Just 8% of Britain’s homeowners state they live in their dream home. When questioned further, 56% of people said that they believed creating their dream home would be too expensive, according to a survey by Direct Line Insurance. Renovating your family’s home can cost anywhere from several hundred pounds to hundreds of thousands, depending on the project. However, so long as you’re sensible with your cash and make smart financial decisions when you undergo your renovation project, the family home of your dreams will become a reality.
Prioritize your projects
22% of the nation state that an infinity pool and a hot tub are their dream home features. This is no surprise seeing as swimming is a fun activity for kids of all ages. However, these features don’t come cheap. Compass states that you’ll pay between £800 and £2000 per square metre of pool. Whereas, Yahoo reports that a hot tub costs between a few thousand to £20,000. With hundreds of thousands of pounds at stake, it’s essential you sit down and prioritize your renovation work. Take time to think about whether you should spend your hard-earned cash on a roofing company to carry out essential work, or spend it on something that’s considered a luxury.
A dream home can take years to create. Therefore, choose one home project to focus on at a time. By doing this, you’ll have to borrow less cash and you’ll pay less back in interest.
Weighing up your options
Small renovations to complete your dream home, such as a tiled feature wall can cost less than £1,000, depending on the area tiled. Therefore, after a few months of saving and cutting back on costly family days out, your project will be complete. However, large-scale projects typically require homeowners to borrow cash. Your lending options include taking out a personal or home renovation loan, getting a credit card, securing a bridging loan, maximizing your overdraft or remortgaging your property. You should consider each option carefully and be knowledgeable on how it works like the remortgaging in UK and ensure that you can meet your repayments. To do this, it’s recommended that you work out the full cost of borrowing as well as review the APR.
A sensible approach
Before starting costly renovations in your family home, many tradespeople will want assurance that you’ve got the cash to pay for work. In some cases, you’ll be asked to pay some of the projected cost upfront. But, proving that you’ve got the cash by presenting a certified cheque will also suffice. Crediful states that these cheques ‘can keep the issuer and the receiver safe from mistakes and from fraudulent activity.’ Therefore, they’re worthwhile for both parties. Another sensible approach to take is to sign a financial agreement with your lender. To ensure you, your family home and your cash are protected, you should only sign agreements which are covered by the Consumer Credit Act as this act covers you for purchases between £100 and £30,000.
Ask any homeowner if they want to transform their family property into the home of their dreams and the answer is sure to be ‘yes’. Yet, too many homeowners forgo renovations based on expense. Thankfully, by sensibly managing your family’s budget and your renovation costs, you can install even the most lavish of features in your home.
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