Useful Manual for the first-time renovation

Renovating can be an exciting process. However, when it comes to fees that included in the package, you definitely would not be able to see a lot of additional charges that are only revealed to you at the end of the project.

In order to help you get fully prepared and ready for the big renovation ahead, we have analyzed all the hidden fees put them in these 4 categories so you would be able to happily enjoy your new home without worrying about an over-charged bill afterward.

1️. Necessary utilities set up

There are many electrical related things that you need to install in your new homes, such as Wifi or extra power outlets. Setting up wifi may be a standard but you might need extra hotspot if your room is at a non-wifi-friendly spot. Make sure to check if this is included in your package or it could rack up anywhere up to a few hundred dollars.

2 Power outlets in your typical room are hardly enough for all of your tech essentials to charge or power up. Using multi-plugs might be a common thing to do, but the risk associated when having too many in one is not to be taken lightly. So be prepared to save a few hundred more since 1 outlet could cost $50 - 100.

2️. Unforeseen tasks that should have been planned better

a) Residency while renovating takes place

For all of you who are lucky enough to have friends or family offering a place to stay while your full house renovation is in action, you should be really appreciated their help. For people who have to move out and find a temporary residency, it actually could cost up to thousands for short-period stay contract (a full HBD renovation might take even more than 1 to 3 months).

b) Financing is very important

Planning a package deal and payment options with your contractor are not the only thing you would have to take into account when dealing with financing for your renovation. Not everyone is capable of paying the full amount upfront, so a loan or an installment contract is what you might have to consider going for. However, choosing the right bank and services provider might affect greatly to how much you could save.

c) Shopping Planning

As silly as it may sound, but you would be surprised at how many people who have got thousands of dollars furniture but they would not fit into the house. Taking precaution by carefully work with your designer - to make sure your hand-picked luxurious armchair (and all of your other furniture items) could go through the door and well-fitted space you intended for it to be.

3️. Unexpectations

Of course, last minute changes could be the highest factor that affects your final bill. For instance, those 12 custom-made shelves for your office - if all needed to be bigger because your boss told you so, then expect an amount to be added on.

And there are also accidents could happen. Maybe It was caused by your contractor, so the cost probably would be covered. However, the timeline of the project might be dragged out, hence affecting other tasks and might as well the fees going along with them as well. Just imagine if your visit to the house accidentally broke something, only then your credit card might not be feeling well as It usually is.

4️. Additional Services

Renovation always comes with a lot of hacking, hence a lot of debris as well. You would definitely need to work out beforehand to see if the cleaning service was included in the total package or not. Otherwise, be prepared to pay extra for a clean-up team to finish off your renovation.

Paying for haulage also requires a substantial amount, so be careful to calculate precisely if this is also mentioned in your renovation contract. Depends on the amount of furniture and distance it takes to get to your place, paying all the transportation fee by yourself can be quite a lot.

In the end, nothing is better than a well-prepared renovation. It could have you save tons as well as rewarding you with a great and smooth experience - rather than one of a hellish lesson regarding that time when you have to do problem-solving and multi-tasking crazily for a short period of time.

By Owen