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So, you’re renovating your property – what should you be looking at first?

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05-07-2021

Indeed, this was the focus of a recent news story from This is Money, which reported Mortgage Advice Bureau data suggesting that four in 10 homeowners plan to renovate or extend their homes in the wake of the coronavirus situation.

Of those that did intend to upgrade, nearly half regarded COVID-19 as a direct cause of their altered property plans. And with so many of us having spent a lot more time at home over the past year or so than we would have probably anticipated before the coronavirus came along, this increased enthusiasm for home renovation shouldn’t be a great shock.

But it’s one thing to have ambitions to renovate your London or South East England home, and quite another matter to know where to start. So, here’s some well-timed advice from our Hampstead, Guildford and Purley plumbers at PGS Plumbers.

Allow a lot of leeway in your budget

Responsible budgeting is extremely important for any home renovation, and might be even more so during the COVID-19 era, when economic uncertainties mean many household incomes may not seem as secure in the long term as they once appeared. And you won’t want to be forced to abandon any property renovation project when it’s only half-done!

A good rule of thumb is therefore to take whatever your current intended budget is for your home renovation, and double it, to cover any contingencies. Would you still be able to cover any such unexpected additional expense?

As for if it’s a listed property, you might as well quadruple the budget, given the more sensitive and specialised nature of some of the work that will be required, and what will probably be the more expensive materials needed in some cases.

Plan on the basis of what your property will be used for

Even the many residential property owners around London and the Home Counties who are currently enthusiastically considering home renovations, are likely to have wide-ranging motivations for doing so.

Are you, for instance, a current or would-be landlord of this property? In that case, spending many thousands of pounds on your dream bathroom taps may not make much sense, if you’ll be renting out the property to a tenant who may simply end up breaking them. In that situation, it might be much wiser to spend money on making sure the fundamentals of the property – such as the structure, plumbing and heating – are all sound.

Then, there are those property owners who might have only just bought it, with the intention of ‘flipping’ it (renovating and then selling it on for a higher price). Or you might be in a very different set of circumstances – this may be your ‘forever home’, so every last detail will need to be what would suit you and your family’s everyday needs and preferences.

Whatever – the point is that these factors will all have big implications for how you spend your property renovation budget.

Focus on the basics before moving onto the luxuries

We touched on this a little above, but it’s a point worth underlining further: if your property is badly in need of a new boiler or radiators, there’s little point in prioritising beautiful décor first. You’ll need to ensure the property is pleasant and functional first, as this work can eat up a lot of your time and budget, before you indulge in those luxurious ‘extras’ such as the finer points of interior design.

This is where our own highly qualified and capable Wimbledon, Kingston and Purley plumbers really prove their worth here at PGS Plumbers. With our areas of expertise encompassing everything from boiler and gas appliance installation, repair and servicing to bathroom fitting and general plumbing work, we’ll help ensure your property is in the best possible state for its renovation.

Why not, then, call 0203 370 0066 today for free advice from our plumbing, gas and heating professionals, before requesting your free and competitive quote for any of our acclaimed services?

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