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How to Set a Proper Budget for Your Home Remodel
When you decide to renovate your home - whether to sell or make improvements for you and your family to enjoy - setting a budget can be a challenge . Knowing what you want to accomplish may be the easy part but avoiding the bad advice out there and determining what you can actually afford takes research and detailed planning .
Consider these tips from National Association of the Remodeling Industry ( NARI ) member contractors to help build an appropriate remodeling budget .
Identify your project scope and ideal budget . Start by creating a list of everything you would like to include in your renovation then separate your list into wants and needs . From there , determine a proposed budget for the project based on how much you ’ re comfortable spending and your home ’ s value .
“ Get your bids after you know what the project is ,” said Michael Anschel , principal of OA Design + Build + Architecture .
Meet with remodelers . Set up a meeting with a local remodeling company and share your proposed scope of work and budget to see if it ’ s feasible . An experienced , professional remodeler who is a member of an organization like NARI can share feedback on the costs in your area and any challenges involved with your project based on experiences with homes like yours . Once you have a better understanding of the true scope of the project , meet with other contractors to gather a few estimates to compare .
“ Are you hiring an installer or are you hiring an expert guide ?” asked Barak Steenlage , co-owner of Anchor Builders . “ The difference is worth the investment .”
Beware of low estimates . When evaluating companies for your project , remember estimates you may find online don ’ t typically account for regional variations , the cost of various types of labor and necessary permits .
“ Cost estimates you find may be national averages that are lower than the costs in your city ,” said Bjorn Freudenthal , homeowner advisor at New Spaces . “ Also , they may only account for the cost of the replacement materials , not other costs like changing the floor plan or updating electrical , plumbing and HVAC systems . They might also be missing the costs of removal of hazardous materials like asbestos and lead paint .”
The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused some materials to rise in cost , so it ’ s important to account for these increases .
“ Bad contractor stories come from people cutting corners and hiring unqualified people ,” Anschel said . “ When you ’ re paying bottom of the barrel , there ’ s no bandwidth for the contractor to solve problems .”
Ensure you have proper permits . Not all projects require permits , but it is important to determine if your project requires one from your city or county . Make sure you ( or your contractor ) obtain one , if necessary , to ensure the safety of the work and its compliance with building , construction and zoning codes .
“ If a homeowner or contractor doesn ’ t pull permits and something goes wrong , the homeowner is liable to fix the problem ,” Anschel said . “ This additional cost could be a large percentage of the original job , and maybe more .”
Understand your timeline . The purpose of your renovation can impact the long-term value of the project . Making updates to prepare your home to sell , for example , is a more immediate cost than updating a space you will spend time in for years to come .
“ When the homeowner is looking to stay 7-10 years or more , it impacts lifetime value because you can spread the cost out over a longer period of time ,” Steenlage said .
Find more tips for your next remodeling project , and member contractors in your area , at RemodelingDoneRight . com . n
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