5 Strategies To Avoid Renovation Regret This November

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Bad renovation experiences happen everywhere — but New York and New Jersey’s surplus of new renovation guidelines can cause the most stressful kind of uncertainty. As a fast-growing platform with hundreds of local projects in the books, we’ve seen it all. Here are five strategies from Block for tackling your next renovation.

1. Be realistic (with your budget)
Just like heavily photoshopped listings (you know the ones), you’ll eventually have to match expectations with reality. Engaging general contractors in the city carries many underappreciated (and sometimes hidden!) costs, from limited building hours in Co-ops to sky high insurance premiums. So consult some friends (or neighbors, if you’re comfortable) who’ve renovated recently to help you build your baseline budget.

Block Tip: Account for a 15% change order buffer as part of your budget (but keep it to yourself.)

2. Scope thoroughly
Start distinguishing between “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves” — so you can be prepared to talk cost trade-offs with your contractor. Some build outs look complicated, but are in fact easy, and vice-versa. If you don’t have a designer, establishing what’s included in your scope is an opportunity for leverage. Negotiating the work for inclusion at the start helps ease pain (and price) for change orders down the line.

Block Tip: All your builders’ bids should contain the same or equivalent scopes of work — and consider specifically what’s needed behind the walls.

3. Communicate your vision by drawing it up
Don’t limit yourself to words. Depending on the project, having a design intent drawing really helps translate your vision. If you’re self-conscious about your drafting skills (we’ve been there), try a free software option like Sketchup.

Block Tip: We offer a pre-selected materials library that reduces design time and costs. Renovating a bathroom or kitchen? Block helps you get quality materials (at a price that’s in your budget).

4. Buy, check, and stage your materials (before break ground)
“Dead time” is when builders can’t work on a construction site because of some dependency. It’s costly, and frustrating to all, and often a result of finish materials management and unexpected lead times. Staging your materials in your home before break ground is the opportunity for uninterrupted construction aka saving you time, money, and space.

Block Tip: Can’t stage in advance? Ask your builder if they can receive the shipments. If not, prioritize your materials— ordering by stage of construction— and ask your builder what the dependencies are.

5. Build a rolling punch-list as you go
There’s a fine balance between micro-management and too little communication. In our experience, homeowners are too shy about communicating concerns before it’s too late. Seeing something in progress that doesn’t look right? Address it early.

Block Tip: Develop a relationship with your contractor’s foreman — they’re often an effective leader on the job and will know more details than your GC.

Our ultimate tip? Use the Block platform to do everything we just mentioned for you. Speak to one of our renovation experts today and get an exclusive $3,000 discount towards your renovation through the end of 2020.

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