A few things I’ve learned from experience:
1. Exterior upkeep (roof, gutters, downspouts, siding, any painted wood window/door frames or sills) and plumbing fixes are top priorities. These keep water from ruining your house. Keep painted or stained things painted or stained. Keep caulking in good condition. Clean gutters and downspouts. Windows can be replaced as a whole unit or just the sashes. Windows are not cheap.
2. Look for the small time guy and a helper or father/son enterprises. Cheaper, less overhead for their business. If you schedule an estimate, and the person shows up in a shiny new Navigator or F250 with chrome and a lift kit...pass. Find the guy with a ratty old van who knows the trade. Your realtor may have a few contacts for you. Cash is king.
3. Live with the house for a while before any major remodeling. Paint color - fine. Stain a deck - fine. Kitchen/bath/room walls and plumbing - wait. I’ve found I usually reduce the scope of projects on my wish list as I learn more about how we live in the house. Sometimes the previous owner had it that way for a reason. This has saved us tons of money and grief.
4. If you talk with a vendor or contractor...or consult websites representing an industry, you can learn a lot. You also will be subjected to whatever the latest and greatest sales propaganda that’s percolating through the industry at the time. They may be offering Practical solutions -OR - they may be about to talk you into something ridiculous.
5. There always is more than one solution to a problem. Usually a feasible solution is cheap, especially if you just need a temporary fix. For example, try downspout extenders to fix a water problem before embarking on a $28,000 foundation waterproofing adventure. If someone is doom and gloom and insists this is the only way, find somebody else. Either the person isn’t experienced enough to know better or they’re too narrow minded. Sometimes you do need the expensive fix, but don’t start there. And if you have to do it, find someone who knows what they’re doing, not the guy who just went to “journeyman” school for 6 months and just started running daddy’s business ;-)
Good luck!
Examples:
- my mom went to a talk about solar and attic insulation that is space technology. “Under $10 per square foot to insulate her attic!”, she tells s sounds suspicious, so I investigate. The materials they use are not this crazy tech that’s cutting edge. It’s foil. Less than $1 per square foot on sale at Home Depot, I know because we just used similar materials for a floor underlayment.
- my father-in-law bought a new air conditioner and hvac (blower, box with air filter and humidifier) for $11,000. It’s enormous capacity. He was all over the specs and the dreaded Freon issue (it will be BANNED!!, he says - as if every home, apartment, and motor vehicle with existing Freon systems will suddenly be outlawed). He lives in Wisconsin in a little 2 bedroom house, where the A/C is on maybe 4-6 weeks of the year.
- we moved into an old farmhouse. I thought we would take out a kitchen wall to open up the space. Turns out that I liked the 3 step kitchen’s efficiency and that the mess was hidden when we camp out in the living room. Never touched it! New flooring and fresh trim/paint, maybe new fixtures, can make a huge difference in your experience of a home.