Moving, no matter where you’re going or where you’ve been, is no easy task. It takes hours to pack up your house, set up utilities at the new place, switch mailing addresses, change schools, adjust to your new life, etc.
When moving to a new place, you’ll want to take care of several things ahead of time, including a few necessary renovations that will be much easier to complete without all of your belongings in the way.
Planning for Your Renovations
Before choosing your renovations, plan your move and your construction carefully to increase efficiency and keep costs in check. Here are a few things to plan for:
- Budget: Money is often tight when closing on a home, especially if you haven’t sold your existing house. Therefore, setting a budget is essential to avoid overspending on your renovations. Add in an extra 20 percent to the cost of your renovations to help soak up any surprises.
- Hire Movers: Most people underestimate the stress and time associated with completing renovations. Get ahead of the stress and simplify as much as possible. Next to the expense of your home upgrades, hiring movers is surprisingly affordable and well-worth the cost. Just make sure you hire a reputable company with good reviews that will care for your stuff like you would. Research movers in your area by typing keyword phrases like “Miami movers” into Google, and read reviews carefully before making your selection.
- Put in Some Labor: Plan to complete some of the work yourself when you’re moving in. This will yield significant savings (more than you pay to the movers) while teaching you valuable skills you can use on future homes.
- Know Where You’ll Live: If you’ve already sold your house or your contract is up on your lease, you’ll need to make arrangements for the next couple of weeks until the work is done. Try a vacation or short-term rental that offers a full apartment or home to live in without a contract.
5 Home Renovations to Do Before Moving In
The average homeowner doesn’t have the time or money to complete all of the renovations they dream of when first moving into a house. They spread out the work over several months or years. But there are some renovations that are best prioritized before you move in to make it simpler.
Here are five worth considering when moving into your new home.
- Paint
Most homeowners move into a home intending to paint at least one room in the house. You can shave hours off of a painting job by completing it before you move in. That way, you only have to tape off baseboards and door frames without worrying about covering furniture or personal belongings. Plus, there’s less damage to worry about if the paint spills or splatters.
- Update the Kitchen
You can live fairly normally without some rooms in the house – but the kitchen is not one of them. Going through a kitchen renovation when you live in the house is a nightmare. Not only will essential components like appliances and sinks be out of commission, but the construction dust can contaminate your food, causing serious health concerns. You’ll feel much better if you do the renovations before you move in.
- Install Flooring
Carpets, hardwoods, laminates, tile—it doesn’t matter what type of flooring you’re looking to install in your home, you’ll never regret doing it before your furniture is inside. Another benefit is that renovations can be completed without taping off or covering the floor because you’ll be throwing out the existing flooring when you’re done.
- Central Air
Living with a faulty furnace or air conditioning unit is miserable. If it’s inefficient, you’ll shell out hundreds per month in utilities. If it’s not working properly, you’ll always feel uncomfortable. Make getting this piece of equipment updated or installed a priority.
- Electrical Re-Wiring
If you’re purchasing a house that was built from 1880 to 1950, there’s a chance that it has knob-and-tube wiring, an outdated staple of homes built during this era. Updated wiring has made this system obsolete given that it can pose a fire hazard if the wires are improperly insulated or installed. You’ll want to have the entire house re-wired before moving in to raise your property values and ensure the safety of your family.
