Are You Renovating Your Home? Here Are Your Responsibilities as a Homeowner
Part 4 of a 4 part series
For the past month, we've been discussing renovation—what you should be doing, questions you should be asking, and things you should consider. A few weeks ago, we discussed whether you should sell your home to either build a new one, find one on the market, or renovate the one you’re in. We also talked about renovation expenses as well as the renovation process—everything from how it works to the entire time it takes. This week, our final topic entails all of your responsibilities as the homeowner.
Many times, a project will fall off track, lose traction or go in the wrong direction. This usually happens because your responsibilities haven’t been properly communicated to you. To avoid this from happening, let’s walk through four of the homeowner’s responsibilities during a renovation project.
1. Hire Your Team
Your first responsibility is to hire the best team for your particular project and your particular personality. This takes a lot of research and asking a lot of questions. One traditional option is to hire a group Architect-Builder-Interior Designer—picking each one from different places. Although it sounds difficult to transfer information from one person to the other, this can be a very successful process if you have a good team that’s used to working with other collaborators.
Your second option is to hire a design-build firm. This means you could find an architect that's also a builder, or a builder who has a draft person either on staff or a partnership with an outside designer. If you choose this option, it's important to know if your designer is independent, or if they’re under the same umbrella as your builder.
Your last option is to do it yourself—make your own selections and hire a contractor on your own. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the DIY route, however, the bigger the project, the more we recommend you have someone to guide you through the process. On the other hand, if you’re simply changing out floors, painting or replacing windows with the same openings, then DIY makes perfect sense.
2. Understand Your Financing
Financing is one of the biggest reasons why a project stalls—and this is entirely the homeowner’s responsibility. Be sure to call your banker if you’re financing a renovation to see what kind of loan you’re getting. If you’re doing a HELOC loan, how long will the appraisal process take? How long is the application process? Unfortunately, it’s not the same as getting pre-approval for a home loan. A construction loan for a renovation is different and requires more individualized steps. A construction loan is one that looks at the value of the completed project and you get a loan based on that value of the home. Once the design is complete and the builder’s contract is in place, only then will you receive your real financing and appraisal for a construction loan. This means there’s a long waiting period, so make sure you tell your entire team ahead of time how financing is going to go. The documents they produce might look different between an appraisal or a design-build situation.
3. Make Your Selections
The selections are a huge part of the homeowner’s process and responsibilities—however, you don’t have to work through it alone. If you work with Springhouse, for example, you’re working with a full-service architect-led design/build firm. First, we work through preliminary design, then we move into design development. During design development, we select all materials with our clients. We start with natural materials first—whether stone or wood will be exposed in the home, for example—then we move on to other materials that literally build on each other during the building process. For example, we’ll have you select your appliances first, because the cabinet design is reliant on the appliances you choose in terms of layout, color, material, and size.
We like being involved in the selection process, because we know how long it takes and what your budget is. That being said, you also have the option to do all of the selections on your own. If you’re talented at this and know exactly what you want your kitchen or master bathrooms to look like, make sure you choose a design team that will allow you to do this.
4. Be Prepared
Whether you’re doing an addition, structural work, plumbing, or tearing out entire walls—you need to have everything ready. Have a plan to move possessions out of your home and into the garage or a storage unit, if necessary. Will you be living in your house during the renovation? If not, where will you stay? Will you rent somewhere? Stay with a friend or family member?
The planning process is a huge responsibility. You want to have everything in order before your team comes in and starts working. They want to make this as easy as possible for you, but you need to do your part, too. Figure out your staging areas, how you’re going to clear things out and where everything will be stored.
Create boundaries inside of your home. Is there a certain bathroom you want people to use or not use? Are there times that you want people out of the house? Although many things will be out of your control, you can set and calmly communicate certain boundaries before getting started. This will make the process much more pleasant for you!
Have any questions?
Although we covered a lot in this post, you may still have some other questions about renovations. Whether you’re involved in the custom home process now, or even just considering it, join our free Facebook group—we’ll help you answer any questions you might have! Also, feel free to invite anyone that you think would benefit from this collaborative. You’ll not only get advice from me, but from other people who have been through this, too.
Start the process.
When it comes to designing and building a custom home, nothing beats having a trusted, experienced team of architects on your side. Let’s set up a call to meet, discuss your goals, answer your questions, and settle your fears. We can’t wait to meet you!