Don't make these mistakes if you're doing home renos.

Summary

Renovate Smarter, Not Harder: James Loewen's Top Tips for a Successful Home Renovation. Avoid common mistakes and ensure a smooth financing process from start to finish. Learn the secrets to save time, money, and avoid unnecessary hassles. Get expert guidance for a successful renovation journey. Smarter, Not Harder.

Transcript

James Loewen:

Hey, guys! Welcome back! Let's get started on the Renovation Edition of Smarter, Not Harder. Maybe, you've been in your home through COVID and want to finish an extra part of your house, redo the kitchen, add a bathroom, even do an extension, or build a new home. This is going to be the top three mistakes I see, and the tips I can give you to ensure a smooth process from start to finish, on your financing side. I'm James Loewen. Let's get your reservation going! This is Smarter, Not Harder.

Okay. You want to get some renos going, right? You're about to go to the bank. What I want you to do is just shut the front door. Seriously, guys, do not go to your bank. Too many people just say too much, and although your intentions might have been great, the results are, then, usually lackluster. If you tell your bank that you're going to potentially change structural parts of your home, tear down your house, or do an addition, just the fact you said you might do it, it's going to probably put you into what's called a construction loan, which means you now are into draws. You need inspectors. You're going to have multiple lawyer fees involved. It just becomes quite an arduous process. Please come to us. That's what we're here for. Let us be your filter in ensuring that what's said and what's required to be said is just that.

Number two, no shovel in the ground until the money's in your bank account. Okay? Don't start the renovations until you have the full amount of funds available to complete. Too often, what I find is people, mid-renovations, run out of money, and then two things will happen. One, the bank won't refinance you because your kitchen is ripped apart. Then, two, the other issue is it can take up to six weeks to complete a refinance. That's six weeks of having to cook on a hot plate and potentially peeing outside in the middle of winter.

The last one, and probably most important one, is overestimate on both fronts. I want you to overestimate on the budget. Take whatever budget you think it's going to cost, and then add 20%, and then add another 20% on top of that. The next one is making sure you overestimate on time. Whatever the timeframe you think it's going to take you to do, double it. That way, you're accounting for issues on product supply, on labor, on COVID, on weather. Whatever it might be, just overestimate. Guys, these are the top three secrets. You're going to have a fantastic and successful renovation. I'm James Loewen, and now, your budget's not getting blowing. This is Smarter, Not Harder.