Why Are You Waiting to Renovate Your House?
I love a good fixer-upper.
A few years ago, when I bought my house I was excited and eager to roll up my sleeves and get to work. It’s not like there was a ton to be done, either – floors, paint, kitchen cabinets, bathroom…
Wait, this is turning into quite the list.
Turns out that my initial excitement after signing the bill of sale paled in comparison to my desire to relax and enjoy my new surroundings.
So why did I wait to renovate my house?
Sheer laziness. Oh yeah, and I was out of money.
The Handyman
It took a year, but once my finances recuperated and I got to it, the work went quick and the budget stayed intact. It involved careful planning and calculation of the numbers, but I was able to lay down sharp new silver-coloured vinyl flooring, paint half the place in a soft eggshell green, and even decorate a feature wall with a country barn stone wallpaper that really tied the place together.
All for under $1,000.
I’m not done, but I’ve got what feels like a brand-new home.
No, I’m not a handyman by trade, but the intermittent frustration and mild exhaustion was worth it in the end.
When I bought my house, I waited to renovate for two reasons.
- I wanted to improve resale value
- I wanted to live in something with my personal touches
Renovating vs Building
We’ve been talking about building for a couple weeks now. Whether you’re building a new home or renovating your current digs, updating your home base comes with obvious and not-so-obvious benefits.
“Our new house is twice the size of our old one, yet our utility bills are 10 per cent less than before.”
That’s Robb Engen at Boomer & Echo.Not only does new construction create a fresh new space, it can save you money in the long run too.
That energy efficiency paired with customizable features (and therefore a customizable budget) are wonderful once the work is done.
But that’s just the thing. Someone has to do the work.
Finding Your Budget
The simplest, most common reason we wait to renovate is because we simply don’t have the cash to do so. Pretty logical reason, right?
We’d never encourage any individual or family to spend a bunch of money they won’t be able to pay back later. However, for a lot of people in the lower mainland, renovating is an important way to boost the return on your investment.
There’s no concrete formula for the amount of return you’ll get based on the cost of your investment. A huge benefit to a lot of people buying properties, however, is the value of the work that went into the renovation.
Work that you did and didn’t have to pay anyone else to do.
It took a year for me to motivate myself to get to work on updating my home. While that work took a lot of time and effort, that’s time and effort not required by my home’s next buyer.
But I’m in no hurry to sell. So, in the meantime?
Well, that work, now that it’s over, is certainly appreciated by me!
