Not everybody will be able to buy that dream home straightaway. Luckily, you won’t have to! You can easily remodel and rebuild your home once you’ve moved in. Home improvement projects are more popular than ever, and there’s a reason for that. They allow people to live out their wildest property dreams that they couldn’t achieve with that first mortgage.

So, if you’re considering remodeling your home, or upgrading a room, look no further. Here are the essential steps you will have to take on your journey!

Step 1: Visualize and plan

[Image courtesy Joy Oil Co Ltd/commons.wikimedia.org]

Simply put, dream! Imagine what the finished product will look like and what you want it to look like. Go down to the library and look at magazines and books for inspiration. Look online at various home remodeling ideas and decide what you want your house to become. There are a ton of different avenues you could take your remodeling, so have a firm vision in place early on. Hire an architect or designer if necessary You can’t simply change your mind halfway through, or when it’s finished!

Step 2: Assess the electricals, plumbing, and wiring

If you’re tweaking and changing a large chunk of your home, then you’ll need some work done on the essentials. Your plumbing, electricals, and wiring may need moving, extending or removing, so speak to a professional. That electrical science you learned in school doesn’t count here!

Wiring is very easy to get wrong or make a hash of. If you’re struggling for help, you should possibly find out more from ElectricalConnection.org. Again, this goes hand in hand with step one. If you decide you want an electrical outlet in a certain place, this should be chosen early on, not halfway through the build.

Step 3: Apply for a loan

Once you have all the costs laid out and plans in place, it’s time to finance your endeavor. It might be worth applying for a loan that’s between 5-15 percent more than your projected budget. This way, if your build goes over costs, you’ll have enough money to cover yourself. You don’t want to have a near-finished job then run out of money.

Step 4: Sign an agreement with your contractor

[Image courtesy Tim Pierce/flickr.com]

If you’re having some roof work done, you want this finished before the rain or cold weather begins. So, make a note of this in your contract! If you’re having garden work done, you’ll need this done before summer so you can enjoy it! Anything and everything you feel is important, note it in a contract. That way, you’ll get the most important/expensive stuff done first, which is the best way to do it.

At this stage, you should also help your contractor identify what areas of your home you can’t touch for legal reasons. If any. If your home is listed, you need to check if you’re allowed to renovate certain parts of it. A government source such as https://www.gov.uk/ is a way to do so.

Step 5: Check progress every single day

It’s important you keep tabs on what’s going on. You may decide you want an extra plug socket, or an extra vent in the bathroom. You may decide to add a feature wall. Whatever it is, ensure you’re happy with how your money is being spent. If you want small changes to be added, now is the time to add them!

So, if you’re after a remodeled home, and you followed these steps, you’ll be on your way to a perfect property. Happy building!