Be Creative, Take Projects One At A Time
Refurbishing a home can be exceptionally expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. All you have to do is think critically and take things one step at a time. That’s what gets a lot of people in trouble: they try to do too much at once and then get overwhelmed. What’s wiser is going through your house room by room, figuring out what you could refurbish, and prioritizing.
The big cost on remodel or refurbishment is labor. If you can go the DIY route, you’ll save quite a lot of money. Imagine a crew of three, working twenty-four hours over three days. Imagine if they’re charging around $20 an hour per contractor, and end up wracking up a $1,000 materials bill. That comes out to $2,440.
If you did the exact same job yourself, it may take three weeks, but you would only pay the $1,000 materials bill. This is a hypothetical for illustration purposes, but you get the idea: man-hours are one of the most expensive parts of your budget. The thing is, most home maintenance are things you could do with fair yourself, as long as you take your time.
A Few Things You Might Try
You can tear up carpet and put down Luxury Vinyl Plank, or LVP. You’re only out the time it takes to buy the LVP, pull out the carpet, dispose of the carpet, properly cut the LVP, and install it. Just give yourself at least a half inch of space once you fit the LVP under the walls, or heat and cold will cause expansion and contraction that makes the LVP bubble.
Paint is another pretty simple one. You just need to bring a sample of the shade you’re after into the paint mixers, buy enough paint, and put it on. Granted, you may want to tape around certain things, get paint rollers and the type, and you’ll want to look up online tutorials regarding best practices in terms of coats, etc. But doing it yourself is cheaper than hiring painters.
If you’ve got wooden floors, you can clean them, sweep them, wipe them down, then apply a layer of polyurethane every four or five hours until you’ve got three coats on there. Be sure to buff out any scratches or other damage using a hand sander beforehand. When you’re done, it will look like you’ve got a new floor.
Are you in a prefabricated single or double-wide? If it’s twenty or more years old, you may need to replace the siding. Well, pull off the old stuff, install the new stuff, and do it when it’s warm and unlikely to rain; the job will probably take you a week or two.
Yardwork, Basements, And Attics
How about yard work? Landscaping can add tens of thousands to your property’s value. If things aren’t so bad, get a lawnmower and make a habit of tending the premises. If they’re rough, consider pulling out the lawn and putting in a few bushes, wood chips, or rocks.
Finish that basement. Clean out the attic and make a reading room or a guest room. Fix all the “honey-do’s” in the house. You can read this great post by ISoldMyHouse.com for some more ideas to help you most effectively maintain your property, refurbish the premises, or upgrade things.
Maximizing Property Value While Conserving Your Budget
If you’re going to keep your house looking its best, and steadily increase the value of that property, it will require a concerted effort. That said, if you’re savvy about how you approach this, take your time, use your imagination, and complete as many DIY jobs as you can, you’ll be able to get more for your money while increasing property value.
