Maximise Your Home Renovation Budget for Your Inner South East Melbourne Home
24 April 2020Whether your budget is big or small, the cost of a home renovation in Inner South East Melbourne can quickly get out of control. However, you can maximise your home renovation budget without compromising the quality of work you will receive. Below are some of the tips to do so.
Create and Stick To a Budget
Contrary to what many believe, the word “budget” isn’t synonymous with cheap. Whenever you spend money, it’s a good idea to know how much of your total income or savings is allotted for the purchase, whether it’s simply a meal out, or something big like a new stove. If you’re planning to do work on your home, Starting out with a certain amount that you’re able to spend before you begin making design choices is the best way to do it. Then you can price fixtures and materials and begin to get a grasp on what will work with your budget and what won’t.
It is better to create a spreadsheet and simply add everything you want to buy works. You can add your flooring choice (calculated to include waste), lighting, faucets, paint, countertops, cabinet hardware, outlets and switch plate covers, tile, grout, appliances, and more. You need to get quotes for materials and labour, and even add tax to my budget sheets. After a spreadsheet is created, you will see areas that were eating up a lot of your budget, and then make adjustments by choosing less expensive materials, or deciding to cut out items altogether. When you make a budget for your project, it’s a good idea to allot for unexpected expenses. Some say to reserve 10 percent of your budget for flexibility, but the choice is up to you.
Cash Payments
It might sound simple, but paying for your project with money you already have will save you a significant amount of money you’d end up paying in interest if you take out a loan or put things on a credit card that you can’t immediately pay off. If you’re renovating in order to sell your home, it might make sense financially to take out a loan when you know there will be a return on your investment and the loan will be paid off quickly. But in general, paying in cash is the best way. If you can’t afford it now, begin thinking about ways you can trim your household budget to save money for your project.
Never Rush
Waiting for the money to renovate isn’t always a bad thing, because time is your friend when it comes to planning a renovation! If you have the money, it can be tempting to gut and renovate your home all at once, but it can be overwhelming to make a lot of good and cohesive design decisions when you’re factoring in so many things. If you rush things, you’ll most likely regret some of the choices you make. Planning a project is half the fun, so take your time, consider every detail, and you won’t waste time and money later when you’re unsure of your decisions.
Reuse Materials
The biggest way to save money renovations is by reusing cabinetry and some appliances. If you need more than paint and new hardware to be happy with your kitchen cabinet doors, then be aware that you can still save a lot of money by refacing doors to change the style, or even replacing the doors but leaving the cabinet body in place. Even if you can’t reuse anything pre-existing in your space, you can buy material and fixtures from salvage yards, and even at building material auctions. Sometimes people are moving and need to sell perfectly fine appliances quickly, or you may end up finding a load of lumber leftover from someone else’s project.
Ensure the benefits of a good contractor by contacting Optimum Renovations. We approach all renovations with a few simple principals between client and builder. We are proud members of the Master Builders Association of Victoria and are Registered Building Practitioner’s (unlimited) with the Victorian Building Authority.
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