MONEY COMMENT
Budgeting For Home Improvements

By Jane Mack (TMFJane)
August 8, 2003

You know that programme on Channel 4 called Property Ladder? It's the one where people buy houses to do up and then sell on, hopefully at a vast profit.

As far as I can make out, the main problem most of these amateur developers have is an inability to stick to their budget. It's all very well buying a house for £100,000, spending £25,000 in order to sell for £150,000 but if the budget spirals out of control then the profits start disappearing. In fact, the presenter, Sarah Beeney, often ends the programme by pointing out that it's only because house prices have gone up during the couple of months of renovation work that they've been able to make a profit at all!

I can sympathise with this lack of budget control because I think I'm facing the same problem with the building work we're having done on our house. As I sit here writing, the carpenter is making horrible drilling noises in my front porch. It turns out that we don't just need a new front door (£170 + VAT) as well as glass (£80 + VAT) but the frame needs to be replaced too (£64 + VAT). I dread to think what the labour costs will be because he's been at it all morning and shows no sign of being anywhere near finished yet.

There's also a strange man at the back of the house digging up my patio. That job has been quoted for – except that we've changed our minds about what we're going to replace it with. We've gone completely off the gravel idea but haven't decided what we're going to do instead although it's bound to be a more expensive option.

It's not the builders' fault that we're in this state. It's all very well us saying 'Can you install a loo under the stairs please?' when there are a myriad of decisions to be made about what we actually want. And there's also the small and expensive matter of getting the gas meter moved (about £500 I gather!) not to mention the building regulation costs (£50-£100 I believe).

A normal household budget is a great deal easier to work from – something that is crucial for people who want to get out of debt. After all, many expenses such as the mortgage and Council Tax are known and with other bills one can at least make an educated guess. But, frankly, I'm stymied by this one.

I can see that we'll be heading for the Get Out of Debt Centre ourselves if we don't get a much firmer grip on our home improvement budget. That'll be when we've made some decisions about exactly what we want done of course!

Get help from our Get Out of Debt Centre, Building/DIY Fools Discussion Board