86% of people agree that ‘renovations end up costing more than you plan for’

A recent poll by CIBC found that 86% of people agree that ‘renovations end up costing more than you plan for’. With over half of Canadians polled by CIBC planning to renovate their homes this year, we look into, ‘why does the renovation end up costing more than you initially thought?’Incorrect expectations can be ‘nipped in the bud’ by creating a realistic plan, sticking to it and not forgetting that exploratory work has to be done before the renovation begins. Cost are easily controlled. Yes, of course, from time to time there may be situations where costs have to be increased due to unforeseen circumstances. However, the majority of the time, the reason renovations cost more than expected is because plans haven’t been properly thought out and investigated. It’s important to do your homework and go into a renovation with a good understanding of what your budget can achieve. We recommend checking out Houzz and other resources. Keep in mind many TV renovations will be more expensive than they suggest, plus they are often not based in and around Vancouver, therefore your budget may not stretch as far. With that said, we totally understand it’s very easy to get carried away, making changes on the fly to upgrade fixtures or whole rooms during the renovation process. However, it’s important to know these decisions can quickly escalate the original costs. Without a project manager to help steer you on course it can be hard to keep track of the bottom line.Renovation planning is key! When starting out the renovation process is very important to have a clear plan that includes the less glamorous elements of your renovation. For example, you might want to open up your living and dining room by knocking down a wall and be fixated on making the area modern and sleek. However, by focusing on the glamorous interior design tasks, you may have forgotten that it costs money to examine the room initially. Is the wall able to be pulled down? Does the room need to be leveled? These are all aspects that are easy to overlook. Don’t get carried away with how you want your end renovation to look and forget about the logistics. It’s best to not have a cost expectation until your exploratory work has been completed. This can really have a huge impact on your budget and how much you want to invest in your property. When discussing the renovation in the initial stages, it's important to be realistic. When picking out fixtures and fittings later on in the process, remember why you agreed on that budget and stick to it. Keep in mind, changing a fixture could ultimately have extra added cost such as further design time or manual labour costs. That upgraded flooring you have picked, may take twice as long to install and be twice the cost. Here at reVISION Custom Home Renovations we see a project through from start to finish. We have project managers who manage the budget and day to day tasks. Our interior designers understand the budget and most importantly are educated on essentials such as building permits and zoning. No one will put anything in front of you that is not realistic or possible, therefore helping manage your expectations in the long run. We have created this handy checklist which highlights the more exploratory elements some clients forget about when renovating. Everyone in our company follows this checklist during each renovation project. It means we don’t miss anything, and ensures client’s have a true understanding of how much their renovation is going to cost them. Very important information if you are looking to improve the value of your home. Download our free checklist

Relevant blog posts:http://www.revisionrenovations.com/renovation-blog/probing-questions-to-consider-when-hiring-a-renovation-company/3816/http://www.revisionrenovations.com/renovation-blog/your-home-renovation-budget-is-too-low/3728/http://www.revisionrenovations.com/renovation-blog/into-the-home-renovation-unknown/3762/