You bought a house – congrats! Now comes the fun (and hard part): turning it into your own home. Whether it’s your first or fifth year in your house, there’s a lot of time, energy, and money that you’ll put into your home renovations. While the end result will always be worth it, it’s hard to not get caught up in the finances.
Being in the kitchen and bath industry, we often get asked, “How much should I spend on a home renovation?” Of course, that answer depends on each individual homeowner. What we always suggest is to create a price range that your comfortable with. Even if you have some extra cash that you can dedicate to your home renovations, you can always budget to save even more for your dream home.
3 Tips to Budget for Future Renovations
Studies have shown that the average homeowner spent $7,560 on home improvement projects in 2018. With this staggering amount, it’s easy to understand why the thought of renovating a home is so overwhelming to so many people. Luckily, with the right tips to guide you, budgeting for your home renovations doesn’t have to be such an arduous task.
Tip #1: Have a Clear Goal in Mind
Coming up with a plan is a lot easier with a clear goal in mind. We recommend to develop a vision of what you want your home to look like after the renovation. Then, you can generate a rough estimate of how much money it would take for you to achieve it. This will then serve as your guide when developing a working plan.
Marcus, an industry expert from Goldman Sachs, explains that breaking a goal into parts will make it easier for you to achieve broad milestones such as “saving some money”. For instance, if you plan to dedicate a whole year to save money for your home renovation, determine how much you need to save every month to attain your monetary goal. While you are at it, also consider placing your savings into an account that earns interest. This way, you can earn extra money that you can add to your overall budget.
Tip #2: Be Thorough
Renovating your home can be such an exciting undertaking, and for first-time renovators, it’s super easy to get caught up in the beautiful fixtures and finishes and not pay attention to the price. Fortunately, The Washington Post reports that this issue can be easily resolved by being thorough when it comes to planning and budgeting.
Thorough planning also includes looking for contractors as early in the process as possible and comparing the quotes you get from them. Scheduling projects ahead of time is usually cheaper too.
Tip #3: Take Your Time Picking Out Materials
Home renovation costs depend on three things: how big the job is, the complexity of the project, and the materials you will use. While labor costs can take up as much as a third of your total renovation expenses, the remaining two-thirds will go towards the materials. As such, picking the right materials can have a huge impact on your budget.
Once you are done with formulating a general home renovation plan, it’s important to take your time to pick the right materials. While there is the option to purchase materials online, keep in mind to only purchase from certified manufacturers to avoid substandard and faulty materials.
Another great option to help in the home renovation process is to work with designers in a kitchen and bath showroom. There, you’ll be able to get a variety of ideas and have access to the industry’s name brand products. Here at the H.J. Oldenkamp Company, we have a showroom that features over 18 different displays:
- Kitchen and bath displays featuring our cabinet and countertop options
- Cabinet Selection Centers which exhibit a vast array of door styles and finishes
- Surface sampling devices for assistance in product selections
While we are a “wholesale only” distributer and can’t sell to the general public or retail consumer, our showroom welcomes anyone who needs kitchen and bath help.
Wrap-Up
So, how much should you spend on a home renovation? A guiding rule to apply is allotting 5-15 percent of your home’s value on kitchen renovations and 3-7 percent on bathroom renovations. Following this simple rule effectively helps to keep homeowners from over-improving their homes.
With the right planning and budgeting, home renovations can become a fun and stress-free undertaking that doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.
Exclusively written for the H. J. Oldenkamp Company
By: Bella Elena
