Renovating, remodeling, updating…these are a few words that get me excited about the prospect of what some time and a little elbow grease can do for a home that has seen better days. The thought of bringing an outdated, worn-down residence to life again is something that really sparks my fire. I am not alone in this regard, in fact I’m sure that a lot of you also get the same rush just thinking about all of the possibilities of creating a unique and beautiful masterpiece on your blank brick and mortar canvas. Before you act on that impulse let me caution you with three reasons why upgrading your home could be a bad idea.
Living in the mess
You know that internal rush that makes you want to buy that house for the walk-in attic and it’s second story potential? It’s also what made me move into a Green Hills condo that I was in the process of renovating.
I thought it was going to be an exciting adventure made for HGTV! And even though parts of the process were fun, the project as a whole was deflating and exhausting.
By night my roommate and I worked on the bedrooms and the full bathroom, ripping out the cast iron tub, removing the floors, painting, etc, we also took care of the fireplace installation plans, as we already had a design of my own. However, we just needed to contact the contractors before we would retire to our communal bedroom in the downstairs living room (don’t ask where we bathed).
The house was a constant mess, we were annoying to the neighbors and after working a full day in the construction industry (my previous life) the last thing either of us wanted to do was work on the project when we came home. The entire project that should have taken two weeks to complete, took six long months. What we saved in labor we spent in personal time and mental anguish. And we were both single guys! I can’t imagine doing what we did with a family.
When scouting a renovation project it’s best to have a plan on paper before you buy. You should work out all of the details of the plan (purchase price, closing expenses, renovation expenses, time line, future sale price, etc.) before making the initial offer. This may be a lot of work on the front end, but eventually you will form a systematic approach that will run like clockwork.
And if you must live in the home being renovated, quarantine the work area and take the project one stage at a time with time in between stages. This will be slower, but you will be a lot happier at the end of the day, we still need to get an air conditioning repair service before winter comes, or you can just get an air conditioning installation, but at least the house looks better now!
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