Nowadays, people are moving less frequently. Instead, they are choosing to remodel their current home. Since it’s becoming harder to sell their homes, they can’t buy larger homes. I think it’s a smarter option, especially if you have some extra cash saved up to be able to afford it. There are actually couple things I want to do to improve my home as well. First, I want to finish my garage walls. right now, it’s barely a drywall that’s up. Also, I don’t even have a garage door opener set up either. I also want to add a deck. Everything would be just so much more convenient with a deck. Finally, I have a rough-in set up in the basement for a full bath. It’s pain and annoying to go upstairs to take care of my business when I’m already comfortable in the basement. But for me, I just don’t have enough cash saved up to justify these upgrades. But for you, it might be a different story.
But before you begin to start coughing up money for these upgrades, there are things you should consider.
Consider what renovations you want to improve first. Then figure out which items would provide the biggest bang for your money. For instance, if you plan on living at your current house for more than 5 more years, then kitchen remodeling usually provides the biggest return on your investment. If you’re planning to stay less than that, smaller improvements may make more sense, such as refinishing floors and upgrading your lighting.- If you are planning a big remodeling, figure out how you will pay for it. Will you need to borrow money? Will you need to open a HELOC account? If it’s something small and less costly, will you tap into your savings? Or did you already have some savings alotted already for this very reason?
- Make sure you contact your home owners insurance after your upgrades and remodeling. You want to make sure you’re adequately covered. If you’re adding another bedroom, it might not be covered if you don’t inform your insurance company. Same goes for deck and other additions to the house. They might charge you more for extra coverage, but if you can afford the upgrade, you can afford the insurance.
- Don’t upgrade for present needs, but upgrade for future needs. They may as well be identical in 5 years but most often, people tend to overlook how their priorities may change in the future. For example, if you’re planning to have more children, that may affect some of your key decisions.
- Plan on stressing out. All projects will come with problems along the way. Rarely do any project go perfectly as planned. So, plan ahead of the potential problems and always have a backup plan. If you understand the risks of calling an audible in the middle of your project, then your stress level may be less.
I am excited about my future home upgrade projects. Unfortunately for me, I don’t currently have the resources or money to take on any of these projects. But when it finally becomes a possibility, I will definitely reflect back to this post and take my own advice.
Have you upgraded or remodeled your home lately? How did it go? I’d love to read about your experiences and the lessons you’ve learned from them.
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Upgrade for the future, not the present. That’s really great advice that most people probably don’t think about in the mist of excitement (or frustration) in planning a remodel project.
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