Planning A Home Renovation? Here’s How To Plan It On A Budget

Planning a home renovation project is often exciting. You’ve identified part of your house that you can improve, and now you’re eagerly anticipating what it will look like once you’ve had the work done.

Home renovations can be expensive, though, so you’ll need to plan the costs out very carefully. We’ll talk about how you can do that in this article.

1. Estimate the Costs

Before diving into this project, you’ll first need to consider how much money you have to spend and how much this particular home improvement typically costs. If you don’t know how much you should expect to pay for this project, you can do some research online to get a rough idea.

For instance, if you’re getting a new roof put on your house, you can research how much that normally costs and read a few articles about it to compare your project to others. If you discover that the amount of money you have available is far less than what this project usually costs, it’s probably better to put it off for the moment. You don’t want to reach a point where you have to pay off debt in collections because you were overzealous with your home renovation.

2. Collect Contractor Bids

Next, you can start collecting contractor bids. Generally, the more proposals you get, the better. If you deal with contractors a few times, you might find out that a quote one gives you may vary dramatically from what the next one proposes to charge you.

Most homeowners like to get a minimum of three different quotes on a job, but there’s nothing wrong with collecting more than that. It’s also helpful to do some online research on each contractor. You can often find feedback from former clients by Googling the company’s name.

3. Look for Ways to Lower the Project’s Cost

Once you pick a contractor, you can consider whether there are any ways to lower the project’s cost. This often depends on the details of the home improvement you have in mind.

For instance, you can often handle demolition yourself. Most people don’t find it too challenging to remove cabinetry, tear up old flooring, or knockdown drywall. Taking care of that step sometimes means your contractor will lower their asking price.

You can also sometimes save money on the overall project cost if you provide your own materials. A contractor will frequently charge more if they need to shop for everything required for the renovation on their own time. It’s not unreasonable to request that they lower the price if you have the necessary materials ready to go when they get to your house.

If you do this, though, make sure you get a list of precisely the right materials from the contractor and don’t make any mistakes. Having the supplies ready doesn’t help if you missed some items or bought ones that aren’t suitable for the job.

Home Renovation Can Improve Your Resale Value

In many cases, a renovation project can raise your home’s resale value. Plus, you can enjoy the improvement for as long as you live in that house.

Make sure you research the project and have enough money for it before moving forward. Get several quotes from contractors, and check up on the ones that make it to the top of your list; The one who provides you with the lowest estimate might not always have the best reviews.

Finally, look into ways you can lower the project’s overall cost. Think about whether you can handle any aspects of the job yourself or whether you must rely on the contractor for every step. See if the contractor will knock down their estimate if you can provide the proper materials.

If you follow these guidelines, you should complete your home renovation project at a reasonable price.