Plan your home remodeling with confidence! Houses can be quite the investment, but with the right guidance, you can maximize your returns. Stay ahead of annual trends and eliminate the guesswork with our spending guide for next year’s home remodeling. We’ll provide solid advice to simplify your decision-making process and ensure you stick to an efficient budget.
No matter the repairs or renovations you have in mind, our tips will help you stay within the average cost of home repairs. As we embark on a journey towards a new normal, venturing out requires meticulous planning.
Let’s start by exploring quick and efficient house cleaning to create the perfect foundation for your remodeling project. Get ready to transform your home with ease!
Renovation budgets and returns of investment should be considered together
If you have the current estimated value of your home, a good general rule to follow is that you should never spend more in a room than the percentage of value it represents. A kitchen, for example, accounts for no more than 15% of your property, so if your house is valued at $300,000, a renovation budget for it should not surpass $40,000.
This is before you consider the return of investment of each room, as we mentioned. Some house-market experts say that a dollar spent on a kitchen renovation returns only 50 cents, so you might want to consult with an expert and spend your money elsewhere around the house.
Know your options before making a decision
If you jump into a renovation project without budgeting (or knowing where the money’s going to come from) you will certainly be put in a tight spot down the line. Not only because you’ll probably spend more than needed on eye-catching options, but also because there are very specific situations that dictate which financing option is better for you.
HELOCs, home equity loans or refinancing, among others, are all big decisions, and getting the help of a lender to make a decision is amply recommended. Would it be better for you to take the cash out all at once instead of getting your mortgage at a lower rate for a longer time? How long do you plan to stay in your house before moving out? These are all things you should consider before jumping in a big project.
Get quotes from several contractors
Regardless of what room you choose to fix up or remodel, going for the lowest price tag might be tempting, but it comes with certain risks. A contractor will give you a quote based on several things, such as materials used, how many hours it will take to complete a task, and just how big the project itself is, but they might also try to cut corners here and there, and these always come at your expense.
From getting cheaper materials to the quality of finishes, you need a clear breaking down of everything that will be done to your room and where the money will be going. Compare the average home repair costs in your area and make a decision only after you have all that information.
Set 1% aside
There‘s no telling precisely what will go wrong with a house each year, but there’s a good rule of thumb to follow; set aside 1% of the total value of your house for yearly maintenance. Again, if your property value is $300,000, then your yearly maintenance budget should be $3,000.
Prices will vary depending on what kind of repair you’re doing, of course, but the general idea is to spend wisely on proper maintenance instead of waiting for something catastrophic to really bring the price of repairs up.
All in all, the average home maintenance costs per year are not wildly unpredictable, but vary from one homeowner to another, and reflect on other points such as how clean you keep your house. If you set time aside each year to budget for the next, be sure to consider all of the above points, and plan ahead if you don’t plan on staying in your current property for the long run.
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