The Price To Pay For A Perfect Property*

*This is a collaborative post*

Who doesn’t want their home to be a little closer to perfect? If you consider yourself especially house proud, you probably already have a number of ideas about ways in which you would like to improve it. The truth is, there are always going to be things you can do to improve your home, and sometimes the list can therefore seem endless. Whatever changes you are hoping to make - now or in the near future - there are particular factors you will need to have considered before you take on such a mammoth task.

Sacrificing Time

When you're about to undergo such big changes in your home, it’s important to remember that you will have to sacrifice a few things. Renovations can take a long time, especially if you want them to be right first go. The more time you allow for a renovation, the more likely it will be that you'll see the kind of results you've hoped for. Of course actually setting aside all the hours required can often be a real difficulty. If you are struggling to find the time for your renovation, you might want to think about stripping down the project into something simpler instead. By working in smaller sections, you can still bring about big changes, albeit by doing so in smaller chunks of time, but this can be a useful way to get the best of both worlds.

Finding The Money

It’s no secret that a renovation is going to cost you money, but it's important that you work out how you are going to find that money, and try to do so in a sustainable and sensible manner.

How much you'll need is going to depend largely on how much money you set out with, so it's a good idea to sit down and work all of this out at the beginning. Try to work out what you already have and perhaps move it to another bank account. This way you'll know exactly where you're at financially and if you do need any extra money you can go about finding it in a much more sensible manner.

When it comes to how you will actually get the necessary money, you have many options to consider. It might be that you’ll find yourself going to the likes of New Horizons for a quick loan, or you might even feel that you need to ask your friends and family for some financial assistance too. However you do it, make sure that you are not treading on any toes - including your own - and that you can repay whatever you happen to borrow. No matter how badly you want to live in your perfect home, you need to be able to make sure you can do so without damaging your own future, or that of those around you. Once you have the money aspect of the renovation sorted, you will probably feel a weight has been lifted. But as it happens, there is probably even more that you will need to consider too.

Choosing The Room

It is surprising how often people forget that they will need to essentially give up the use of one room in the home for the duration of the renovation. When you are planning to carry out your renovation, you’ll want to make sure that the home life will not be unduly disrupted - and to make sure of that, it might help to prioritize on which room you actually begin with. Certain rooms are easier to live without than others, but it can be something of a challenge to try and find the right one so that you can carry on living as normally as possible. It will help to think of the time frame in regard to this as well, as that too will have an effect on which room is the best to go for.

The bathroom, although quick to renovate, is a vital part of daily living, and so it might not be the first best option. However, something like a dining room might well only cause limited disruption to your home, and can mean that you can bring about some more radical changes than in other rooms. Finding the balance is the key here.

As long as you consider these factors well in advance you should find that you are able to turn your home into your dream property in no time at all - and with little fuss.

*Post contributed by Sam Jones. Edited by Justine Machin.