Stuart Zullo 
All too often we hear stories of the bathroom renovation that was never finished, or the door that has been replaced by a curtain “temporarily” for the last 6 months. We all begin renovations with the best of intentions, but with busy lives and little spare cash, it’s easy to understand how easily we can underestimate the time and money required to create our dream home. It can be really difficult living in a home that’s unfinished – it’s hard to live comfortably when rooms aren’t complete, and often we’re too embarrassed to invite people over for fear of their reaction to our work-in-progress. In fact, when living in a home that’s unfinished it’s pretty easy to feel stuck in a rut.
These are our tips for helping you to get your home back on track.
It’s one thing to want your house to be perfect – I’m sure we’ve all had dreams about extending our living areas, creating a dressing room Carrie Bradshaw would be proud of, or turning the rumpus into a state-of-the-art home theatre. If you have grand plans for your home, you’re not alone. But the important thing is to be realistic. As it’s easy to underestimate the time and cost involved in even simple repairs when you’re doing the job yourself, we always advise people to overestimate instead. Time and cost your plans conservatively, then put in every worst case scenario, and add in an extra month and few hundred dollars on top of that. If you’re still willing to do the job, and it’s still affordable, go right ahead. If not, it may be worthwhile getting the experts in.
If empty pockets are preventing you from finishing things off, look into your home equity. If you’ve been paying off your principal and interest mortgage each and every month, you may well have built up enough equity in the loan to complete your work. Many mortgages allow for you to redraw against your equity. Depending on how long you’ve been paying off your mortgage, you may be pleasantly surprised by how much you’re able to borrow.
If you’ve decided to go ahead with finishing off the work yourself, and have found a suitable way to finance the rest of your DIY project, make a plan. It’s easy to get excited when you suddenly have extra cash in your bank account. Don’t be tempted to overstretch yourself. Once you’ve made your plan and can finance it – stick to it!
If you’d like a no obligation chat about your Liverpool home, or if you’re thinking of selling and want to know the best ay to increase your Liverpool home’s value, please contact our friendly team at Professionals Paradise Realty Casula Real Estate.