Why It’s Important to Set a Renovation Budget

If we walk away with a few new lessons in the past few years, one will be the constant reminder of why it’s so important for clients to set a remodeling budget, in advance. Our industry is busy right now, interest rates are climbing, still, homes are being remodeled and new homes are hitting the market.

While opportunities are still available to reimagine your space, there are many reasons why setting a budget matter, and we will dive into a few of those here. You may also want to jump right into What Does a Remodel Cost here.

Ask the Question

This is one of the earliest questions we have to ask. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, and often met with an awkward silence or an email that won’t get replied to. But we have to start somewhere, remodeling isn’t a fixed number, and there are many ways to approach your remodeling goals with many different cost implications.

Three Bid Comparison

We’re not fixing a leaky faucet, with three bids, and the most economical one wins! Gone are the days of grabbing multiple bids and finding the most affordable option. We firmly believe this is a people business, and we’re here to earn your trust. It’s our goal to bring together a dream team to make your space functional with design enhancements you’ve likely been dreaming up for some time. We do this by getting to know you, taking you behind the scenes to share our process, and set expectations early. This may involve sharing past client contacts to speak to the integrity and quality of work we deliver. In some cases, our clients come with a referral from a past client, this is the best marketing plan we can put together. However, today, we’re lucky to see many leads coming from Instagram, and we love that there is a brand awareness when our prospects reach out.

Everyone Has a Budget

Let’s face it, everyone has a budget. There is no exception to this rule. Setting this expectation early and being willing to discuss your budget saves time for everyone, and most importantly – your time! It also helps gain attention when reaching out to contractors, that you’re serious, you may have done your homework and this will set your inquiry apart from others.

What Are Your Renovation Goals

Setting goals is key in every renovation, knowing the financial investment you are prepared to make will help our team along with those goals. Compromises will need to be made in order to achieve the end goal, it’ll be worth it, in the end, you won’t have buyer’s remorse for overspending. Vice versa, you may be willing to kick in a little extra cash as we move through the process to upgrade to your dream 48″ range in the kitchen.

Other Expenses

We’re not the only expense in a remodel, we get that. You will have an accessory and furniture budget. There may even be a few small expenses that you didn’t anticipate, such as relocating during the messy parts of the project, or the increased meal expense while eating out, maybe it’s the time you spent making decisions on this project that took you away from your ‘paying’ job.

Talk to Your Lender

Have a conversation with your lender, or partner. However you may be financing the project, know what you can afford and what you’re willing to invest into the project. And be prepared to do a bit of research, sharing your new knowledge with your contractor helps level set expectations and that you’re ready to advance to the next stage of a major project – during busy times like these, this will set you apart and help you gain the financial investment you’re after.

Creating an Estimate Takes Time

Each estimate we put together can take several hours and leans into the mind share of 20+ years in the business, which has a value on its own to deliver accuracy from the onset. With this mindset we cannot provide an estimate to everyone that reaches out, which may be why you’re having a hard time collecting bids to compare. We have to have a process to vet our leads, and find partnerships with our potential clients that make sense for both parties. Having an open conversation early about renovation goals and pricing is step number one.

If you’re wondering what does a remodel cost, as you’re trying to set your budget, read more here in our recent post. We hope this helps clarify the importance of knowing your budget, we love being a resource, so please let us know if we can help with your project!

Jkath Team

Take a look at a few recent projects that we’ve completed.

Country Club, Princeton Avenue, St. Albans Road

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