5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Renovating a Historic Home

1. Presented By:Haylen Group Incwww.haylengroup.com

2. Don’t fall in love before you really know the deal • “Have a team of top-notch professionals—an agent who specializes in historic neighborhoods, a good home inspector, and a general contractor with experience renovating older properties—walk through and identify all critical issues,” West says. • Topping the list: lousy wiring and plumbing, drafty or otherwise inefficient windows, badly sloping foundations. “Get estimates from at least three contractors for repairs,” West says. “You might find that the extra costs and time involved are just beyond your reach.”

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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