The do's and don'ts of renovating your home

Buying the house of your dreams can cost lots of money, but don’t fret if you don’t have it.You can choose to renovate your current house and turn it into your dream home.

But before you begin the journey to renovating your house, take a look at the do’s and don’ts of renovating a house:

Get a professional

The last thing you need when renovating your house is some fly-by-night people who might not do a thorough job on the house. The risk with that is that they might cause damage and fixing the damage might cost you more than you would have paid for a professional in the first place.

Get quality material

When it comes to your house, make sure you don't compromise on quality. Don't try to get cheap material at the expense of quality, because you might soon have to replace the material. Also remember that your house is an investment, so it makes sense to go with quality.

Don't do renovations that won't increase the value of your house

If you are planning to sell your house in the future, don't do renovations that won't increase the value of your house. For instance, closing one room in order to make the other room bigger might seem like a good idea at the time, but in future, it might reduce the value of your house. That is because a house with more rooms sells for more than one with fewer rooms.

Improvements that have a broader appeal

People have different tastes, but there are certain things that appeal to a broader audience. Installing bright pink wall units might seem like a creative idea to you, but it might put someone else off. So rather opt for improvements that will have a broader appeal.

Don't keep changing your mind

Once work has begun on the house, but don't change your mind too often as that can delay the process.

Budget for unexpected costs

Chances are you will acquire more costs along the way, so be sure to have enough money saved up for unexpected costs.

Sign a contract before you allow any work to be done on your house

This will protect you if anything goes wrong.

Don't pay for work upfront

Agree for stage payments for work and only pay the balance until the work is finished to your satisfaction.

Do local research on how much houses in the area cost

Don't do renovations that will make you lose money and not give you any return. Speak to an agent and find out how much houses like yours cost and how much the renovated house you are planning to do can be sold for.

Also read:Seven things to consider before turning your home into a B&B