Home renovations can be exciting and fun, providing you with a beautiful new space and a potential increase in your home equity – but if you aren’t properly prepared, taking on a home reno can quickly turn into an expensive, messy, and stressful situation.
Maybe you are the master of DIY (or think you are…) or maybe you are completely aware of your lack of skills and have hired a professional to bring your vision to life. Either way, there are a few important things to consider when renovating any part of your home.
What are Your Priorities?
First things first is actually deciding what your reno will consist of – what are your priorities? Why are you taking on this reno in the first place?
Are you selling your house and want to up the homes value a bit? Maybe you aren’t moving but you feel a certain area of your home is lacking functionality and you want to change that? Or are you simply going for aesthetics?
Second, what part of your home are you renovating, and what aspects of that area would you rank as most important? Perhaps you are renovating your kitchen and your goal is a more open space; or maybe your overhauling the bathroom but really you just want a fancy new jet tub.
Either way, outline what it is that you want.
Will it Pay Off?
Once you’ve actually decided what you want out of this renovation, you can calculate whether or not it will pay off (and if that is something that even concerns you).
If the purpose of this renovation is to increase the homes value for sale, you will definitely want to calculate your costs and your potential return before making any changes.
If the renovation is just for you perhaps the financial value isn’t so important, but it will pay of as added functionality and comfort for your day-by-day life.
Budget, budget, budget!
Regardless of the purpose of this renovation, budget should always be a top priority. Without a carefully planned budget (especially larger scale renovations like a basement reno), your expenditures can quickly get out of hand – and unplanned or unexpected expenses can spell disaster.
Here are some tips for planning and sticking to your budget:
- Have a contingency budget
- Avoid adding jobs or changing your mind half way through the project
- Estimate all of your costs beforehand
- Take into consideration hidden costs
- Invest in insurance to cover unexpected damages
Know The Rules!
Lastly, it’s important to know that, sure you may own the house, but no that does not necessarily mean you can do whatever you’d like.
Always make sure you check that you have the proper permits and permissions, be familiar with the building codes you have to adhere to, know your HOA guidelines, etc.
What Are You Waiting For?
If you’ve gone through all of these considerations and feel confident in your plan and your abilities to execute it – or those of your contractor – then it seems you are ready to get started!
Happy reno’ing!
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