Important considerations before renovation of a home
"Short term satisfaction or stay and enjoy for the long haul."
This is the third post of seven part series. Please check back often to see the next one.
Step 3: "For Whom & For How Long?"
Make a realistic determination on how long you are planning to stay, after the work is done. The length of you commitment to stay has a huge bearing on the scope of work strategy and the level of investment you need to consider and undertake in renovating a home. For example, anything under five years is considered short term and you will need to plan accordingly. Shorter the time of stay will require a more conservative approach, in order to gain as much return on your investment as possible, which means to limit your scope of work to a more cosmetic or basic level of improvement.
You may also be considering even a shorter term objective, going through this process in order to get the house ready for sale. In this case, you have to think strategically and how to spend your money and best way to invest in the home improvement, so you can get the most from the sale. If that’s your objective, you have to think about the market and buyers and what they would be looking for, rather than what you might prefer. Most important consideration in this scenario is to make sure the house is in good repair, both cosmetically as well as important functions like plumbing, heating and electrical systems. Beyond that, in most cases you may or may not get the return you were hoping for.
On the other hand, you may determine you are here to stay long term, which will direct you to a more substantial approach, one that may or may not consider quick return on investment, but a more holistic and substantial level of design and renovation. With the long term stay approach, (meaning minimum of seven years or more) you are looking at your renovation project as a long term investment as well as creating the spaces and environment to benefit your daily life and your family’s well being, happiness and enjoyment. In this case you may consider options which not necessary provide the quickest return on investment but allow for higher level of satisfaction and pleasure.
The word of caution here would be any unforeseen possibility of changes like early sale due to work situation, economy, etc. This means; regardless of the duration of planned stay, never lose the sight of possible sale and resale value.
Remember, this is only the third step of seven steps. To make the right decision and avoiding pitfalls, you need to consider a few more important things, before moving forward.