Why Home Renovations are a Good Investment: Five Reasons

Homes are precious possessions. But, homes undergo wear and damages over time, necessitating renovations.

Interestingly, many people prefer putting off home renovations to restrict money outgo. But, such people do not realize that there can be several merits in renovating a home. And the values justify the investment in renovating their homes.

The fact that remains is that putting money into renovating your home is a good investment.

Like every homeowner, you want your house to look aesthetically appealing. But, you need to maintain your home and take adequate care to keep it in a top-notched condition.

Remember, the condition of your house can deteriorate to significant levels if you fail to maintain it properly. And, in such a case, you will need to renovate your home.

Again, a day comes in all house owners’ lives when they need to make a tough decision—whether to sell or renovate the house.

Although you can go by any one of the two options, renovating your house is sensible given the benefits you will reap subsequently.

So, the fact remains is that there can always be a scope of renovating your house regardless of how old it is.

A renovation can improve your house’s condition and increase its overall value and functionality.

To broaden your perspective and make you understand the critical benefits of renovating your house, we discuss the following benefits of a home renovation:

#1: Increase the Overall Functionality

It is perhaps one of the most notable benefits of any home renovations. A planned renovation can increase the overall functionality of your house. As such, such a house becomes comfortable for living.

For example, if you renovate the kitchen, it will render cooking easier. Likewise, you will get more privacy and comfort while bathing if you remodel your bathroom. Therefore, you will see a notable increase in the overall functionality and comfort post a renovation.

#2: Tailored Lifestyle

It will be an expensive project if you want to build a customized house to suit your lifestyle. And, you will find it very difficult to successfully undertake that project if you are on a limited budget. In such a case, renovating your house can be the best option. You can create more space by remodelling your home, customizing it to suit your lifestyle, and making it aesthetically more appealing.

#3: Reduce Maintenance Costs

Another notable benefit of renovating your house is getting the value of your money for the long term. A home needs maintenance to prevent it from deteriorating and arousal of significant problems.

And, there arises the need for the owner to incur maintenance costs. But, you will see the costs coming down significantly after you renovate your house. Therefore, the expense you will incur in remodelling your home will entail significant value for the long term. In addition, due to a renovation, you can escape spending money frequently on maintenance and repairs.

#4: Cut-Down Energy Bills

Although you might find it hard to believe it when you first hear someone saying that a home renovation can help you save money on energy bills, it is true. Your home renovation can save you money by curtailing energy expenditure.

When you renovate your home, you can focus on energy-saving upgrades. For example, replacing the windows with energy-efficient frames and panes, installing a new HVAC system, and upgrading the insulation will significantly reduce your energy bills.

#5: Increases the Overall Value of Your House

Most importantly, you will see the overall value of your house going up significantly after you renovate it.

After your home renovation project gets over, there can be two options for you. One, you can stay in the house forever. Two, you can sell it.

If you stay in the renovated home, you will experience more comfort and convenience. But, on the other hand, you will get a higher resale value if you eventually sell it. In that case, you will get a higher return on investment.

Two Prerequisites

After discovering the pros of renovating your home, you might want to start your home renovation project straightaway. But that will be the wrong move. So, avoid it.

Before any home renovation, there are two prerequisites—one, obtaining a building permit, and two, finding a competent contractor.

The Necessity of a Building Permit

In Canada, you need to obtain a building permit before carrying out any property renovation or construction.

When you obtain a permit, your project plan conforms to all the rules and regulations mandated by the competent authority.

The municipal building departments issue the permit. And the departments are responsible for enforcing the Ontario Building Code.

The municipality will issue the permit only when your project plan complies with:

• The Building Code setting the norms for the design and construction of buildings
• The local zoning bylaw and other planning controls on buildings

The permit also helps the municipality protect the community from safety hazards.

Importantly, it is unlawful to execute your home renovation project without a building permit. And, if you happen to carry out your project without the permit, you must prepare yourself for facing the consequences in the form of hefty fines. Moreover, it will amount to the violation of laws.

According to the existing Ontario building code, you may have to pay up to $50,000 for the first offense. And the fines for subsequent violations can be up to $100,000.

Moreover, the city administration is likely to destroy all your work without obtaining the permit. In that case, you will see the wastage of the money you spent on the project.

As such, you need to ensure that you obtain the permit beforehand.

Hire the Right Contractor

Next, you should hire the right contractor to execute your home renovation project. Remember, the quality of the contractor you hire can make or break your project. Therefore, you need to ensure that you spend some time choosing the right contractor for your job.

The first thing to do is shortlist some contractors and assesses their competencies. And avoid the mistake of selecting the first contractor whom you come across. If you do so, you might end up hiring the wrong one. And, it will prove to be a costly mistake that will make you repent after your project gets over.

Therefore, you should execute the following steps in your contractor selection process:

• Compile a list of probable home remodelling contractors
• Check their portfolios
• Speak with the references
• Visit finished projects, if possible
• Compare their charges

You should avoid hiring a contractor if you find anything fishy.

What to Do if You Find Obtaining a Building a Tedious Affair?

If you happen to know not much about a building permit and the way to obtain it or find obtaining the permit a tedious affair, there can be easier and more effective ways for you.

In such a case, you can delegate the task to a professional agency, like Orana, that specializes in building permit services in Toronto. In addition, such an agency can have all the detailed information about municipality requirements.

Conclusion

A home renovation can entail many benefits for you to reap subsequently. But, first, you should ensure that you abide by the existing regulations and hire the right contractor to execute a good renovation.