How To Budget For A Home Renovation In Singapore?

Home renovations are synonymous with blown up budgets, at least for most people. Trying to renovate a house when you have a budget to stick to can be a bit of a daunting task, but there are a few things you can do to improve the appearance of your house without spending millions. Of course you have to cut your cloth according to your size, but with a little planning and ingenuity, you can transform your home a great deal.

1. Pick A Project
It would be lovely if you could just wave a magic wand and transform your entire house all at once, but in reality, it is more practical for you to renovate one thing at a time. You could start with renovating your kitchen first, and then the next time you have some extra money to spend, you can decide to work on the living room. However, if your budget allows you to carry out a major renovation all at once, then go ahead and do so.

2. How Much Can You Really Spend On The Renovations?
Next, you should decide just how much money you really have to spend on the home improvements. This might be a bit hard for most people, because it is where you have to let go of your fantasies of a perfect home, and accept the reality of what you can really do. Conduct a thorough research of how much the projects you intend to undertake will generally cost, so that you can have a clearer picture of what the total expenditure will amount to. If you don’t have much money to carry out the renovations with, you might consider borrowing some from a bank. Although loans should generally be used as a last resort, borrowing a loan to be purposely used for renovations might have some benefits. This is especially so if you decide to take the renovation loan together with a home loan. The interest rates charged on renovation loans are considerably lower than those charged on ordinary loans, so you might want to consider taking one as a means of funding your renovation.

3. DIY Vs Hiring A Contractor
Many homeowners often prefer to do the renovations on their own. It is not difficult to see why the allure of DIY home renovations lies in the fact that all the labor is virtually free. While DIY may appear to be the cheaper option when you are renovating your house, take time to consider the cons. For one thing, your inexperience in carrying out renovations may cost you more than you think. Cases of people making grave mistakes when renovating houses, then having to re- buy materials and call in an expert are not unheard of. Nothing spells expensive better than that. Additionally, if you choose to renovate your house on your own, you may end up making mistakes, which although may not warrant having to get the work redone, will leave your house in a worse condition than it originally was in. Small mistakes committed cumulatively may have a larger impact on the overall work than you can imagine. However, if you feel confident that you can manage the renovations all on your own, then by all means go ahead and do it. You could save a lot of money that might otherwise be spent paying a contractor.

4. Take Care Who You Hire
When it comes to hiring technicians and other construction experts, take care to hire only the best. Of course you have to take into account how much they are charging for their services, but keep in mind that the cheapest are not necessarily the best, and neither are the most expensive. Ask how many services a particular contractor encompasses in a given figure, and work from there. Of course the more services they can offer, the better they probably are at their job. Also, ask for recommendations from friends and family, or you can even ask to see some of a contractor’s past work in order to form your own opinion about them.

5. Take Care Of The Small Details
When it comes to renovations, you need to leave no costs unplanned for. Even the tiniest of things can sum up to colossal amounts of money, so be very thorough as you go about planning your renovation. Have a clear, detailed plan so that you do not experience rude shocks when the renovation has already started. Take care of things like the transport of materials, or even the small materials that are still integral to your renovations, but that are easily forgotten.

6. Set Your Priorities right
Before you embark on renovating your house, have an ultimate goal that you intend to achieve from the renovations, so that if you have to make some tough choices along the way, you will know what to stick with. Say for instance you are renovating your kitchen, and need to choose between big sized cabinets and some more stylish, expensive ones. If you intended to renovate the kitchen so that you could have more storage space, then you will have to forego style and stick with size, although the temptation can be overwhelming.

7. Have Extra Cash- Just In Case
As you budget for the renovations, it is a good idea to have at least 20% more cash than your budget requires before you embark on the home renovation. This is because more often than not, you will have to spend more money than you had planned on your budget. It would be a shame to carry out a major renovation, only for you to run out of money right before the completion of the great work.

8. Be Creative
If you truly explore all the options open to you as you renovate your house, you will be surprised at just how good a job you can do, while slashing down the expenses. For instance, instead of having to buy some expensive furniture, think of asking your contractor to have it custom made for you. You can get a masterpiece at a fraction of the cost you would have incurred had you acquired it from a shop.

Conclusion
Renovating your house when you are on a budget doesn’t have to stretch you to your financial limits. With a little ingenuity and creativity, you can still do a great job renovating the house at an affordable price.