Investing in a home remodel immediately after buying a house is a tempting proposition. You want to personalize your home as quickly as possible to make it truly yours. Yet, there are several good reasons why waiting a few months to renovate your new Dallas home is a better strategy.
If you’re eager to get all the remodeling work out of the way before moving in, or you’re just excited to start transforming your dream house, waiting might be the last thing you want to do.
However, before finding good remodeling contractors, drawing up plans, and pulling permits, settling into your new home first can save you from making expensive and hard-to-fix renovation mistakes.
To help you avoid such errors, here are four good reasons to delay.
1. Give Yourself a Breather
If you research any list of the top stressors in life, moving to a new home comes in the top five. A recent study by Homes.com discovered that over forty percent of first-time homebuyers felt nervous throughout the entire home buying process. One in three were reduced to tears.
Moving to a new location is a trying time. You may be adjusting to a new work environment, enrolling your kids into new schools, and sorting all the essentials associated with moving into a new area. Giving yourself a breather before starting a remodel is advisable.
The renovation process requires careful budget management, clear thinking, logistical planning, and patience. Too many distractions can hinder your decision-making.
You also need time to settle into your new home and enjoy getting to know your local area. Taking the time to meet with neighbors and join social activities builds important bonds that can be incredibly beneficial in years to come.
The best home improvement decisions also arise from a place of calm clarity, especially when looking towards the long-term. It’s preferable to come to the process relaxed, refreshed, happy, and ready to place all your focus on achieving the home of your dreams.
2. Money Matters
Buying a house is a big financial commitment. As well as the upfront costs of purchasing your new home, there are also new recurring payments, including mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and more. Plus, there are removal company fees, cleaning expenses, and unexpected emergency repairs.
Moving into your new home is exciting, but there can be a lot of financial stress in the background. For this reason, it’s sensible to get your financial ‘house’ in order before embarking on a home remodel.
Allow time for you and your family to settle into your new environment and assess your finances. You don’t want to go into debt unnecessarily. Putting home improvements on the back burner for a few months gives your finances time to recover.
You can also use this time to explore and evaluate various remodeling financing options without putting yourself under too much pressure.
3. Get to Know Your New Home
As well as letting your financial situation settle, it’s also wise to settle into your new home before making big and potentially expensive remodeling decisions.
During the buying process, you may have visualized how you wanted a particular room to look. Yet after interacting with the room every day for a few months, you might find you want something completely different.
This change of vision is a common occurrence among new homeowners. There’s simply nothing to replace the direct experience of you and your family members actually living in the new home environment.
After a few months lived-in experience, you’ll be able to answer some crucial questions.
How does the sunlight flow through the space during the course of a day? How does natural light affect the interior from one season to the next? What about unexpected heating and ventilation requirements? Are there access issues?
Does your furniture fit optimally into different rooms? Do you have enough storage? Maybe you’ll make more new friends than you expect and require increased space to host dinner parties.
The answers to these essential questions are difficult to answer after just a few brief visits.
4. Become an Informed Remodeling Consumer
By giving your family time to experience day-to-day living in each room, you’ll become more informed about what you need and want in a home remodel.
Keep a list of things you like and don’t like about your new home. Consult with each member of your household, including young children, about what they would love to change.
Create design mood boards together, either from magazine cuttings or via online platforms such as Houzz or Pinterest. Make it a habit to watch home improvement shows on TV or YouTube. Draw inspiration from homes you visit in your local area.
The time you spend getting to know your new home and taking a rest after the move also presents an excellent opportunity to find the best remodeling professionals.
Do proper research on qualified design-build remodeling firms in your region. Ask friends or family for referrals and carefully check online reviews.
Explore remodeler websites and look for important clues as to their professionalism. These clues include a modern website design, clear examples of previous projects, a collection of insightful and well-written articles, and professionally taken photos of the team. All these pointers signify a dedication to quality, excellence, reliability, and top-notch customer care.
When you find a remodeling company you deem to be a good fit, schedule an in-person consultation.
As you talk with the representative, ensure they understand your needs and goals and take a personalized approach. You want to feel guided, informed, and supported rather than suffering through a long-winded sales pitch.
Also, look for a company that can help you stay on budget and on schedule. Previous customer reviews and the answers you receive during your meeting will give you a good indication of their skill in this regard.
How Blackline Renovations Can Help You
As remodeling contractors in Dallas, we’ve seen numerous times how a new homebuyer’s design plans change as they spend more time in their home.
We therefore recommend waiting a minimum of six months from your move-in date to begin the remodeling process. This breathing space will give you a clearer idea of precisely what it will take to make your house perfect for you and your family.
When you’ve settled into your new home, and you’re ready to talk about your remodeling plans, we hope you’ll contact us to schedule a consultation. We’ll get to know the details of your project as well as your expectations. Our team will guide you accordingly.
In the meantime, we invite you to browse our photo gallery of completed projects and sign up for our newsletter to keep abreast of the latest remodeling ideas and home innovations.