While you might have grandiose renovation visions the Downtown San Diego condo you just bought, you may not have the budget to support them. Fortunately, there are countless ways to establish an affordable, feasible plan that will allow you to bring your designs to life. With the right strategies, you can create the look you really want for your unit without spending beyond your means.
Decide How Much You Want to Spend & How You’ll Finance This Project
You should start these efforts by determining exactly how much you want to spend, what you want to accomplish, and how you prefer to pay for everything. If you intend to set an all-cash budget, the related financial planning will be easy. Homeowners also have the option of taking out home equity loans and securing other forms of financing.
Collect Quotes
Shop around for contractors that are willing to provide free, no-obligation estimates. This will give you a better understanding of the total costs for labor and materials. It will also help you determine which aspects of this project are in line with your short and long-term financial goals and which are not.
Prioritize Your Goals
If your redesign plans far exceed your current budget, you may have to decide which improvements will have the greatest impact on the overall value and appeal of your condo. For instance, rather than switching out the flooring and replacing your cabinets, you can opt to invest in new flooring and buy new hardware for your cabinets instead. Choosing projects that will add the greatest amount of sweat equity to your investment will make it easier to qualify for a home equity loan in the future for funding additional renovations.
Consider Breaking the Project into Manageable Increments
The most effective strategy for completing a major condo overhaul on a relatively nominal budget is breaking down the entire project into a number of manageable, affordable phases. If you’re working with a single contractor, you may even be able to make retention payments. With these, you’ll pay only the costs of each job phase, right before the work begins. In addition to giving you an easy way to sidestep the need for a loan, retention payments will also give you the ability to review and approve each completed phase before rendering payment for new work. The most important thing to remember is that everything doesn’t have to get done at once. Tackling projects like these gradually and as you can afford to will limit their overall costs. You won’t have to pay interest on loan and you can continue to shop around for cheaper labor and materials throughout the work process. Still looking for your dream condo, loft, or penthouse in Downtown San Diego? Sometimes, finding something that requires a little elbow grease is a great way to get into a certain neighborhood like Marina District or Little Italy on a limited budget. Kick your search up a notch by calling up at (619) 649-0368. We’ll help you find the right place, in the right spot, at the right price. ')}