The Challenges Canadian Homeowners Face when Renovating
Home ownership is not an easy task as many might believe and with the cost of home prices rising, many Canadians are turning to renovation as a new option but this is also not a stress free process and can surely be attested by Christine Davies and her husband who have been residing in their home in Toronto for the past six years. They finally decided to repair their home as they did not find it suitable to move out into the city with home prices increasing by 25% in the past year.
According to Christine’s husband, finding a new home that is similar to the one they currently have at an affordable price is next to impossible in the current housing market, hence it made sense to repair the home instead.
In spite of that, home renovation is also not such an easy alternative given the fact that there is cost involved to repair the home and also find a temporal rental apartment until the renovation is completed. There is a lot of cost, time and stress involved in home renovation.
Recent reports for the CIBC show that more and more Canadians are willing to repair their home instead of moving out in search of a new home that will meet their increasing needs.
But that is not to say that Canadian homeowners are not concerned about the stress involved in renovating a home which ranges from delays to renovation completion, cost, household disturbances to excess expenditure and damages.
The average Canadian planning to renovate their homes also revealed they are yet to have an extensive detail of the cost related to renovation.
In this vein, the CIBC suggested that homeowners should do thorough backgrounds check on everything involved in renovation before embarking on the process. They should seek the advice of professional real estate agents or renovators and also a financial planner to discuss the cost involved which will give them a head start as what to expect.
Before deciding on whether to move out or renovate, it is wise to weigh all options taking into consideration your financial status and household needs.
It is best to find out the cost involved to prevent getting stuck mid renovation or get delayed.
Scott Wambolt, vice-president of retail and business banking at CIBC stated that even though some homeowners might decide to do the renovation on their own to cut down on cost, it is important to note that there are certain things you can’t do on your own and it might end up costing you more if you have very little idea about how to go on with the renovation.
This is one wise move Christine and her husband decided to make by hiring a fixed-rate contractor whose cost covered all the renovation process including the labor, materials, sub-contractor, equipment and other related costs.
