Four Tips for Apartment Renovation Budgeting
It’s easy to take your apartment from drab to fab with only minimum expenditure. While the improvement in appearance is great, the real bonus comes with the increased value of your home. The trick is to know where to save, where to splurge, and what things you can do yourself.
Here are our top tips for renovating your apartment on a budget.
Plan ahead.
Thinking ahead is absolutely the best way to save yourself time, money, and hassle in the long run. It might be tedious to plan everything out, but it will help you coordinate tradies, organise your life around renovations, and keep within budget.
Be realistic about your time frames and the amount of money you plan to spend, and leave plenty of wiggle room for the inevitable hiccups along the way – especially if you’re attempting something you haven’t done before.
To update your apartment and get the maximum increase in value and appeal, the most popular areas to focus on are the kitchen, followed by the bathrooms, fixtures, and floors. A quick coat of paint on the walls is another sure-fire way to freshen and update your space.
Before you start planning your projects and researching to decide on your approach, don’t forget to read up on the renovation rules for your region. Trying to DIY structural changes or electrical wiring could go against your local laws and invalidate your insurance, as well as being generally unwise.
DIY
Once you’ve planned what you’d like done, figure out what you can do by yourself. Taking on DIY tasks can be a great way to save money – but remember, a poorly done job can end up costing you a lot more later on down the track. It’s important to be realistic about what you can achieve.
Jobs like painting and putting up shelves can update the look of the house, increase your storage space and can be done by almost anyone – as long as you take care and pay attention to top tips before you begin.
YouTube is an excellent resource, as you can essentially access training from experts along with a visual guide to the project and tips for success along the way. You can also consider pre-fabricated options to make DIY projects easier – Ikea is a great example of products that will take a bit of time and effort to put together properly, but can save thousands and make the process much more accessible to DIY first timers.
Tradies
For the jobs you just can’t do yourself, call in the experts. Most likely, you’ll have a lot of businesses to choose from. When selecting a tradie, make sure you:
- Get recommendations. If someone else had a great experience with a tradie, that’s a good place to start. Online reviews don’t always tell the whole story, but they can be a good general idea.
- Do your research. Again, online reviews can be a good place to start. A website can tell you a lot about the business and what they offer.
- Get more than one quote. It’s always a good idea to shop around, so you get a better idea of the costs and work involved. That being said, bear in mind that cheapest isn’t always the best.
- Check licensing and insurance. If a tradie doesn’t have the right qualifications and insurance, find one who does. You could run into issues with getting the council to sign off on your renovation, not to mention being left in a very difficult position if something goes wrong.
As part of your project planning, don’t forget to pay attention to the timing of your projects so you don’t have tradies tripping over each other, or jobs held up while waiting for another person to complete their part. The right people can help advise you on what they need done before they can get started.
Shop smart.
Spending the time to shop around can pay off in a big way when it comes to keeping costs low. You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice on quality if you’re prepared to do your research – looking around online can help you locate quality products at bargain prices.
When it comes to your renovation choices, keeping things in simple colours and designs make it much easier to keep costs down. White is generally the cheapest and easiest colour to work with, and then you can rely on styling to add your personal touch and some pops of colour.
Don’t be afraid to go to the upmarket designer stores to get an idea of the look you’re after, but then shop around to see how you can recreate that look with less expensive options. Again, Ikea is a great place to look, along with Aussie favourites like Bunnings and of course, online research is a must.
Renovating on a Budget.
It’s not just the bottom dollar amount you should be considering when you plan your renovations. Your time is valuable, it can be worth spending a bit more to keep stress levels to a minimum, and you have to consider the long-term financial impact of your decisions. Sometimes, quality work and quality goods that look better and last longer are worth the extra expense.
However, you don’t need to spend big to make a big difference. Handling the surface updates yourself, leaving the specialised jobs to a trusted professional, and spending plenty of time researching and planning will save you plenty in the long run, and have your apartment looking amazing.
Our team are experts in how to increase the value and appeal of your home. Speak to a Love & Co professional today about how you can get the best tenants or the best price for your home when it comes time to put it on the market.