Let’s talk about it, the dreaded “b” word.
The word that makes people sweat, squirm, or pace back and forth.
You guessed it… BUDGET!
As Wu Tang Klan famously once said “Cash Rules Everything Around Me” and this the truth in many aspects of life and especially true when renovating your home.
This is THE most important topic to be discussed when working on a renovation project because without a budget you have no direction of where you’re going, what all is possible, and what your limits are.
I know what your thinking, “I don’t want to tell people all my business, they’ll spend my money”.
I literally hear this everyday from homeowners and what people don’t understand is that the budget is literally the road map to your destination and without it, we’re all just drifting aimlessly.
First things first, no one is going to ask to see your bank statements or hook you up to a polygraph test to determine if this budget is real or not.
With that being said if you’ve got $250k to invest in your renovation tell the contractor you’ve got $200k and that gives you a starting place and some extra money incase you decide you really do want that Subzero fridge and freezer.
Secondly, Google is your friend! You can literally Google anything these days and renovations are no different. Use the internet to get an idea of the current cost of flooring, lighting, or cabinetry.
Third, call around! Whether you call contractors, designers, or vendors, call them up and ask “Hey, I’m working on a renovation can you give me a range of the price of your last 3 kitchen projects?”
Mind you, this is a pretty vague question so your answers will vary but it will give you some concept of what pricing is like for the material you’re interested in.
Next, consider using a renovation budget formula. There are some nifty tools online that provide a formula for determining how much money you should invest in your kitchen remodel based on the value of your neighborhood.
This concept is brilliant because this formula will help you to ensure that you’re not over investing or underestimating the investment to align with the homes value. https://www.cliqstudios.com/blog/estimating-the-cost-of-a-kitchen-remodel/
Lastly, call up your friends, family or neighbors who have recently renovated their homes. This allows you to hear the numbers from someone who knows first hand how much they invested in their home and what the experience was like.
This is the best type of feedback because they won’t have anything to gain and they will provide an honest assessment of the contractor, pricing, and a realistic time line.
No matter how you go about it, make sure to do some research before getting the process started, this will help you save time and most importantly money!
Stay Spirited!
-F