How To Budget For Your Home Renovation Project

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Have a great guest post today from Cooper Klein @ Smooth Decorator talking about how to budget for your home renovation project. He's an entrepreneur with a degree in Marketing. He’s interested in real estate and home decor. In order to spend more time with his family, Cooper decided to take a break, and he’s currently working from home as a blogger for SmoothDecorator.com and several other sites. You can find him on Twitter. Let us know what you think of Cooper's take in the comments. Enjoy!

The crucial step of every home renovation is a sound and well-developed plan. We guarantee you that owing to it, you’ll be able to turn your place into a dream home, but still stay on budget. And, since we know that coming up with a good plan may seem quite complicated at first, we’ve prepared a list of some useful advice and ideas that will certainly help you achieve this in no time. Let’s take a look.

Start with what’s most urgent

The hardest part of every renovation project is its start. Sometimes, it may seem to you that there are so many things which need to be done that you don’t know what you should do first. However, this doesn’t need to be too complicated – start with what’s most urgent. For example, consider the costs of electrical work and roof reshingling first since such repairs will require a significant investment. Afterwards, you can think about less urgent fixes around the house and plan your budget accordingly so that you don’t have to break the bank in order to finish the renovation.

Find the right contractor

If you want to stay on budget, it’s crucial that you find a suitable contractor that will carefully listen to your needs and know how to fulfil them successfully. And, in order to do so, you have to conduct thorough research in advance and ask your friends and neighbours for a recommendation. Additionally, once you find a seemingly reliable contractor, don’t forget to check their references and ask to see their previous work in order to be sure that you’re making the right decision.

Don’t overlook the cost of permits

You may have considered the cost of all the new items that you have to buy and the amount of money you’ll spend on the workers, but you have probably overlooked how expensive all the necessary renovation permits will be. So, before you start renovating, make sure that your contractor has checked all the rules in your municipality regarding these permits. This way, you’ll avoid ending up broke before all the work is finished.

Think about all the details

Once you’ve planned your budget and all the biggest expenses, you should start thinking about some other important details as well. For example, the bathroom is a crucial part of every home and we aren’t often even aware of how much time we spend in there, so don’t forget to include it in your renovation plan. We advise you to invest in one of the high-quality bathtubs since they are definitely the central item in your bathroom. Finally, set some funds aside for bathroom accessories as well and decorate it according to the latest fashion.

Consider your neighborhood

Another aspect that is worth considering is the quality of your neighborhood. Although this may sound irrelevant at first, it’s actually far from that. For example, if you’re living in a run-down neighborhood in which the property value is low, it’s not advisable to invest a lot of money in renovation since once you decide to sell the place, you’ll be at a loss. On the other hand, if we’re talking about an up-and-coming neighborhood, we would definitely suggest investing a significant amount into your place since it will certainly pay off in the end.

Find a way to cut expenses

Finally, even when you have the whole plan written down and the costs calculated, you can still find some wiggle room to cut down on expenses. For example, you can start visiting the clearance sections of home improvement retail stores where you can get a deal on building materials, furniture and all the house appliances. Finally, reconsider everything you’ve planned so far and eliminate all the unnecessarily expensive remodelling.

As you can see, planning a home renovation requires a lot of thought on your part, but if you consider everything carefully in advance, we’re sure that there won’t be any major issues. Think about all the things that you’d like to have in your dream house, but, at the same time, try to stay realistic and spend your money reasonably.