If you’ve been dreaming of installing a new kitchen or updating your bathrooms, you need to make sure that you check these three steps before you start with the renovation project to avoid going over budget and turning your dream into a nightmare:
Break up your plans into manageable chunks
Focus on one room at a time. By tackling one room only, if things end up costing more than you had planned, you can still finish off the room and take on the rest of the rooms later, once you have saved up some more cash.
Be realistic about the budget from the get go
Before you start smashing out walls and tearing out old ceilings, do some proper research to get an idea of how much everything will cost. Shop around to find materials or suppliers that suit your budget. Remember to leave a 10% buffer on all expenses to allow room for unexpected costs, like delivery or installation fees or even emergency repairs when the old features are removed. You also want to avoid completely overcapitalising on the property. The best way to understand how much is wise to spend on your renovation project, is to call on a real estate agency, such as RE/MAX, to give you a property evaluation.
Have a plan B
Be flexible with your plans and make sure to look at various options while you do your research. If you discover that putting in new flooring or replacing the counter tops will cost a bigger portion of your budget than you had initially planned, it might become necessary to re-evaluate the project. Take a look around the room and decide what could remain as is and what definitely needs to be replaced. Sometimes you can get away with spending just a small amount of money to refinish certain features instead of outright replacing them. Other times, you might need to go for the cheaper option, for example, if quartz countertops are too expensive, perhaps it is worthwhile to explore the cost of melamine alternatives. The key to remaining on budget is to be flexible and adaptable to the situation as it changes.
