If you’re in love with your house and the neighborhood, renovating could be the best way to avoid the hassle of selling it and moving elsewhere. However, you may not be fully aware of what you’re getting into when doing a major renovation. This is seldom a completely stress-free exercise.
Planning beforehand, being realistic with your budget, and doing things the right way can greatly help you evade the headaches that are associated with renovations. Here are some tips that can help you refurbish your home in a less stressful way.
- Do the Necessary Paperwork
It is important to seek approval from the local government authorities before making any changes to your home. You don’t want to breach some laws by neglecting to file the necessary paperwork. Even minor renovations require local council approval in some cases. You’ll need permission from the authorities for your complete refurbishment.
- Let Your Insurers Know
Most home and contents insurers stipulate that you should notify them about your planned refurbishing exercise before commencing the work. This way, you’ll know what they cover and what they do not. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to call them and ask the related questions.
Insurers are different. Some may only offer partial cover during refurbishments, with specific limitations. For instance, they might not incur the costs of storm or water damage if you left one portion of your house exposed to the elements in the process.
- When to Hire Contractors
There are so many factors that you should consider before settling on whether you’re going to hire contractors for your home project or do it yourself. One of them is the amount of free time you have or can create for the work. This is because complete refurbishment is a time-consuming exercise.
While a DIY renovation might seem like a good way to save some extra bucks, there some levels of the work that you better leave to professionals. The experts are experienced and have the necessary skills to do the job faster and efficiently.
You can also decide to be an owner builder. This is where you manage subcontractors under your control or do your own refurbishment. This option is usually cheaper and more flexible in terms of work schedule. If you’re going toward this direction, then familiarize yourself with the relevant legislation that affect owner Builders in your area.
- Estimate the Cost Properly
The excitement around home refurbishments can blind you from giving much thought about the cost of the whole undertaking. One of the biggest mistakes that homeowners make is to underestimate costs. This is because they make way too many assumptions.
Take your time to accurately define the parameters of what you’d like to achieve and get more than 3 quotes from various contractors. Be sure to add in any extra associated cost such as council application fees, inspection fees, and permits.
Conclusion
Whether you’re planning to refurbish your home for a sale or for it to just look more welcoming for your visitors, the key is proper planning, following the law, and realistic budgeting. Ensure that you do the necessary paperwork, inform your insurers, and estimate costs properly.