For a while, you’ve been dreaming about renovating your Spartanburg home. You’ve probably spent hours imagining what your newly refurbished property will look like. And now that you’ve finally reached the point when you can start with the actual work, you feel anxious knowing that the unexpected can go wrong and take a big bite out of your budget.
Try not to stress – home projects take a lot of thorough planning and organizing. Make sure you double-check and go through every single detail. To help you go through this process as smoothly as possible, we’ve selected several common mistakes you should avoid when renovating.
Budget planning
When you start making plans for your renovation project, make sure to thoroughly go through your budget. Underestimating the expenses is one of the most common mistakes people make. In the worst case, this can leave you with a half-finished project. To be on the safe side, make sure to have some money set aside in case some unexpected expenses occur. Talk to a professional, too, especially if this is your first time renovating. They will be able to give you a more accurate estimate.
As remodeling can increase your property’s worth, make sure to invest in items that are most important and add to your home’s long-term value. Things that you can’t easily update, for example, wooden floors, should be a priority on your list. By doing so, you will later have more options for selling your home.
Choosing a wrong contractor
Hiring the wrong contractor can leave you with an unfinished job. Even worse, you can end up with something done in such poor quality that it will cause even more trouble and cost you more money to fix. Therefore, reliable and experienced contractors are the key to a successful home renovation. Good contractors can make it hassle-free!
Don’t rush and do your research. You should interview multiple builders before making your decision. A good idea is to get in touch with their previous clients and references and ask about their experience. Don’t choose based on their cost but on the impression they’ve left and on the quality of their work.
Getting a friend to help
It is definitely cheaper to gather your friends to help you do the work. However, if your friends are not professional builders, it might be a good idea to skip this and hire someone with credentials.
This might be the wrong decision for two reasons:
- if your friends don’t have the necessary knowledge and experience, the job can’t be done properly and with the level of quality you would get from hiring professionals
- if your friends get injured during the process, it can lead to a liability claim
If your friends are still eager to help you with renovating your Spartanburg home, there will be plenty of clean-up and decoration work after the contractors are finished. Or they can help you with packing and labeling the boxes of stuff you need to take out of your home before renovations start.
DIY projects
Another way to save money is to do some tasks yourself. When it comes to renovation, try to avoid doing this. Sure it is easier on your pocket but do you actually have the skill set necessary to get the job done in a way a contractor would?
If anything goes wrong or you are not happy with the end result, you will still need to hire someone to redo it. Unless you have a lot of experience with renovation, DIY projects will probably cause you to spend more money.
Working without necessary permits
Make sure to determine if you need any permits before you start renovating your Spartanburg home. Depending on what is the volume of work involved, you might not need any permissions. For example, if you are only painting a room and updating some pieces of furniture, you won’t need to get anything.
However, if you are, let’s say, extending your home, research what kind of documents you will need. It’s imperative to do this before you start with any work. If you leave it for later, it can delay the project and create additional expenses. Contractors you’ve hired might be able to help with this, too.
Setting your expectations high
Very often, people tend to underestimate the renovation process. They somehow believe that everything always goes smoothly and trouble-free. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.
Remodeling is very unpredictable, even with all the planning in the world. The best thing you can do for yourself to avoid stress is to assume that it will not go as smoothly as you want. “Plan for the worst and hope for the best” is the way to go!
Also, prepare yourself for noise, dust, mess, and other inconveniences, as they are simply a part of this process. Research and read online to get more familiar with what nuisances you can expect during renovation.
Realistic timeframe
Every contractor will give you an estimate on how much time they might need to finish the job. But even if someone gives you a tight deadline for renovations to end, you should add some extra days. You should always count on delays that might occur. Therefore, make sure not to invite friends to a housewarming party before your contractors are close to finishing.
And some more…
On top of the list above, here are some additional common mistakes that you might want to pay attention to and try to avoid:
- Focusing on appearance rather than quality
- Not enough space for doorways and hall
- Skipping prep-work
- Buying furniture and decorations too early
- Trying to be too trendy
- Not doing a proper risk assessment
Renovating is not only helpful if you want to make a change and better your living space. It is also a great way to increase the value of your property. This is especially beneficial if you are looking to sell. While you could still find a buyer if you are selling an old home that needs repairs, it is always better to have it in top condition.
Before you start renovating your Spartanburg home, make sure you make a thorough plan and stick to it. Of course, slight delays might occur. But, if you plan realistically and try to avoid the errors we talked about in this article, we guarantee that the process will be much less stressful. On the other hand, if you feel that the renovations would be too much, you can always sell your Spartanburg home and find a more suitable place.