We\u2019re not going to sugarcoat it – with rising mortgage rates, high property costs and inflation, it\u2019s more expensive than ever to own property in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve purchased your property, you also have rising renovation costs to deal with.<\/p>\n
In this article, we\u2019ll share a few tips for homeowners on a budget to keep in mind.<\/p>\n
Keeping costs low is all about prioritising.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”18108″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”below” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”][\/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n
Firstly, it\u2019s a good idea to prioritize the areas or rooms that you want to renovate, and think about what is higher vs lower priority. For example, if you\u2019re renovating your entire home, you might decide to prioritise your bedroom and living room, and deprioritise your future nursery.<\/p>\n
The easiest way to figure out where your priorities lie is to think about where you\u2019ll be spending the most time. If you\u2019re a freelancer or run a business and you work from home a lot, then you might want to prioritise your study<\/a>. If you cook and entertain a lot, you\u2019ll want to prioritise your kitchen and living\/dining space.<\/p>\n On top of that, do also differentiate between needs and wants. If you\u2019re adding items to a wishlist indiscriminately and you want to do it all, costs can skyrocket very quickly. Instead, think about what is a necessity vs what is a \u201cnice-to-have\u201d.<\/p>\n How do you do this? It all boils down to functionality, and how often you\u2019ll use a certain item or feature.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”18109″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”below” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n For example, if you cook and host a lot, a kitchen island might fall closer to a \u201cneed\u201d as compared to a \u201cwant\u201d for you. However, if you cook irregularly or only cook simple one-pot meals, your kitchen island might be more decorative than functional – thus moving it into the \u201cwant\u201d category.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve figured out where your priorities lie, you can then take a progressive approach to preserve your cash flow.<\/p>\n What does this mean? Essentially, you\u2019ll renovate to update the necessities first, such as rewiring, installing new toilets, building in your kitchen, etc. For anything that\u2019s not a necessity or priority, that can come later, giving you more breathing space when it comes to your budget.<\/p>\n The same goes with buying furniture and\/or appliances – you can buy furniture in a piecemeal fashion, and make use of good deals as they come along. Of course, you\u2019ll have to have your necessities in place before you can move in (bed, sofa, etc), but supplementary items or decorative items can come later. If there are specific items of furniture or brands that you\u2019re interested in, follow them on social media so that you can get updates on sales and promotions.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”18110″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”below” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n Furniture and home decor brands often run year end sales, and they might also sell off their off-season products at huge discounts in order to make room for new stock. So exercise your patience here, and you might just get rewarded with a good deal!<\/p>\n One thing to keep in mind about keeping your costs low – don\u2019t blindly go for cheap deals, as this might come back to haunt you in the long term.<\/p>\n Here, it\u2019s all about balancing short term costs with long term utility or durability. For example, say you were able to save 40% on your renovations by opting for cheaper materials. If you start to spot signs of wear-and-tear within one year, and you need to renovate again<\/i> to keep your space functional, this doesn\u2019t work out to be cost-effective at all.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”18111″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”below” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”][\/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n With this in mind, do your due diligence to understand any tradeoffs involved in each decision you make, so you don\u2019t get any nasty surprises along the way. Also keep your lifestyle and usage in mind, as this will heavily influence how your home renovation and furniture will hold up over time.<\/p>\n For example, if you have pets at home and they have a tendency to scratch your furniture and\/or floors, you might need to invest in scratch-resistant surfaces. This will ensure that your home is durable enough, so you (fingers crossed!) won\u2019t need to replace your surfaces and renovate again within a short period of time.<\/p>\n Another example: loads of homeowners like to shop for furniture<\/a> on Taobao or other online stores, because it\u2019s cheaper to buy furniture online than from retail stores.<\/p>\n That\u2019s completely fine, but again, you\u2019ll need to do your due diligence to figure out what type of materials or finishes you\u2019re looking for, rather than just sorting by price and looking at the cheapest items. With wood furniture, for instance, you\u2019ll want to look for pieces made of solid wood and not plywood.<\/p>\n Even if you\u2019re impressed with an ID\u2019s designs, and they match your aesthetic perfectly, you don\u2019t want to jump straight into signing a contract and working with them.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”17894″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”below” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”][\/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n Instead, talk to several IDs and get them to share their quotations, so that you can compare each of the proposals and see which one gives you the most value.<\/p>\n On top of that, do tell your ID your budget so that they can keep this in mind.<\/p>\n Some IDs do try to stretch your budget and will propose a little higher than your original budget (say, sharing a quotation of $55k when your budget is $50k). Of course, you can always remove certain items from their proposal to bring down the cost back to your original budget.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll want to be as frank as possible here – there\u2019s no shame in telling your ID that your budget is a hard budget and you really can\u2019t exceed it. Assuming your ID knows their stuff, they should be able to suggest alternatives or other ways of designing your home, while still keeping within your budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve probably heard this before: the one thing that contributes to a major component of home renovations is built-ins. This includes tv cabinets, kitchen cabinets<\/a>, wardrobes, built-in beds, etc.<\/p>\n It\u2019s simple: more built-ins = higher cost. Less built-ins = lower cost.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”18113″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”below” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n With this in mind, try and opt for freestanding furniture instead. These aren\u2019t just more affordable, they\u2019re also more versatile – if you find that your space isn\u2019t optimized and you want to switch up your layout, you can always move the pieces around. If you want to purchase new furniture, it\u2019s also easy for you to sell your existing furniture on Carousell or give it away – there\u2019s no need to hire a contractor to tear out the built-ins, before you get new furniture in.<\/p>\n If you really love the look of built-ins but want to save money, another option is to DIY your own built-ins. For those who are handy and have decent DIY skills, this could be a great option. Here are a few examples to get you inspired:<\/p>\n Built-ins aside, you\u2019ll want to reduce the amount of hacking and tiling you do. If possible, consider overlaying tiles on your existing floor without hacking the original tiles – this will save you cost as well.<\/p>\n We touched on this briefly in the previous segment – another way of saving money on your home renovations is to DIY.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”18065″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”below” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”][\/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n Of course, this might not be for everyone – if you don\u2019t have the time to DIY, or you have an unsuccessful history at DIY-ing, that\u2019s perfectly fine as well. Even for the folks who are handy and do feel confident with DIY, you\u2019ll want to choose simple, manageable tasks that are feasible to pull off without the help of professionals.<\/p>\n Here are some examples:<\/p>\n An example of something that you should leave to the professionals? Wallpaper installation. This might look easy on the surface, but there are so many things to get right, such as prepping your walls, marking them out so that you know your lines are straight (you can\u2019t just start at the corner, and take it for granted that it\u2019s a perfect right angle!), having the seams line up properly, etc.<\/p>\n With these types of tasks, it\u2019s advisable to hire someone to do it, rather than trying to DIY in order to save cost.<\/p>\n So there you have it\u2026 this is your roadmap on how to keep your renovation affordable, even in the face of rising renovation costs!<\/p>\n To recap, here are the strategies that you can employ:<\/p>\n Want to check out home renovation projects for more inspiration? Browse home design ideas<\/a> on Hometrust, or click the button below to get connected with expert designers.<\/p>\n[\/spb_text_block] [\/spb_row] [spb_boxed_content type=”whitestroke” custom_bg_colour=”#f2f2f2″ box_link_target=”_self” padding_vertical=”4″ padding_horizontal=”5″ width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n If you are reading this, you are probably wondering how you can create your dream home.<\/p>\nQueenstown – 32 Ghim Moh (HDB) ($50,000) by Design 4 Space Pte Ltd<\/a><\/h6>\n[\/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n
712 Tampines St 71 ($49,000) by Starry Homestead Pte Ltd<\/a><\/h6>\n[\/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n
How To Reduce Renovation Costs: Balancing Costs With Durability<\/h2>\n
How To Reduce Renovation Costs: Working With Your ID<\/h2>\n
How To Reduce Renovation Costs: Your Home Design<\/h2>\n
Upper Serangoon View ($65,000) by The Interior Lab Pte Ltd<\/a><\/h6>\n[\/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1\/1″ el_position=”first last”]\n
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How To Reduce Renovation Costs: DIY-ing It<\/h2>\n
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A Final Word On Reducing Renovation Costs In Times Of Inflation<\/h2>\n
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Renovating soon? Let Hometrust recommend the best interior designers.<\/strong><\/h2>\n