In order to find out more about common home improvement and renovation mistakes to avoid, Bored Panda reached out to Philippa Main, the professional realtor from Tampa Bay who went viral for her brilliant and insanely funny listing description about “the worst house on the street” a while back. Philippa happily shared some very useful advice with our readers, so if you have a project on your mind, be sure to see what she had to say.

The realtor explained that there are so many errors people make when doing home renovations, but they can be summed up by the idea that it is more expensive to try to do something cheaply. “Because it will inevitably cost you more in the long run when it has to be redone in order to make it right,” she added.

Another common mistake to avoid when renovating a home is hiring unlicensed professionals to do the work, and that’s very common practice among people. “I had a client go under contract on a home recently that was in the process of having a covered patio installed,” Philippa recounted.

“During inspections (before the covered roof was even complete) the home inspector discovered none of it was up to code and it could have potentially been a hazard in high wind situations. In order for it to pass county inspections and for the buyer to feel comfortable moving forward with buying the home, the sellers had to replace the entire structure. So they paid once for it to be done poorly, then paid to have the materials removed, and then paid for new materials and for a professional to properly install it.”

Philippa continued: “On top of that, the unqualified person they first hired to do the job actually ruined the main roof of the home during the installation, so they had to hire a roofer to repair their roof as well.” The realtor assured that all that could have been avoided if they had hired a professional who was licensed and insured to do that kind of job from the start.

Another useful tip from the realtor is knowing what to save on and what not to. “People may try to save $200 by not pulling a permit, but when a buyer discovers that when the owner goes to sell, it could cost the seller a lost sale or thousands of dollars to get it properly permitted after the fact,” she said.

“One of my biggest pet peeves is when people replace flooring but only some of it, especially when the areas are adjoining (like replacing the carpet in the living room with wood plank, but leaving the kitchen that connects to it with original 1980s ceramic tile). It makes it difficult for the new owner to properly match it (even if you leave them materials) because of the way the floor is installed, so they either have to live with the ugly tile, or pay to replace the whole floor,” Philippa explained.