If you're thinking about doing a home improvement project this summer, now is the time to start planning the project -- and the budget. Too often, we wait until the plans are drawn up, only to fall in love with a project that is totally unaffordable.
To avoid that fate, decide ahead of time how much you can afford to spend on a particular project, whether it is building a new garage or updating a kitchen or bathroom. Then, take 15 percent of that number, and set it aside for cost overruns.
Now, you can start planning a project that falls within your budget rather than fall in love with one that doesn't.
Ilyce Glink is the bestselling author of 100 Questions Every First Time Home Buyer Should Ask, and is the Managing Editor of Right at Home Daily.
Getting Your Warranties
While we all hope the work going into a new home will last, we've all encountered the appliance, fixture, flooring, or paint job that goes sour. Barbara Buchholz talks warranties, and the importance of keeping track of what's covered, by whom, and for how long.
After closing on your new home, don't be surprised if your
first impulse is to pick up a paintbrush. Even if your new
condo, townhouse or single family house is in perfect
condition, our natural instinct is to make a house our
own. Barbara Buchholz, former editor of House & Garden
Guides Magazine and co-author of Porch Style and the
New Homeowner's Handbook presents some issues to
consider before you start.
Unless you're going to do the work yourself, you'll need
to pull together a team of folks to help you. For small
jobs, you may only need, say, a painter. But for major
jobs, expect to hire a contractor, architect and perhaps
even a designer and landscape designer upfront. Lisa
Skolnik, city editor for Metropolitan Home magazine and
co-author of Porch Style, tells you what to look for.
New curtains, new paint job, new appliances, new light
fixtures, and new carpet. The list of things you can do to
improve a home is endless. But ask yourself, "What's the
budget?" Lisa Skolnik, city editor for Metropolitan Home
magazine and co-author of Porch Style and Jim Sulski,
real estate development and home improvement
contributor for numerous publications including the
Chicago Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business and
Consumer's Digest offer some things to think about when
planning and budgeting for your renovation project.
