Are you planning on renovating your home in the near future? Then, you should make sure that you don’t make these 3 budgeting mistakes.
1. Giving Yourself No Wiggle Room
One of the biggest renovation mistakes that you can make is to assume that everything will go to plan, especially when it comes to your finances. You’re very likely to spend more than you’d like on your home. There are hidden fees, delays and mistakes that you won’t see coming. There will be extra projects that you didn’t consider from the beginning.
What can you do to avoid going over-budget? The renovation experts recommend that you set aside 10 to 15 percent of your budget to use as a safety net when your project costs go over the original estimates. It’s a simple precaution that could save you a lot of stress.
What if it’s not enough? If you find that you’ve emptied out your budget and you have a small emergency to cover, like a plumbing repair or a roof fix, you should consider applying for personal loans in Michigan as an additional safety net. Personal loans and personal lines of credit are effective solutions that you can turn to when you’re between a rock and a hard place. You don’t have to go through a long, arduous process to apply. You can apply online and get a response about your approval very quickly.
Don’t paint yourself into a corner with a too-tight budget. Give yourself some wiggle room.
2. Not Researching Ahead of Time
If you’re basing your budget on how much you have in the bank, you’re only doing half of the work. Just like when you’re making a household budget, you need to calculate all of the expenses after you’ve established the available income. Without a good estimate of the project costs, you’re bound to get into financial trouble and fast.
How can you figure out project costs? Do lots of research. Look up the average renovation costs based on the room or area of the house it takes place in. Look up what permits you will have to apply for ahead of time. Look into what materials you’d be interested in using and what price ranges you can expect from them.
Before hiring a contractor for your projects, ask for a quote for their services. Then, compare the costs with other contractor quotes in the area. This can help you develop a sensible renovation budget — and it can keep you from getting stuck with a bad deal.
3. Only Thinking about the Projects
Projects aren’t the only costs that you should think about. There are lots of additional costs that can eat up your budget:
- If your kitchen will be unavailable during the renovation, you will likely rely on fast food/takeout for the majority of your meals. Ordering in every day can get expensive.
- If you have young kids, you may need to hire babysitters to watch them during peak construction hours.
- If you have pets, you may need to hire a pet-sitter or join a pet daycare program. Take a look at other ways that you should help your pet during home renovations so that they’re safe and happy.
- If you want to keep your valuables out of the way, you might need to rent out a storage unit.
Your budget is the first big step in your renovation. You want to make sure that you follow these tips and start everything off right.
