The global Covid 19 pandemic has changed many people’s lives. Not only those who were afflicted with the virus, but also the dynamics of how people carry on their everyday lives, with the balance of family, physical and mental health, and work. With many people enduring forced lockdowns throughout 2020 and 2021, some people who were fortunate to remain employed, provided a unique opportunity to be able to re-assess their living arrangements. Given most people’s expenditure dropped due to travel and entertainment restrictions, many people took into consideration if they still wanted to live where they are, or if they wanted to make a country or sea change. If they did want to stay where they are, what modifications could they make that could further enhance their house, and what would well from both a lifestyle and investment point of view.
State governments also threw incentives out for both of these options which varied from state to state but, there seemed to be stamp duty discounts or build rebates that could be claimed as long as certain requirements were met, such as income thresholds, house value caps, and minimum renovation costs.
A very large number of people looked at renovating over these last two years, but then knowing what you should and shouldn’t do in a renovation is always one of the hardest decisions. While it would be nice if we could all afford to just go and get everything we want to be done in one hit, quite often finances don’t allow for this. While the decision will essentially be driven by your heart, and what affects your everyday life the most. Realistically when you look at renovating you should always be looking at updating your kitchen first and foremost. Statistically, this room receives the most traffic and is where people have been found to spend the most time (when awake). It’s also what is shown to increase the value of your property more than any other area, thus generating the best return on investment.
So if you do decide that you want to renovate your kitchen and you can also afford to renovate a bathroom, and use an electrician to set up lights, should you do this as well? There are a couple of reasons why this may and may not work for you. You will definitely save considerable money getting the designs and the works completed for multiple rooms at the same time. But then you need to weigh this up against the impact it will have on your life. It’s quite possible that you might need to move out for a week or two while the upgrade is taking place, possibly longer depending on the amount of work you are having done. So you may need to factor this into your costings.
One other point of note is that having a flexible budget or a buffer of funds is also a wise idea. Unless you have x-ray vision there can often be hidden flaws that you just won’t know about until demolition works commence. It’s also worth being aware that with the huge increase in demand for trades there has been a shortage of many materials, so if you have your heart set on something specific, be prepared to find an alternative or accept a significant delay in works. The flow-on effect is the cost of some items has also increased in value, which means that the cost of your build could increase by up to 20%. So if you are thinking of renovating don’t waste any more time and call experts such as MyBath on 1300 842 736 for a free consultation in designing your dream bathroom, kitchen, and laundry
