RENOVATING DURING A SOARING BUILDING MARKET SERIES
In our first article in the Renovating During a Soaring Building Market series, we spoke about the reasons for the increased cost of and waiting times for home renovations. Since then there’s been some good news in the media, with experts believing (backed by research) that 2022 could see the peak of the building costs with prices becoming more moderate in 2023.
Still, experts also believe that labour shortages and rising materials costs will continue on through 2023. So the building market may still be a struggle for the renovator that isn’t prepared. You may still have to wait longer and pay more for the same job (and this is certainly the situation now).
But completing a home renovation on time and on budget is in everyone’s best interests – from interior designers to builders, tradespeople, clients, the bank and insurers – despite the market conditions. So what can you do to try and ensure this happens? How can you prepare for a home renovation?
How to Prepare for a Home Renovation
1. Know Your Renovation Goals
Being clear on what you’d like to achieve from your renovation is your first and most important step. Your goals must be detailed, specific and well thought out. It’s more than ‘a bigger kitchen’ or ‘ an extra bedroom’. Your goals should include how you live in your home now, and what changes you’d like to make to be living in your future dream home.
To help you achieve these goals at a time of soaring building costs and supply chain issues, it’s important to have a plan, be flexible in your thinking and answer a few practical questions.
2. Translate Your Goals Into an Actionable Plan
This is where hiring an expert can take your dreams to reality. Our Residential Interior and Architectural Design process includes:
- Floor plan review, space planning and concept design. As part of this, we will be talking through your renovation goals.
- Detailed drawings, including plans, elevations and 3D renders.
- Schedules for fixtures and finishes.
- Access to a range of trusted professionals, including architects, builders, suppliers, tradespeople and landscape architects.
Having a detailed, structured design plan will enable you to act quickly to secure your preferred construction and trades professionals. It will also help you to understand what aspects of your renovation could happen on time, and which could blow-out. This ability to act quickly and understand the process, gives you more control over what happens as your renovation progresses and lets you better respond to any timeline issues.
3. Know Your Budget
When it comes to how to prepare for a home renovation, knowing your budget is one of the most important steps. You must be clear on your renovation budget and whether you will need to seek finance to achieve your renovation goals. As part of this you need to assess your current financial commitments. Be sure not to over-commit and put yourself under financial stress.
And always have a back-up plan if costs or timelines blow-out or your circumstances change.
If you do need to seek financing, consider a pre-approval process. The sooner you understand what you have available to spend, the more prepared you will be for your home renovation and the less delays you will experience.
As we discussed in our last article, the cost of timber, metals and imported products are driving much of the rise in construction costs, with cladding, decking, structural steel, fixings and metal components all affected. With an expert’s help your design and budget can take this into account, working around difficult to obtain or pricy materials and focussing on other just as beautiful and functional but perhaps also more obtainable and affordable elements.
The value adding and peace of mind interior design professionals can bring to a renovation project are particularly relevant in our current home renovation environment.
4. Understand Whether You Will Have to Move Out
A key part of your renovation is whether you can continue living in your home during the renovation, or whether you will have to move out. Finding suitable, nearby accommodation is another issue, as is whether you can extend the time of your stay should your renovation project experience delays.
Understanding whether you will have to move out, and how you might best do this, and even having possible accommodations in mind, will help you move on this step more quickly when the time is right. You’ll then be in a position to avoid any costly delays.
5. Make Peace with Your Timeline Expectations
Allow plenty of time to achieve your renovation goals. As we discussed in our last article, building materials and skilled labour shortages, and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 are impacting building timelines across the country. The previous federal government’s Home Builder Scheme has also seen a significant increase in new home builds and renovations.
Depending on the detail and scope of your home renovation, all of this can impact your timeline, causing it to blow-out beyond anyone’s control.
Until supply catches up with demand and the skilled workforce builds back up again, it’s really time to focus less on scheduled dates and more on managing expectations. We know this is frustrating and potentially anxiety-inducing. Know that we are here to help and guide you through the process.
6. Determine Who Will Manage the Project
Someone will need to manage your renovation project, whether that’s yourself, our beautiful team or someone else entirely. Make sure you have found the right person, properly vetted them and are prepared to work with them prior to beginning your renovation project. This will save you time, money and unnecessary delays.
At Bella Vie, we collaborate with industry professionals and can recommend the right people for your renovation. We can also manage the renovation process, from briefing and liaising with trades and suppliers to procuring fixtures and fittings and scheduling site visits. If you’d like to understand more about how to prepare for a home renovation, or about the process of working with an interior designer, get in touch.
What Else to Expect From the Renovating During a Soaring Building Market Series?
- What’s the Problem
- Taking it in Steps – COMING SOON
RESOURCES TO HELP YOU GET STARTED
If you’d like more help getting prepared for your own home renovation, we’d love to talk through your renovation goals.
