Home renovation can be an extremely fulfilling exercise, but get it wrong, and you’ll have to live with the results for at least a few years. However, if you pay attention to a few things at the preparatory stage, there’s no reason why you won’t have the best possible home renovation project possible. Here are a few tips to get it right:
Decide what your aims are first, then plan accordingly.
Why are you doing the home renovation? Is it because you want to live there for a few more years, or is it to drive its market value up so that you get better resale value from it? Depending upon what your goal is for the renovation, you will need different renovation strategies from you. If you live in the house, you can customize your renovation to what you like regardless of whether it affects the resale value.
Budget your time and money
Budgeting can depend on your reasons for renovation as well – if you’re renovating for yourself, you have more leeway to go over budget with both time and money. However, if your home renovation is specifically to drive up your house’s value for resale, you need to adhere strictly to your budget, else you will not recover your investment.
Prioritize rooms or sections
Budgets can quickly be exceeded if you seek the best for every room. Is a great kitchen more important to you, or do you need pristine bathrooms? Do you really need to spend that big a percentage of your remodeling budget on guest rooms that will not be used often? Prioritizing rooms or sections of the house will help you streamline your budget and spend the money and time on things that matter the most.
Are there things you can do yourself?
India does not really have a DIY culture, but you can save some money by doing some things yourself. Putting things together might be a difficult task, but at least demolition is relatively easy. There are many resources on the Internet to help guide you on your home renovation journey, and if something goes awry, that’s what the contractor is for! There also is an undeniable satisfaction in doing some home renovation yourself—knowing that you helped make your house look the way it does will give you a warm glow for a long, long time.
Put effort into finding the best deal.
As with most things, there will be many varieties of things available at differing price points. This includes flooring, kitchen appliances, cabinets, bath fittings, and windows, to name a few. Look at the products available at different price points and the quality available at those price points, and look for them at different retailers. Saving money is never a bad thing! Your effort will be rewarded with great deals.
Shop around for loans
Carrying over the previous point, you can also shop around for a home renovation loan. If you are worried the renovation will dent your pocket heavily, a personal loan can help ease the financial burden. Remember, banks aren’t the only places that can provide a loan to renovate your house NBFCs, and other financial institutions usually offer much better deals. Sometimes the repayment schedules can be easier as well.
Your house is the single most expensive thing you will own during your lifetime, and in light of the recent pandemic, it is the place where you will spend a lot of time as well—so it is important to get things done right the first time, so you can enjoy the fruits of your investment for years to come.
