Celebrities have made a living on dealing with the disasters of home renovations started without proper planning. Doing it yourself or hiring someone the plan is critical in design and execution.
Before you start learn the questions that must be answered to be successful.
#1 Should You? Home Renovations
As you sit there binge watching the latest renovation show your get excited thinking "a bit of hard work over a weekend and I too can have a big reveal to my friends and family"
Back to reality and consider;
- Do you like your house and neighbourhood?
- Is your current location convenient to get to work , shopping and Schools?
- Is there resale value in your home?
- Can you and your family survive a major renovation?
- Where will you live?
- Is the total cost recoverable if you needed to sell, now and in the future
Common Story; A couple moves into a 100 year old home, enticed by the allure of owning a century home. Not handy themselves they underestimated the costs both in time and money. The house was never restored and in fact deteriorated further over the years. Home prices increased and their investment was never realized. A simple business analogy “Stay in your lane” think critically.
Rule of Thumb; Projects should never exceed 15% of the value of your home, anything more is likely too much to recover on resale.
#2 Can You? Home Renovations
Of course you can, a few YouTube video’s, some more binge home renovations shows and you can do anything, plus a new project always gets you some cool new power tools!
Critical thinking is very important here, so often once you start dreaming it is difficult to put on the brakes and say NO.
This is where team work comes into play, listen to your partner they may be far enough away from the action to keep you grounded.
Consider the following;
- Time and Money seldom come together! All too often we have time but not the money or money and not the time.
- Can your family relationships handle the renovation? Not to be taken lightly as renovations cause many separations.
- Will this be Do It Yourself, Do-it-with me, or Do-it-for me? Each will require more time or money!
READ THIS ON HOW TO PICK A CONTRACTOR
- Also consider;
- Where will we live? How much do you like your in-laws?
- What are the stages? Detail these by starting a quinju project.
- How much will it really cost, add 30-50% of your best guess or 20
% above any estimate. - How long will it really take? Double any time projections if you’re doing it your-self or 20% if a professional is doing it for you.
You can find additional information from the Canadian Home Builder's Association!
The intent is not to scare people away from renovations, however to encourage smart, critical thinking, considering all the variables before starting. Begin your plans and stay organized using quinju.com.
