The home remodeling market is rebounding after the housing crisis; over half (53%) of homeowners now agree that it’s a good time to renovate, and more than 60% of homeowners are planning to spend more on home remodeling this year. But here’s the thing about the home renovation: It’s an easy process to mess up. So if you’re planning to build or remodel on any scale this year, you should know five of the biggest ways homeowners ruin their renovations. Here’s what you shouldn’t be doing:
Getting Help From Friends
Just because your buddy built his own back deck doesn’t mean you should forgo hiring professionals. The risk of something going wrong is simply too great. And if something does go wrong, you’ll be on the hook for it if you haven’t hired pros, who protect you through insurance, guarantees and other measures.
Doing Your Own Shopping
You might be thinking you’ll save some money by at least doing your own shopping for supplies, even if you hire professional contractors to do the installation. But that’s generally not the case. Home renovation and design professionals have access to industry discounts, and they can pass those discounts along to you. Plus, of course, they’re less likely to make expensive mistakes in the buying process.
Trying to Live In the House
It’s better for everyone if you find a temporary place to live during the remodeling process. The work will be able to be completed more quickly, and you’ll find that it places much less stress on your family life — you’d be surprised how hard remodeling can be on a marriage.
Ignoring Possible Contingencies
Do yourself (and everyone else) a favor and have a contingency fund. Especially if you’re remodeling an older home, there will be surprises, most of which will be completely out of your contractor’s control.
Skipping the Official Permits
You might think that permits aren’t necessary when you’re doing something like finishing a basement or attic. After all, you’re just making more of the space you already have, right? Wrong. You shouldn’t let it deter you from remodeling these types of spaces — attic bedroom remodels can get as much as a 79.4% return on investment — but you should know that if you want to be able to sell your house, later on, you’ll need to have had all work done with the proper permits.
How else do homeowners sabotage renovations?
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