5 Home Remodeling Mistakes to Avoid

For many homeowners, purchasing a house is just the first step towards creating a home that is truly your own. Whether you’re in for a gut renovation or just making a few cosmetic updates, there’s a lot more to designing a property than you might think. Here’s how to create your dream home and avoid common home improvement blunders along the way.

Essential Home Renovation Advice for Homeowners

From creating Pinterest boards to shopping for new furniture, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a remodel and overlook the tiny details. Unfortunately, this can lead to critical mistakes in the process that can set your home renovation project timeline back and make the cost of the project skyrocket. As you set out on your own design project, keep these home remodeling tips in mind.

1. Set a Realistic Budget

Creating a budget for your renovation helps you know your limits, but it is only effective if it is realistic, well-thought out and you stick to it. A budget that fails to account for all aspects of the project could leave you with unfinished work. Be sure to consider the entire scope of your renovation when making your budget: materials, finishes, labor, permits and temporary housing are all things that often get overlooked. 

2. Get to Know Your Home

Unless the home you’ve purchased is uninhabitable in its current state, it is always a good idea to live in the space for a while before undergoing any major overhauls. This will give you a better understanding of what elements should be updated based on your own needs, rather than on what’s trending. 

 3. Don’t Cut Essential Costs

We all want to save money whenever possible, but when it comes to your home, there are some things you shouldn’t skimp on. Using cheap building materials, DIY labor and unlicensed contractors may appear to lower the cost of your renovation, but in the long run will likely cost you more when things are left unfinished or begin to break. 

4. Stick to Your Schedule

It’s normal for renovation timelines to flex by a few days or weeks, but if you let things languish too long, you run the risk of having a half-finished home for far too long. Work with your contractor to put together a list of items and construction materials that need to be purchased and deadlines for making decisions — and then resist the urge to change your mind. 

5. Remember the Resale Value

Even if you don’t plan on selling your house in the near future, it’s still a good idea to be mindful of whether you’ll be able to recoup the costs of the renovation down the road. While that indoor swimming pool or movie theater may bring you immense joy, it may not appeal to other buyers enough to make the investment worthwhile. 

Protect Your Investment

There may be no bigger mistake than failing to have the right insurance in place for your new home. Contact your local Farm Bureau agent today to guarantee your homeowners coverage is up to par.