Renovated apartment: what to check before buying

A renovated apartment saves you time and money: you move in and use it. But "renovated" in a listing only means that work happened. It does not say who did it, with what material, or what sits underneath the finish. This guide covers what usually separates a well-executed renovation from a quick cover-up.

What "renovated" means in practice

Before looking at anything, it is worth asking what was actually done. A renovation may have replaced only the tiling and the paint, or it may have touched the electrical wiring, the plumbing and the window frames. The difference shows up in the maintenance of the coming years, not in the first month.

Questions that help:

• Was the electrical wiring replaced? Is the distribution board new or old?
• Was the plumbing replaced? Is there an individual stopcock?
• Were the windows replaced or just painted?
• Was the work supervised by someone qualified?

Not every answer needs to be "yes". The problem is not a simple renovation: it is not knowing what was done.

Services: what almost nobody looks at

These are precisely the items that are most expensive to fix later.

Electrical

Open the distribution board. A tidy board, with labelled breakers and spare capacity, points to recent, well-executed work. A full board, with old fuses or visible joints, points the other way. Test the sockets with a charger and check whether the number of outlets suits the routine you intend to have.

Plumbing

Turn on every tap at once and flush. A sharp drop in pressure or slow drainage shows up in that test. In bathrooms, look for marks on the wall opposite the shower and along the skirting: those are signs of damp.

Damp

It is the item that most compromises a property and the easiest to disguise with fresh paint. Look carefully at:

• wall corners, behind furniture and inside built-in wardrobes;
• skirtings and the joint between the floor and the wall;
• the bathroom ceiling and the slab, where accessible;
• a smell of mould, which usually appears before the stain.

If the property was painted recently, ask when. Fresh paint over a wall that was stained is the most common disguise.

Finishes: where problems show first

Finishes are the visible part, and where the haste of a job shows.

• Grout: should be continuous and even. Missing grout in a shower is a path for water.
• Alignment: doors and cabinet drawers should open and close without catching.
• Skirting: tight against the wall and the floor, with no gaps.
• Floor: walk it barefoot. Uneven tiles and loose pieces show up in the sound.
• Sealant: where the counter and the shower meet, it should be clean and free of bubbles.

Paperwork and the state of the building

This part is not technical, but it weighs just as much.

• Ask for the minutes of the last residents' meetings. They show whether work is planned and how the finances stand.
• Check whether there is litigation or unpaid building fees attached to the unit.
• Check the land registry entry and the property tax record before any deposit.
• If work is planned on the façade or the lifts, your share of the cost will appear.

Is a renovated property worth more than one to renovate?

It depends on what you want to buy: time or control.

A property to renovate usually costs less, but it demands a design, a budget, a schedule and supervision. Renovation budgets overrun often, and the schedule is rarely the one planned.

An already renovated property costs more, and you pay for the finished work and for the time you will not spend. The risk is buying a badly executed renovation, which is exactly what this guide helps you spot.

If you are going to live there, the practical question is: how much time do you have to supervise building work? If the answer is very little, the ready property tends to pay off, as long as the renovation can be verified.

How Portalis works

Portalis buys properties in Rio de Janeiro, runs the renovation and delivers the unit ready to live in or invest in. Whoever visits sees the result after the work, not a plan.

Because we are not in a hurry to sell one particular unit, there is room to answer calmly about what was done in each property. If a detail has not been confirmed, it appears as "on request" on the site rather than becoming an estimated number.

See the available properties or talk to the team with questions about a specific unit.