Now more than ever, it is extremely common for homeowners to make improvements to the quality of life in their home rather than buying a new one. Revamping and adding new features to a home is less expensive and opens up the way for potential buyers in the future.
Although remodeling and renovations may seem like the cheaper route, that won’t always be the case if you don’t properly budget your money. The following five steps will help make sure you are taking steps in the right direction when going through the designing, building and overall spending process.
1) Consider ALL Options When Financing
When making home improvements, if you don’t have the money on hand, there are other ways to access the funds. Home equity credit is a very smart move when managing money throughout a renovation. According to data analytics provider CoreLogic, the average homeowner gained about $13,400 in equity from the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017. Taking out home equity loans are very popular because of the ever growing home renovation trend these past couple years.
2) Boosting the Curb Appeal
People who do business in real estate put a lot of emphasis on the curb appeal a home has. Windows, doors, porches etc, All things that you first see or use on a daily basis within or outside of a home. Renovations to outdated window sills or something as simple as the efficiency of how a sliding door works is all part of that initial curb appeal a buyer and their real estate agent will be looking for.
3) Energy Efficiency
Adding energy efficient upgrades to your home can lower the cost of heating and cooling bills. This will create more comfort in your home and raise its overall value. This will especially appeal to buyers if you live somewhere that experiences extreme hot or extreme cold. Adding insulation to prevent an air leak is a smart move that will end up benefiting you greatly in the long run.
4) Increasing Overall Effort
The bigger the project, the bigger the work crew. Finding a way around completely gutting a bathroom or kitchen will save you so much more on cost. Budget-friendly updates will still give that new modern day look without costing you a fortune on all the supplies and specialists you need to hire.
5) Know Your Target Market
Try your best to make your renovations flow with the rest of the neighbourhood. Understand the demographics of potential buyers within your neighbourhood and make changes keeping that in mind. If your house is the most expensive on the block, come time to sell you may have trouble.