If you’re looking to build your dream home, or just touch up one room, like your kitchen or bedroom, don’t let your finances crush your ideas before they have a chance to shine. Take a look at what you need to consider before you start to renovate.
Planning and Design
Before you start renovating, think of how you live. Do you like to have friends and family over? Are you ok with cleaning? Are you noisy? How you answer these questions will change your layout, but also the colour schemes and even surfaces.
Things you need to do before you start planning your renovations are:
- Assess your current home
- What do you want your renovation to achieve
- Requirements and permits
- Find an architect
- Find a builder
- Have your finances sorted
Quotes and Budget
Shop around. Quotes are just that – quotes. They aren’t an iron clad contract. There are plenty of calculators online to help you get an initial estimate.
Some of the costs you’ll need to budget for are:
- Building inspectors
- Architects
- Builders
- Electricians
- Plumbers
DIY or professional
If you know what you are doing, you can look to cut costs by doing some of the work yourself. If you’re experience is watching the Block every week, be wary, as it’s a lot harder than it looks, and doing a bad job can be worse than doing nothing at all.
Long-term savings
Before cutting out items from your renovation due to budget, factor in how it will affect the long term value of the renovation. Things such as solar panels, double brick insulation and even your windows might cost you more initially, but will pay back themselves quickly, and will increase the sale value of your house.