What Should You Consider Before Living In Your Renovation?
I have remodeled my fair share of houses, but it has been a long time since I was living in the house while I was trying to remodel it. Well, I just recently finished a full bathroom remodel and replacing all the floors in my house. I would not consider this a full house remodel, but it got me thinking…
It got me thinking about all the people that I talk to, many times it when they’re thinking about selling their house, and they are trying to decide whether to sell the house or remodel the house and then try to sell it.
Remodeling your house while you live there might be a good idea for some, but I think there are a few factors that often get overlooked when people are thinking about doing a live-in renovation. Here I will cover five things that you may want to consider before you decide to renovate the house you are living in.
The Noise Of A Renovation
It’s so loud… all the time. If you’ve got contractors working in your house, they want to get in and get their job done. Unfortunately, their job is a loud job. There’s always going to be banging, yelling, and music playing. This gets real old, real fast.
I spend a lot of time working from home and it is really hard to concentrate with saws running and hammers banging. After the first day, it starts to get old and by the end of the first week, it’s really old… how many weeks is this renovation???
Don’t need contractors you say…Maybe you want to do the work yourself, and that might be okay if you live alone. But if you work a regular job and you want to do the work at night after you get off…I would have some serious thought and discussion about what the evenings are going to be like when you are working on the house and your significant other is trying to relax or you are trying to “remodel quietly” because the kids are asleep.
The Mess Caused By A House Remodel
Renovations can create a serious mess. No matter how you plan it or how you go about it, renovations are messy. Whether you plan to do the work yourself or if you plan to have contractors handle the whole thing, there is no way to avoid the piles of dirt and dust.
Anytime you’re doing demo and you start ripping things out, scraps of wood, broken tiles, piles of trash end up everywhere, and the dirt and dust are absolutely everywhere. Even if the house was fairly clean to begin with, when you pull things out and put things up, you will create a mess and you’re going to be living with that mess and stepping over that mess day after day and week after week…stepping on nails as you go to get your morning coffee isn’t the best way to start your day.
Renovations Disrupt Your Life
How much is this remodel going to disrupt your life and impact your normal daily habits. The amount of this impact could vary a lot from one person to another.
Just make sure that you know what you are getting into. If you are remodeling the bathroom and you’ve got to rip out the whole bathroom, that bathroom is not going to be functional until you are able to get it all put back together. Hopefully, you’ve got another bathroom, but if you don’t… I don’t think it’s going to be a lot of fun to be without a shower and a toilet.
I would say it’s pretty hard to cook dinner and gather around the dinner table when you are remodeling the kitchen.
We had to move our table to the garage while we refinished the floors, so we laid out a blanket and had an indoor picnic on the floor…The first night was fun, the second night was okay, and by night three everybody was tired of tired of picnics.
Are You Really Saving Money?
One reason why people often tell me that they need to live in the house while they are renovating it is so that they can save money. I think that may not be as accurate as people think.
It is true, you would not have the cost of two houses at once and if you plan to do the work yourself, you can save quite a bit on labor costs.
Keep in mind that if you’re doing the work yourself then it’s probably going to take you quite a lot longer than if you hire a bunch of professional contractors to do the work. And if it takes you longer to complete the remodel, the more it is going to cost you.
If you are ready to move and would rather do it as soon as possible, maybe you should reconsider.
Why Did You Decide To Do This?
What is your real goal? Most sellers are not happy with their current living situation and would like to move on to something new as soon as possible.
Ask yourself if putting all the time, money, and energy into this current house in the hope of selling for more money is the best way to accomplish your goal.
It is usually true that a fully remodeled house will almost always sell for more that the not renovated house. But make sure you take a good look at the numbers so that you don’t end up spending $25K on a renovation to sell the house for $30K more a year later.
Wrap Up
Taking action is to change your undesirable situation is always a great step. The best action may be to remodel the house and it may be to sell the house and move on to a place that is better for you.
There is nothing wrong with remodeling a house, but make sure that you are going to come out ahead when you are done. Consider living in the mess, with the noise, having the disruption, and make sure this is the best way to improve your situation
I hope this article and our other articles give you some things to think about and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me anytime!