How To Get a Bang For Your Buck On a Tight Budget
It is important that you be very careful to not spend more on renovating the house than what it is likely to sell for.
24/01/2020
When selling a house, you want to get the best offer. Some people, in order to do that renovate their homes right before showing it to the potential buyers. Unfortunately, renovation can create a serious dent in your pocket, especially if it’s not planned well and every ad is just tempting you to buy the company’s product by flashing a big, red ‘click here’. You need to be very careful to not spend more on renovating the house than what it is likely to sell for.
It can be difficult, but luckily for you, here are some of the ways with which you can get more bang for your buck:
The Purpose Of Renovation
Before you start changing anything in your house, you need to answer yourself a question - What is the purpose of the renovation? Knowing why you are doing it can help you with understanding how much money you can spend.
Are you renovating the house because you want to create a place for you and your family for the next ten or so years? In this case, you might feel that investing your money is justified, and you spend more. Or maybe you decided to renovate it because you want to sell it? In this case, you need to be careful to not overcapitalise, as you might end up spending more on renovation than you will get for the house when you sell it.
Identify The Areas
If you are renovating your house to sell it, you probably want to keep in mind the needs of the potential buyers. Before you start making some drastic changes, think about what parts of the house you can renovate to add the most value - usually the kitchen and the bathroom.
If those rooms are well done, they will save the potential buyers the fatigue of having to renovate them themselves, which makes them more willing to buy the house even if other things need to be done.
Balance Quality Of Materials
Even if you are renovating on a budget, it doesn’t mean that you have to restrict yourself to only low-end materials. The key is to find a balance between high-end and low-end materials. Always remember to invest in the right place.
If you don’t, you might end up spending most of the money for the kitchen on appliances and having to install the cheapest furniture which will ruin the look of the whole room.
Make Use Of Current Layout
One of the highest costs that people encounter while renovating the house is changing its structure. And it doesn’t mean adding a room or knocking down walls. It’s more about changing the place of a kitchen or bathroom by moving it to the other end of the house.
All of the wiring and piping that needs to be installed can get very expensive. Also, you will probably need a council and building consents. So think whether it’s worth it to change it, or is it better to just use the current layout.
Get DIY Handy
It is common knowledge that making or doing things yourself is a lot cheaper than buying it already made in the store. One of the benefits of DIY is that it can be a family activity - it is an excellent way of bonding as you can include everyone in it. The more, the better as it makes the job faster - it is a unique way of bonding with your friends.
Know When You Need a Hand
Recognising when you need help can save you not only a lot of time but also money. It also helps you understand what things you can do yourself, and for which you will need help from a professional.
Get Thrifty
Instead of waiting for a big sale in a furniture store, why don’t you go to a thrift shop? This is an excellent way of saving money and finding unique pieces of furniture and decorations.
If you don’t want to buy anything, you can take the things that you have at home, and give them another purpose. Remember that old dresser that you have in your basement? Why not make a kitchen island out of it?
Check Out The Neighbourhood
If you are renovating your house in order to sell it later, a good idea would be to find out about the value of houses in your neighbourhood. That way you will know what amount of money will be reasonable to spend on it.
Another thing that you can do is hiring a professional to tell you exactly which areas of your house would need improving in order to get the best deal on the sale.
Conclusion
Getting a bang for your buck is not as hard as one could think. To be honest, it’s all about planning and not spending money on things that you don’t really need or don’t need to be done, as they won’t add any value to the house. So before you start knocking down the walls, sit down and think everything through, so that you will gain and not lose.