How Much Does It Cost to Renovate a House?
Do you feel like your home needs renovation? Or have you just bought a property, and you need to renovate it before moving in? Whatever the case, renovating your home can be a rewarding experience.
Now, one thing gives homeowners a headache when it comes to renovating a home—the cost of renovating their home. However, it’s important to note that the cost of renovating a home varies, depending on several factors.
Please read on to know these factors and how they affect the cost of a home renovation project.
Factors that affect the cost of home renovation
Generally, there’s no definite figure that you can depend on when budgeting for a home renovation project. However, there are numerous factors that you can put into consideration when budgeting to remodel your home. Let’s look at these factors in detail.
Low-end vs. high-end renovation
The cost of renovating a 2,500 sq. ft. home can range between $15,000 and $200,000. Please note that this is an average cost, and the variation in the cost depends on the scale of the project. According to home renovation experts from AFS General, you should expect to complete these home renovations within the following budget range:
- Low-end home renovation – typically, low-end home renovation projects include minor charges like new paint, fresh-landscaping, as well as updated hardware, among other things like low-cost finishes such as new flooring and counters. The budget for such renovation projects ranges between $15,000 and $45,000.
- Mid-range home renovation – apart from the low-end renovation project, mid-range home renovation projects consist of full-room renovations like kitchen and bathroom. Besides, these projects use higher quality materials, unlike in low-end renovation. The cost for such projects ranges between $46,000 and $70,000.
- High-end home renovation – these kinds of renovations include both low-end and middle-end projects. However, high-end home renovations have high-quality materials and finishes, including new appliances and custom cabinets. Also, these renovations might include improvements to the plumbing and electrical fixtures, as well as the foundation and HVAC. High-end home renovation projects cost between $71,000 and $200,000.
Now, when planning a home renovation project, you should expect to know the cost of your renovation once you know the kind of project you have at hand. It’s important to understand that only a fifth of homeowners doing renovations finish their project without exceeding the budget. Therefore, it’s advisable that you don’t budget an exact figure—your budget should be 15% more in case of unanticipated costs.
The age and type of home
Typically, older homes require more attention during a renovation project. This is because new problems might arise when addressing the existing ones. For instance, once you tear down the floors and walls, you might realize that the house has outdated plumbing and wiring—meaning they should also be replaced so that the building meets the set safety standards and code.
And, while you can still sell your home even if everything isn’t up to standard, there can be possible issues when it comes to seller financing because lenders cannot finance a property with possible safety and health issues.
Therefore, if your home is old—typically 50+ years, you should check with your city council to see if there are any specific guidelines that should be followed when it comes to renovating old homes. Now, depending on the condition of your home, as well as the previous upgrades and age of the building, this can have a significant impact on the cost of the renovation project. The type of home also determines the cost of renovation, regardless of the age.
For instance, Victorian homes cost more money to renovate—you can spend an average of $20 to $200 per square foot when renovating such a building. Townhouses and farmhouses, on the other hand, are cheaper to renovate—they cost around $10 to$50 per square foot to renovate.
Additional costs of home renovations
Apart from the typical installations, structural work, and decorating costs, there are other costs involved in a home renovation project. Please note that these costs add up to the final cost of the renovation project. These costs are:
- Planning and surveys application costs – home renovation projects that involve building extensions or structural work require surveys and planning, which must be paid for. Now, the larger the scope of the project, the higher the cost.
- Legal and stamp duty costs – when planning to buy a property that you want to renovate, it’s always a good thing to consider solicitor and stamp duty costs. Now, if it’s your second property, expect the stamp duty to be a bit higher than normal. However, if you sell your first property within three years after acquiring the second property then you will be refunded the amount you paid for stamp duty.
- Rent costs – if you decide to move out of your home because of the renovations, you will need somewhere to stay. That means you will pay some sort of rent during the period if you don’t have someone to host you.
- Contingency – when doing a large project, it’s always a good thing to have some contingency money to cater for any unforeseen costs. At times, you might need to change several things that you had not proposed—and this can increase the cost of the project. Therefore, always add an extra 15% on top of the total renovation cost for contingency.
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How Much Does It Cost to Renovate a House?
