notebook and pen Digital camera Street Map Long tape measure Electrical Tester (?) Torch ©Novapublications 2008/9

5. 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? ©Novapublications 2008/9

6. 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

7. To make a profit, you must Buy at the right price. The profit you make is made when you BUY not when you SELL ©Novapublications 2008/9

8. How to find Purchase Prices most 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 ©Novapublications 2008/9

9. 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

10. Relaxation of Planning Rules From 1 st 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 permission Adding a loft conversion Converting a garage to living accommodation And there are many more relaxations The full list can be accessed at www.planningportal.gov.uk ©Novapublications 2008/9

11. 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 ©Novapublications 2008/9

12. 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 ©Novapublications 2008/9

13. 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 ©Novapublications 2008/9

14. PROPERTY CHECK LIST Date of first check Address Vendor’s Name Phone Number Photo Taken Y/N NEED TO SELL URGENTLY YES/NO Tenure FREEHOLD / LEASEHOLD Reason for selling EXTERNAL ROOF 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/NO GIVEN FORM FOR SEVEN DAYS HOLDING? PROMISE TO RE-CONTACT WITHIN SEVEN DAYS Property Check List ©Novapublications 2008/9

15. Meeting the Valuer How to get the valuation you want Make sure the vendor is not present Make sure the Estate Agent (if there is one) is not present Get the key yourself from the vendor or agent (sign for it) Know your comparables for the area Take the board down temporarily Accompany the valuer (ask first) OR go to www.meetthesurveyor.com ©Novapublications 2008/9

16. 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 ©Novapublications 2008/9

17. Basic Requirements Having 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

18. 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 1 st 2009, No more Corgi. There is a new organisation under the Health and Safety Executive which will issue a Gas Safety Certificate. ©Novapublications 2008/9

19. Sequence of Work General Labourer (Clearing the decks, disposing of rubbish etc Roofer + Electrician (1 st fix) + Plumber (1 st Fix) Damp proof Course (if needed) Carpenter (kitchen units if needed) Plasterer Electrician (2 nd fix) + Plumber (2 nd 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! ©Novapublications 2008/9

20. Cutting a loft trap ©Novapublications 2008/9

21. Advanced dampness in a room Advanced Dampness in a room Stachybotrys chartarum Can be dangerous if inhaled, must be removed! ©Novapublications 2008/9

22. Rising Damp Rising Damp ©Novapublications 2008/9

23. Nasty Niffs Tobacco smoke Dogs Cats Parrots Old cooking oil Old food smells Drains Smelly Babies Dry Rot ©Novapublications 2008/9

24. Nice homely smells Coffee Fresh Baking Nice flowers Some perfumes ©Novapublications 2008/9

25. Infestation Woodworm Wet rot Dry Rot Woodlice Mice Rats Bats ©Novapublications 2008/9

26. 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?? ©Novapublications 2008

27. Adding an Upstairs Bathroom ©Novapublications 2008

28. Agreement to Purchase 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

29. Don’t miss anything on your first look ©Novapublications 2008

30. 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) ©Novapublications 2008

32. 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. ©Novapublications 2008

33. 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 ©Novapublications 2008

34. 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. ©Novapublications 2008

35. 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

36. The Hampshire Property Club If 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