Must-Know Facts About Renovating Your Home on A Budget

Renovating your home on a budget is an entirely possible and attainable goal. Even with today's rocky economy, you want to increase the value of your home's equity as much as possible, but you don't want to invest massive finances into doing it.

If you're going to complete some household projects on a budget, there are a few facts you should keep in mind. 

You Don't Need To Make Big Changes 

You don't need to make massive overhauls just to see some changes in the house or an increase in value. If you're on a budget, there's no reason you can work towards fixing up some more cost-effective projects. You could work towards changing the coat of paint, changing outdoors, or fixing up any small damages in the walls. These are all projects that you'll be able to complete yourself and you won't need to hire a contractor. The cost of materials is relatively inexpensive as well. Think about things around the home that might be more realistic to fix on a budget, or if you'd rather set some money aside to save for larger projects. 

Some Renovations Need To Be Done 

Some renovations just need to be completed to keep up with the general maintenance of a property. A huge and prime example of this is the roof. Roofs tend to be good for a few decades, depending on the type, but they still need to be redone throughout the lifetime of a home. You could choose to use a metal roof, which would likely last the entirety of your lifetime, compared to other materials. There's more info here regarding using metal from professional contractors. It's best to use a contractor no matter what roof you're deciding to have installed. 

There are two major reasons for this, one you're going to be insured if anyone hurts themselves on your roof and two, you'll have a warranty on the roof. If you don't have your roofing completed when it should be done, you could face issues like water damage which leads to further complications down the road. 

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

You don't need to completely change your whole home all in one sitting. If you've made a long-term investment and this is going to be where you spend the rest of your life, take your time. You don't need to go into massive debt just to complete renovations, they can be completed in small steps over a long duration. Simply write down some of the projects you'd like to get some headway on first and work your way from there. Alternatively, you can start with less expensive projects and work your way to more expensive projects as you build equity in the house. 

Returns On Investments

Some projects will produce more equity and higher returns on your investments than others. For instance, while renovating the bathroom is often a popular option, it only returns about 30% of the value expended on renovations. That means the equity raised in your home won't even be close to equivalent to the number of expenditures that you've made. On the other hand, renovations like the addition of a deck can considerably raise the value of your home. Curbside appeal renovations tend to be a little more cost-effective and can contribute to the equity considerably. 

Don't Go With The Cheapest Contractor 

This is an article on how to renovate on a budget, so why wouldn't I suggest using the cheapest contractor available? Well, namely because if they're offering you a deal that's too good to be true, it could very well be. You want to do your homework on contractors and make sure they have adequate insurance. You also want to ask for references and see how other customers felt about the work they did. Any contractor that doesn't want to give you references is probably someone that you don't want to be working with. 

Make a list of all your expenses related to a project, and discuss all of your plans with your partner and family. Anything that needs to be changed according to a timeline like a roof should be addressed first. Keeping up with basic maintenance can prevent more complicated damages from happening. 

You'd be surprised what you can do on your own equipped with materials and a few YouTube videos, just don't do any renovations that require a contractor, such as electrical work. Your best bet for finding a good contractor is to ask family and friends who they may have used. Having these must-know facts in mind is going to help you get those renovations done and stay within your budget.