Nearly 16% of residents in the United States are over the age of 65. What does this mean for America? Chances are, homeowners encroaching on older age are having difficulties keeping their homes safe and secure. A home is a significant expense at times whether you’re trying to keep the plumbing up to code, keep up with electrical upgrades, or you want to remodel. There is assistance, however.
Organizations such as Rebuilding Together have already served 65% of households with residents over the age of 65. Up to 51% of those residents had a disability that caused mobility issues. They also help families, people with disabilities, or people who have suffered damage to their homes due to a natural disaster. Remodeling and repairing houses allow people at a disadvantage to confidently remain safe at home. Programs under the umbrella of Rebuilding Together such as Safe at Home, have the goal of helping senior citizens remain independent, healthy, and safe in their communities.
Look at the Condition of Your Home
Have you looked around your home and noticed it’s time for bathroom renovations? Maybe your kitchen would function better and you need more storage so you really want to invest in remodeling kitchen cabinets. Having new kitchen countertops may be necessary, as well.
Perhaps you require roofing services such as re-roof repair. A roof repair can cost a lot of money, yet it’s is one of the most urgent and necessary repairs when it comes to protecting your home from damage. A well done roof repair can keep your home dry and can save money on monthly utility bills. The same goes for garage door repair. Garage doors aren’t exactly a DIY project. How are you going to come up with the money? Do you know how to budget for a remodel?
Using a remodeling company can cost a lot of money that you just don’t have right now. Your neighbors may also be facing much-needed repairs and renovations that they just can’t afford. Thankfully, there are other options. Reach out to organizations such as Rebuilding Together while working on how to budget for a remodel.
Budgeting Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult
Creating a budget for home remodeling doesn’t have to be a difficult task. You just need a feasible budget outlined via a detailed plan. Yes, this does call for a fair amount of research. The more you know, the smoother the process will become. The information below explains how to budget for a remodel so you can create a remodeling budget that is reasonable.
Understand the Costs to Remodel Your Home
Knowing how to budget for a remodel includes knowing how much to spend per square foot. Per HomeAdvisor, $18,347 is the average cost for renovating homes less than 1,000 square feet. The cost increases to $36,121 for homes in the range of 3,000 to 4,000 square feet. If you own an older home, that cost could increase compared to a newer home if the plumbing, wiring, as well as other features, are not up to code. Basically, homeowners can expect to spend up to $100 to $200 per square foot for any renovations. Understanding this aspect is crucial when it comes to knowing how to budget for a remodel.
It is important to prioritize projects concerning how to budget for a remodel. This will make the process of building a budget more affordable and easier when you can figure out the cost of individual projects. Many homeowners will choose a room that is used the most, such as the kitchen or bathrooms, and start there.
Do You Know How Much to Spend?
Part of knowing how to budget for a remodel is knowing how much you should spend. First, you need to consider the value of your entire home. It isn’t advisable to spend over 10% to 15% of the value of your home on just one room. Spending more won’t proportionally add value to your home.
Are you able to finance home remodeling? There are many options for funding financing, but those options aren’t necessarily helpful if you can’t apply for a loan, or use credit. The point of a budget is to make sure it fits within the limits of available funds. Even if funds are low, a budget can help you determine costs and point out what you can spend in regards to how to budget for a remodel. It is always a good idea to budget an extra 10% to 20% for unexpected expenses.
Steps for How to Budget for a Remodel
The trick to knowing how to budget for a remodel is knowing exactly what you want. If your home needs many repairs, it can be difficult to determine where you should start. Create a list of all of the things you want your remodeling project to encompass. Then separate those items into needs and wants. This may still be a difficult task, but it is well worth the effort.
Ask Yourself Questions Such as These:
- What is the point of this remodeling project?
- What is required to make this project happen?
- What can you splurge on?
- What can you do without?
Keep in mind the small things matter when learning how to budget for a remodel. Budget for tape, paintbrushes, drop cloths, sandpaper, hand tools, as well as other building supplies. Those items may not cost a lot, but the cost does add up. You may need quite a few random little things that can add up to $100 or more to your budget if not already factored in.
Reach Out to Rebuilding Together
Whether you’re an older adult or not, Rebuilding Together can make it possible to keep your home safe and healthy. The goal is to rebuild communities so people can enjoy their homes for as long as possible. How to budget for a remodel is just part of the process. When you know you still need help, start an online search for the Rebuilding Together organization to find aid within your area.
Essential Repairs and Remodeling Helps You Stay in Your Home
What is Rebuilding Together? It is an organization that makes it their mission to repair homes, revitalize communities, and rebuild lives. They want to make sure you have the opportunity to stay in your home with an effort that goes beyond each individual home.
The organization is comprised of local affiliates within a community that works closely with community leaders and residents to completely revitalize their community. Together, with homeowners, plans are created and executed that address the needs of a specific community.
The focus is also on the long-term recovery for communities that have been struck by natural disasters. There is a deep commitment to neighbors in need when it comes to helping them rebuild following a disaster. The whole point is to keep communities and homes safe for all.
Rebuilding Together Puts a Focus on Neighborhoods
Another partnership of Rebuilding Together is Building a Healthy Neighborhood. The focus is longer-term and on the neighborhood level. The partnership is between neighbors, volunteers, community leaders, as well as local organizations that all want to work together to revitalize neighborhoods.
The mission is to improve neighborhoods with affordable, safe, accessible homes and flourishing community spaces. An affiliate can make a multi-year commitment to targeted neighborhoods or areas, then coordinate with other partner organizations to improve the safety and health of homes. Overall, this strengthens the community. That outreach is also meant to revitalize schools, parks, nonprofit facilities, and community centers.
The strategic framework is put in place to ensure healthy and safe housing. It is the foundation of Rebuilding Together and the reason why they do repair work by targeting significant health and safety hazards. They do so by using eight principles of a healthy home.
The Eight Principles of a Healthy Home
- Keep It Dry
- Keep It Clean
- Keep It Pest-Free
- Keep It Safe
- Keep It Contaminant-Free
- Keep It Well-Ventilated
- Keep It Maintained
- Keep It Thermally Controlled
Those eight principles are all critical aspects that revolve around home modifications and repairs within communities that are underserved. The connection between housing and health is thoroughly addressed. In turn, this preserves the affordable housing landscape that exists across the United States.
What Drives Rebuilding Together?
Rebuilding Together is driven by Community Revitalization Partnership programming. Service delivery is targeted to specific neighborhoods with neighbors engaging as partners with the assistance of nonprofit service providers. It’s not about just individual homes, it’s about the entire neighborhood. There is a coordinated, systematic approach used with local organizations, community members, and Rebuilding Together that sustains and revitalizes healthy, thriving, and safe communities.
True Help Takes a Community
A single organization cannot provide the multitude of help needed alone. It takes community partners that are willing to positively pull together to provide the best results and make a larger impact. With ties to other organizations in a community, millions of neighbors can be helped who continue to live in homes that aren’t safe. Those lives can be rebuilt with an investment in your community.
Revitalizing communities takes the assistance of national and local government agencies, mission-driving nonprofit organizations, and community development corporations. Is your organization interested in repairing homes, rebuilding lives, and revitalizing communities? You can when you partner with Rebuilding Together.
Community Partners Include:
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
- NeighborWorks
- National Roofing Contractors Association
- National Center for Healthy Housing
- Meals on Wheels
- Keep America Beautiful
- AmeriCorps
- American Red Cross
- American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
Rebuilding Together Is There After Disasters Strike
Man-made and natural disasters are on the rise. That also means there are more people that need help who may not have the ability to repair their homes after disaster strikes. Natural disasters can turn a perfectly healthy home into a health hazard and render the space unlivable.
Thankfully, organizations like Rebuilding Together make it a point to help in times of crisis. Their Disaster Readiness and Recovery program offers preparedness, disaster mitigation, response as well as long-term recovery support for communities and families that have been affected by natural disasters.
Rebuilding Together Puts a Focus on Building a Stronger Future
Per the National Women’s Law Center, nearly one in seven women and over one in five kids live in poverty. Over half of those children live in a family headed by a single mother without a spouse’s income in which to rely upon and support their children. The safety and health of their homes can be improved and empower women in becoming change-makers within their communities via the program She Builds.
She Builds is women-focused and women-led. The program offers critical repairs for households and community spaces that are women-headed and women-focused. The overall mission is to empower women who want to make a difference in their communities, maintain healthy and safe homes, and build a more-supportive community network. Participants are encouraged to come to builds with a myriad of skills and experiences to learn and share with one another.
Do You Need Help?
When you need help, you can easily find your local Rebuilding Together affiliate. The program is proud to complete almost 10,000 projects every year. Affiliates across the country are always ready to help and work toward the common goal of improving lives via repairing homes and communities so they stay safe, healthy, and thrive.
