Mark Roemer Oakland Looks at How to Renovate Without Getting a Loan
Introduction
According to Mark Roemer Oakland, whether you have a small or big budget for your home renovation plans, things can quickly spiral out of control if you aren’t too careful. That’s when most people take out loans and get themselves deeper into debt. Let’s check out how to renovate your home without getting a loan.
The Details
1. Plan extensively and stick to your budget – Most people associate the word budget with ‘cheap’. However, here the word budget is used to get to a figure that’s a certain fraction of your savings and income. It’s best to assess your income and savings and start with a solid dollar amount that you’re comfortable spending on the renovation. After that, you can make design choices, select materials, hunt for bargains, and figure out what works with your budget and what doesn’t.
Create a spreadsheet, and add everything you want to buy including lighting, faucets, paint, hardware, countertops, flooring materials, and more. That would help you visualize the things that are eating up too much of your budget and let you know where you need to make adjustments by buying cheaper materials, going the DIY route, or finding a better deal. Reserve at least 10 percent of your budget for unexpected expenses.
2. Pay with cash – If you’re renovating your home to sell it off, taking out a loan makes sense since it becomes a business expense that is required to increase the value of your home. In most other cases, taking out a loan and drowning yourself in debt with big renovation projects doesn’t make any sense. That’s why you should try to save as much as possible and pay with cash. Moreover, paying with cash also gets you discounts and helps you stretch your budget a bit more since suppliers won’t need to pay extra fees to credit card companies.
3. Renovate in phases – Most small renovation projects cost less than $30,000. Big projects where you plan to change your entire home significantly cost hundreds of thousands and that’s when most people take out loans. You can avoid that with the virtue of patience and renovate your home in phases. You’ll need to do a bit more planning and have a roadmap by dividing the large renovation projects into smaller units and dividing them over a few years.
4. Interest-free balance transfer loans – If you must take out a loan for a necessary and practical renovation project, get an interest-free balance transfer loan. For instance, if the total renovation cost is around $24,000, charge it to your card and apply for a balance transfer loan. You can choose a tenure of 6 or 12 months and pay it off within that period without incurring any interest. However, you’ll still need to pay a higher administrative fee.
Conclusion
Mark Roemer Oakland suggests that you use the above-mentioned tips to save as much as possible for your renovation and not get yourself into more debt. If you have to get a loan, try for an interest-free balance transfer loan by charging it to your credit card.