Call us today 09 320 0847Renovations
From a new bathroom or a new deck to ripping the house apart and starting again, renovations are usually about adding comfort and improved amenity value, both of which improve the dollar value of your home. Renovations can help prevent the loss of value too via repairs and long overdue maintenance.
You might be thinking about moving house, to upgrade as it were, but you realise that the houses available to buy at any given time aren’t what you’re looking for or even in your price bracket!
Plus, there are all the costs to physically move and then the mental and emotional effort of learning a new way of life with different commutes, schools, supermarkets, etc
Then we realise that actually, we like the location of where we live, we just want to make the home better.
The big risk with renovations is a cost overrun, and if you’re funding the project with a bank loan then rest assured that the bank will be just as anxious about cost overrun as you are! It’s the reason why a contingency amount should be added to your renovation budget. The bank will factor in a 15% to 20% contingency and so should you.
It goes without saying that using a reputable builder is your first line of defence against cost overruns. Getting multiple quotes to compare is a useful move as well but is time-consuming. The gold standard method of verifying the cost of your project is to use a Quantity Surveyor in conjunction with your builder.
Then there’s the often-difficult question of working out if the renovation cost will be reflected in a higher property value. In other words, will it be worth it? This can be a key question from a lending perspective because the bank wants to know if your equity position (read more about equity here), is still comfortable if you need to borrow money to fund the renovations. Ideally, you want a dollar-for-dollar return – if not better.
That’s why a registered valuation is often needed as part of your mortgage approval.
Renovations are time-consuming and messy, but they are also exciting – they can bring a whole new fresh look to your home and can improve problems that needed to be fixed during the process.
There are calculators available online to try and help you work out the numbers, but honestly, they can’t ask the questions necessary to get the right loan for you and your situation. So, talk to Hastie Mortgages, and let’s get excited about what lies ahead.
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Got questions? No worries, there aren’t many we haven’t heard before – get in touch and ask away.