The old shake of the head, fold of the arms and long, pained sigh. ‘It’ll cost you.’ Anyone who’s ever had tradespeople quote for a job will be familiar with this cliché.
More often than not, it isn’t a cliché at all. From fixing the boiler to installing a new bathroom, renovation costs can spiral.
With the cost of living climbing daily, it might seem unwise to commit to home improvements right now, but it could make financial sense.
House prices are still shooting up by more than 10%, year on year, and in spite of Halifax warning recently that the market is ‘cooling down’, the chronic shortage of homes for sale means prices are likely to stay high.
This presents two compelling reasons to invest in improvements. Adding square footage to your home, done in the right way, not only gives you more living space, it can really add value.
It requires careful budgeting to make sure the money adds up. Overspend and you could lose money in spite of adding the zeros to the asking price. With supply chain issues and Brexit pushing up the cost of building materials by 25% over the last year, getting value for money is vital.
Here’s how to work out what changes are worth it and make your money go further.
Be businesslike about it
If you’re renovating and money is no object, follow your heart. The other 99.9% of us need to look at the cold hard numbers. Not all home improvements add value.
Talk to local estate agents about what buyers actually want. Is it open-plan living and a huge kitchen? Will another bedroom make more difference?
Ask them to put a value on your home now and if you were to renovate subtract the cost of the quote (plus a third for surprise costs) from the difference and if the number’s positive, you’ll likely get a return on your investment.
Get three quotes or more
Ask family, friends and neighbours for recommendations for tradesmen and ask three for quotes.
You don’t have to go with the cheapest but it’ll give you a good sense of what the work should cost. If you have a trusted contractor, ask them if they have a regular team. which can save headaches and money on silly mistakes or miscommunication.
Plan ahead
Even the best-laid plans will go awry. Received wisdom says if they tell you it’ll take six weeks, assume it will be nine. And if the quote is £3,000 then budget for £4,500 minimum. Hope for the best and plan for the worst.
If you live in an older property, all manner of nasties can emerge when you start to pull the walls down. Budget for contingencies like having to replace drainage, treating rot or woodworm or having to do structural remediation.
Pay cash
If you pay for building work on a credit card or with an overdraft or loan, it’s costing you more than the quote.
You’re paying interest of up to 40% on that spending, meaning work costing £1,000 rises to £1,400. The longer you take to repay, the more this figure will rise, so don’t borrow to extend or improve.
If you’re eligible for a further advance on your mortgage or you can borrow a bit more when you remortgage, mortgage rates are around two to 5%.
Given inflation is running near 10%, technically the bank’s paying you to borrow.
Scour the sales
There are so many sites selling big brands’ end of lines at huge discounts, it’s worth buying big ticket items only when they’re on sale.
Secret Sales lists homeware from Loaf and John Lewis at a fraction of their original cost.
Sites such as Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace and Preloved are also great places to find cheap secondhand furniture and fittings.
Reuse materials
Ask your builder if they have materials destined for the tip. Old brick, slate and timber can be reused and even help modern extensions blend with the original parts of your home.
The Used Kitchen Company has a whole range of ex-display kitchens and bathrooms for vastly reduced prices and factory outlets selling seconds are also a good bet.
Gumtree, eBay, Freecycle and the rest are good places to hunt down materials for less and sell things you’re not reusing.
Buy materials direct
If you’re buying new, go straight to the wholesaler to cut out the extra most contractors are likely to charge on top for anything from tiles and taps to the kitchen sink.
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