Budgeting For The Big Renovation
When it comes to building your dream home, renovating is often a lot more cost-effective than trying to get back on the market. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not expensive. It can take a lot of work to get the cash that you need and to make sure that it’s spent as appropriately as possible. Here, we’re going to look at a few tips to help you ensure you have the finances to see the project through as smoothly as possible.
Get specific with your goals
One of the biggest issues with renovations is that project scopes can change over time, which will necessitate big costs. Often, these changes aren’t due to any contractor, but the person paying them. (You in this case.) Think about everything you want from a renovation and list them in terms of priority as shown at Guides.co. Then, think about what work this would specifically need and consult whatever online resources can give you some price estimates on what they will cost. This will help you get a good idea of what it costs to actually get what you want, rather than discovering it by expanding the scope as time goes on.
Set a baseline and a budget for it
Once you have an idea of what specifics you want from your renovation, you need to set a baseline amount that you’re going to set aside to pay for it. With tools like Pigly.com you can calculate exactly how much you would need to save in order to get that amount, then create a budget that helps you save up enough money to pay it. Otherwise, you can look into financing options. There are some loans that offer money specifically those who are aiming to make improvements to their property. They are not available everywhere, but it could be worth taking a look to at least see what your options are before you start saving.
Get hard quotes but expect surprises
When you’re talking to contractors, you should expect that they might massage their initial quotes just to get you in the door and talking to them. However, don’t accept any ballpark first quotes as a reasonable expectation of what you’re going to pay. Once you discuss the specifics of the project, you should get a hard quote of what it is more realistically going to cost now that they have the data to actually support their figures. Even then, you should anticipate that most home improvement projects are going to face delays or additional costs and, for that reason, have a bit of a buffer for unexpected costs. Otherwise, you could end up going into debt to pay for it instead.
Aside from budgeting effectively for renovations, you may also want to ensure that you’re doing them for the right reasons. For instance, it’s always worth looking up just how much certain changes to the home might affect its resale value, as this can sometimes justify going a little further out of pocket.
