Important considerations before renovation of a home
"Have a clear and realistic vision and stick to it."
This is the fifth post of seven part series. Please check back often to see the next one.
Step 5: "We might as well syndrome"
What’s a “We might as well syndrome”, you might ask? It’s one of the most common pit falls in our industry.
You have done your homework. You have researched and considered all potentials and possibilities in your home renovation and have a clear road map planned carefully. Then while the project is in progress you start second guessing and wondering, How about…? What if…!
Needless to say this could also happen during the early stages as well. The temptation to keep expanding the scope of your project, early on and “might as well” yourself by adding to the work is an everlasting pit fall.
It typically goes something like this; Well, as long as we are doing all this work, we “might as well” add a third stall garage and build a home theater in the basement and..., etc. While these additional ideas might enhance your project, you have to be able to prioritize and realize you might not be able to have everything. Unless money is no object you may have to make some choices and compromise on the stuff you had not planned for.
Worse yet, I have had clients who believed that it’s an expected part of the process to make changes as they go along, during the construction.
If at the end of project you look back and wonder about the budget overruns and delays, you may very well discover how those changes had quite an incredible role.
My advice; stick to the program and don't expand scope of work, midstream. Consider all options, be patient and make clear decisions early on, during the planning and design process and try not to leave anything for "later". And then trust your judgment and game plan and stick to it. You will save time and money if you have given your project enough thoughts, during those early stages, than waiting to decide last minute and under pressure. This will also keep you from second guessing yourself, later on, after the completion of the project.
Of course there are times during the construction process an unknown challenge or opportunity may present itself. You will need a good team of expert to handle those type cases and help you make the best decisions. We will talk about that on another step. But more you plan ahead and study your options during the design process, less likely you will wonder if "we might as well...” down the road. Just remember your team of experts and you should have considered all those “we might as well” ideas during the design process and have made sure you have carefully examined and weight all your options.
Making changes during the building process is costly, delays the project and dramatically increases the chance of mistakes and errors that could easily blow up your planned budget.
Always try to keep in perspective that most likely this won't be your last house and it’s ok if it does not include everything you wished for. Life is about making compromises and better be realistic and pragmatic with your decisions, rather than making choices based on emotions or reluctance.
Remember, this is only the step five of seven steps. To make the right decision and avoiding pitfalls, you need to consider a few more important things, before moving forward.