Giving your home a makeover is exciting. You have ideas on the things you will get rid of and new things to put in place that will make your home look amazing. Most times, people do not get the right estimate of how much things will cost. 

You may want to renovate the living room and kitchen; however, with time, you will realize that the bathroom needs new tiles and the bedroom needs a fresh coat of paint.

To ensure that everything gets done, you need to budget. Find out what you will need and how much they cost. Will you outsource the work, or will you do it on your own? 

The answers to these questions will help you budget for your home makeover.

 

Determine Financing

If you are thinking about a makeover, you have probably also thought about how you are going to finance the project. Sometimes. You may have a rough idea of where you will get the money for your project. However, it is important before you get started on everything else to finalize where you will get funds from. 

Some of the options you may have include money you may have saved for this purpose, loans from family members, or you can take a loan from lenders. The loan can be from a facility such as SoFi’s personal loan or a bank. 

People think it is a bad idea to get a loan to finance your home makeover; it may be the only option you got. You need to research to determine who offers the best interest rates before taking a loan.

 

Prioritize Projects

You want to renovate your home because something about it is not meeting your needs. It can be a new member of the family or someone who had an accident and now needs a wheelchair-accessible room. 

In the case of a wheelchair-accessible person, you will need to prioritize constructing a ramp or making the shower more user-friendly for them. This is not when you want to get new appliances for the kitchen or build a pool.

It is easy to get sidetracked and forget other important things that you need to renovate and focus on those that seem like fun or will make your home look more aesthetic. To ensure you stay on top of the things that need to be changed, you can ask your family members to participate in the project. 

Give someone something to be in charge of that they have to make sure is done. This way, you will be held accountable. Looking at the value that that change will add to your home is also a good way of ensuring you get the important things done.

 

Create a Remodeling Plan and Invite Bids

After coming up with a list of things that need to be remodeled, you should look at the cost of the materials used. You should also find out how much labor is for the things you need. Labor costs between 25 to 35 percent of the budget of the project. 

Most people forget shipping costs and tax; remember to include them and find estimates as close as possible to the price. After you have gathered all this information, create a spreadsheet. If the total cost is above your budget, you can look at things that you can DIY, this will reduce the total cost.

When you have created the spreadsheet, it is time to invite bids from contractors. It is crucial that, even at this point, you communicate exactly what you are looking for. Ask people who have done renovations for recommendations on the contractors they used. When looking at the bids, select three of four that impress you the most, conduct interviews, and check out their references. 

Your contractor should know how you have prioritized the work and how you want it done. Do not go for a cheap contractor because you think you will end up saving money. 

They may not be experienced, and you will end up with shoddy work that may need to be redone. If you are unhappy with any of the bids you receive, consider cutting down your work or doing some of it yourself. You can also decide to wait for some time before inviting bids again.

Home makeovers sound fun; however, you need to put in a lot of work to get the desired results. You need to prioritize and focus on getting those done. It is also important to get a team that understands your budget and works within the budget.

 

 

 

How to Budget for a Home Makeover is a feature post