You’re imagining revamping your whole house. You’ve imagined a renovated kitchen with freshly-painted cupboards and rows of smart appliances. You’ve pictured the backyard with a lush garden and a shimmering swimming pool.
You’re wondering what renovations are worth the money and what ones are best left to your daydreams.
Don’t Turn Your Home into a Debt Sink
Home renovations are expensive. It’s easy to get carried away and spend much more than you can afford. It’s an all-too-common problem. If you don’t want your home to turn into a debt sink, you’re going to have to be careful with your renovation plans.
Anyone who is living with a surprising amount of debt from their home renovations should seek out professional financial help. Find a licensed insolvency trustee at a place like David Sklar& Associatesfor their debt counselling services. They can guide you through important tasks like budgeting and credit rebuilding. Taking part in comprehensive debt relief programs can get you through this rough patch.
Be Financially-Savvy about Your Home Improvements
The best way to avoid going into debt over your renovation? Pick the right home improvements.
What Home Improvements Are Worth It?
These are practical changes that are guaranteed to have big ROIs (returns on investment), putting money back into your pocket later on.
- Insulation: One of the best home upgrades worth the money is insulation installment because it conserves more heating energy and improves your overall comfort.
- Windows and Doors: Just like insulation, these can conserve energy and improve personal comfort.
- Painting: Painting is an incredibly affordable home improvement that can instantly refresh the look of a room. As a bonus, you can DIY most painting jobs without a hitch.
What Home Improvements Aren’t Worth It?
A bad home improvement will be expensive and offer very little in return — or worse, waste more money after it’s installed.
- Swimming Pools: An outdoor swimming pool is never a good renovation idea because it requires extra money and effort for cleaning, maintenance and accessories. Plus, you can only use it during the warmer months. It’s not a worthy investment.
- High-End Bathroom Fixtures: Any upscale fixtures sound nice, but they don’t bring much ROI. If these luxury items are going to eat at your budget, you should look at fixtures that are more sensible.
- Wall-to-Wall Carpeting: There is a reason why wall-to-wall carpeting has fallen out of favour. It’s expensive to buy, expensive to install and it gets dirty very easily.
Be Smart About Your Budget
Always leave wiggle room in your budget. You have to account for raised prices, delayed deadlines and other obstacles. You’ve seen it happen on every home improvement show. A family wants to revamp the basement on a budget and then the work crew finds heaps of black mould behind the walls or evidence of a mouse infestation. You never know what’s going to happen.
And most importantly, ask yourself if you needa major home renovation. Sometimes, a little bit of maintenance and decoration can go a long way. You don’t have to undergo an expensive process just to be happy with your living space.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
