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Final Tips for a Successful Home Renovation

September 10, 2018 By: Great Midwest Bank

Here at Great Midwest Bank, we’re dedicated to alleviating stress during our clients’ home renovation experiences. We believe in a common-sense, personalized lending approach. With over 80 years of banking knowledge under our belts, we’ve seen our fair share of home remodels, renovations and constructions, and our loan officers know that there’s more that goes into renovating a home than just the financials. That’s why we also provide helpful remodel tips and tricks to pull off your Renovation Journey without a hitch!

Here are five tips to make your home renovation a success:

Plan ahead and plan realistically

Set yourself up for success before your Renovation Journey even gets underway by taking the time to strategically plan out the steps that will be involved in your home improvement project. Deciding on and sticking to a budget will minimize stress and help you feel more in control throughout the home renovation process.

Proper planning can help you stay on budget. Ridley Wills, founder of design-build firm in Nashville, The Wills Co., says, “You’ll end up making the same decisions, but you’ll know what they’re going to be and what they’re going to cost ahead of time.”

To make this less part of your journey less stressful, we have compiled all the tools you’ll need to get started on our website, including a mortgage calculator, current rates, checklists, a glossary, and more.

The expert Great Midwest Bank loan officers will discuss the home renovation financing options available for your project. With locations in Brookfield, Chilton, Madison, Wauwatosa, Greenfield, Bayside, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we are conveniently located to serve our communities. We can help you plan a home renovation that is within your budget and provide you with a loan that is based on your home’s future, not current, value.

Expect the unexpected

Unfortunately, even with planning there’s often bumps in the road during home renovation projects. From unforeseen structural issues to design changes and more, understanding that things won’t always go as planned will help you stay cool, calm, and collected throughout your home renovation.

A financial cushion going into a project also helps. It is important to take certain unexpected expenses into consideration such as long-term maintenance, energy-loss and repairs. In addition, home renovations can take longer than expected when you account for the time needed to obtain permissions and permits, and your contractor’s schedule. Putting aside a portion of your budget to help cover these unexpected costs can reduce a lot of stress in the middle of your renovation.

Write it all down

When unexpected changes do occur, be sure to keep a consistent, accurate log of them. Record the price attached to each of the change orders necessary, and ask your contractor to document the change with a signature on the log. This log should be signed by both parties. It’s easy for a home renovation budget to get out of control if you’re not regularly recording changes and reviewing them with your contractor.

Check in regularly

Schedule a check-in meeting or phone call with each of your contractors every other week during your project. This will help you to stay on top of any changes that may need to be made to your plans, whether or not extra costs will be incurred. This will give you peace of mind and make sure that no extra expenses are missed in your project changes log.

Ask for help

Speaking of contractors – don’t be afraid to ask for help. Renovating your own home, while it can be stressful, it should also be very exciting. If a task seems too daunting and you’re not 100% confident in the final outcome, reach out to a professional. A DIY project gone wrong during a major home renovation can lead to structural and functional issues in the future, either costing you money to fix it later or cause you to lose value on your home if/when it is time to sell.

We look forward to helping you navigate the winding road towards a successful major home renovation. Talk to a Great Midwest Bank loan officer today to start financing your own Renovation Journey.

Posted in  Home Renovation Loans