Whether you are planning on renovating a home before you move in, or you are remodeling your current house so that you can be more comfortable, the budget can be the issue. It’s actually the toughest part of the process when it comes to renovation. If your bathroom is a decade out of date and you want to make some changes, you need to find the thousands of dollars it takes to make those changes.
Sure, you can do small things such as replacing the vinyl and the fixtures to upgrade the space, but if you need to rip out the entire bathroom and replace the shower and bath fittings, then you need to figure out how you budget for that as well. The first thing you need to do is determine what it is that you need, versus what it is that you actually want. You don’t have to do some research to figure out how much everything is going to cost and whether you need to get some equity release advice from your mortgage advisor, and then you have to figure out how you can pull that money together. Most renovations often end up costing much more than they were originally planted, which is why you often hear about jobs going over and homeowners becoming frustrated at the length of time things are taking.
So, gathering as many quotes as possible including quotes that have extra time attached will help. Below, we’ve got some tips for budgeting for your home renovations so that you get what you want without breaking the bank.
- Get to know your needs. Why are you renovating your home? Are you doing it to sell or to be more comfortable? It doesn’t really matter what your reasons are, because your goals are going to be the same. Make a list of your goals and your renovation needs as a jumping off point. The smaller projects can wait for a much later date, but it’s the big stuff you need to get started with first.
- Take a look at the difference between cost and value. If you plan to sell your home in future, you need to keep that return on investment at the top of your priority list. You don’t need to be pouring $40,000 worth of your hard earned money into a kitchen if it’s not going to sell for more than you originally paid for it. However, if this is purely a project for you to just enjoy, then you should upgrade based on what you want rather than what you necessarily need. If you are not renovating to appeal to buyers, then you can only appeal to yourself.
- Figure out your finances. This is the hardest part. Not only do you need to work out what you want to renovate, you need to work out how you’re going to afford the renovation. Do you have enough cash to cover that renovation? If you do then that’s fantastic! If you don’t, then you need to consider borrowing money for the project to work. If you have equity in your home already, you may be able to take that, but as we said earlier on you need to talk to your mortgage advisor about that first.
- Contact others! Do you know people in your circle have done the same renovations you are looking to do? They might have the recommendations that you would need for builders, materials, and even costs. If they can recommend you to an excellent builder or contractor, then you know that your home is going to look fantastic. They may be able to tell you what not to do when it comes to renovations, and what things would have tripped them up, to. It’s a good way to understand a bit more about the renovation you were hoping to do and what the outcome may be.
- Make a list of your needs and goals for contractor bids. What do you want from your contractor? What are your goals? You need to make sure that you hire the best and the right people to come and do the job for you, so you may need to look at not going with the absolute cheapest option. You have to remember that you get what you pay for, so if you pay somebody very cheaply, you may end up with a cheap outcome. Contractor should be able to give you quotes including their insurance, and they should be able to provide you with their insurance. Good contractors will even give you information about previous customers so that you can get some good references.