A home renovation project can end up being quite expensive, so the last thing you want to do is end up making a big mistake that causes your budget to balloon out of control. The following are a few tips for avoiding some of the more common home renovation mistakes:
- Establish your budget beforehand – Not having a budget will usually end in disaster. What you thought was only going to put you back a few thousand dollars may end up costing tens of thousands by the time it’s all done and finished. Sit down and figure out how big of a budget you have and what you can spend it on. Be sure to give yourself a ten to 20 percent cushion to allow for extra costs that you may not have foreseen.
- Make every decision before remodeling begins – It’s hard not to get excited to begin work on a home renovation. But don’t jump the gun – make sure every decision is made before you begin work, even if it’s just choosing colors. Materials can take a while to order, which means that your project length can be extended because you waited too long to make a decision.
- Don’t change your mind – Changing your mind about a material or a style halfway through a renovation can be extremely costly. Changing one thing often requires a number of other things to be changed too, which will add considerable expense to the project. There’s a reason contractors want everything decided upon before work begins.
- Making too many choices based on personal taste – If you plan on living in your home forever, then that’s fine. But if you plan on selling your house at some point, then you may want to avoid modeling your new kitchen after the kitchen in The Simpsons as it will hurt your ability to sell your home.
- Hire the right contractor – You’ll want to hire a contractor that is trustworthy and that does high quality work. There are a lot of contractors out there that are in it for a quick buck, and will cut corners in order to cut costs. Spend some time doing research on who you want to work with. Ask friends and family for referrals and compare a number of contractors before making a decision.
- Make sure your renovation project is legal – First of all, you’ll need permits in order to do any substantial work. A good contractor will help you obtain these permits. However, you should also check local government code as well as your Homeowner’s Association rules to make sure that your renovation is allowed. You don’t want to waste time and money prepping for a renovation that you can’t end up doing – or even worse yet, finding out the project isn’t allowed halfway through it!
These are a few tips that you should keep in mind in order to avoid making costly mistakes in regards to your home renovation project.