Five Things To Consider Before Renovating Your Home

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Depending on your type of personality, renovating a home can be exciting, frustrating and tedious, but one thing is certain, it requires diligent preparation. An error from the start may hamper getting your desired result and could also make all the stress including money spent to be a total waste.

But with proper planning and knowledge, it can be one of the best experiences a homeowner could have, aside from the fact that it requires coughing out some cash.

In no particular order, below are some things to consider before renovating your house:

1. Reason for renovating

Identifying the core reason you want to renovate is important. It shouldn’t be because it is a trend in the neighborhood.

If you are renovating the house for personal use, consider your family’s comfort. Sometimes, your home might need remodeling and not just renovation. For instance, if you will be adding more bedrooms and/or bathrooms for family comfort, then that is remodelling. Logically, it is cheaper to do minor remodelling (if there is a need for one) along with renovation, instead of doing it in the future.

For properties you intend to sell off, take a view of similar properties and their listing price. Does the addition of certain things significantly increase the pricing? If yes, consider adding such to your list to maximize profit on the sales.

2. DIY or professional

Early on, it is advisable to decide who will be handling your remodeling. The reason (personal or to flip?), your expertise and the scale of the renovation will typically determine this. DIY can be used for personal and small scale renovations such as painting the kitchen wall.

But for large scale renovations such as those that would require a whole overhaul of more than a section of the house, consider hiring professionals such as garage door service providers.

Before settling for any professional, check out their review from previous clients. Consult more than one to see which would best fit your purpose. This also allows for comparing their prices and choosing the best.

Where needed, get the required council permit for your renovation activities. According to experts, failure to do this can complicate things especially if you will be selling the house.

3. Draft a schedule

Creating a schedule for the renovation will help you keep track of things and also inform you of an expected date of completion.

Areas identified with significant problems need to be attended to first to avoid any issues such as health and safety. Fixing them on time can also prevent the damage from becoming worse. 

In case there is a need for demolition, do this before commencing any decorative work such as carpeting. Likewise, upgrade of electrics and windows repair should be attended to first. For the electrical connections, ensure insulators are placed at all necessary points before they are covered up.

To make things easier, in your schedule, note the name of the contractors that would be handling them along with the agreed service cost.

Be prepared for unexpected occurrences and delays. To avoid getting frustrated, afford some extra time after the estimated date for the probable completion of the renovation.

4. Budget

Take quotations for everything down to those that seem insignificant. You don’t want to chances. In your budget, factor in making difference in market cost when you are finally to make a purchase.

Some experts recommend spending no more than 10% of your home value on a kitchen renovation and about 5% on a bathroom renovation. Another advisable thing to do here is to include contingency costs.

One mistake to also avoid at this stage is being unrealistic about how much you can afford. When discussing with a contractor (if you will be using one), be open about your budget. They may advise appropriately if there will be a need to increase it or implications of using certain materials your budget could afford.

Typically, about 45% of your budget will go to the purchase of materials; approximately 35% would be spent on labor and almost 20% will be used to cover taxes and levies.

5. Source of Fund

Renovation of homes for personal usage can be self-funded or using a mortgage. For real estate investors, there are wider options to source funds such as bank loans and upfront payments from buyers.

Irrespective of the source of the fund at your disposal, prudency without the sacrifice of quality is paramount. Keep invoices and receipts of all purchases. They will come in handy when you plan to flip the house or record your total expenses.

*This article is based on personal suggestions and/or experiences and is for informational purposes only. This should not be used as professional advice. Please consult a professional where applicable.