Keeping Market Value High: How to Renovate a House in the Philippines

Renovating your property is a great way to spruce it up and make your old space feel brand new. It can even help restructure your space to better suit your lifestyle. Whatever your home renovation reasons are, it’s sure to be a rewarding project, but it can be quite stressful.

The planning, timeline adherence, and design are just one part of the home renovation project. Another thing to think about is how much it will cost to renovate a house – this in fact, can be the most stressful one too. 

The truth of the matter is, to make your vision come to life you’ll need an ample budget to see it through. Whether you’re renovating a condo or house and lot, you’ll need to research, plan, and then set aside enough money to execute the plan.

But, of course, there’s a way to accomplish your dream home renovation without breaking the bank, and that’s exactly what we’ll talk about here.

Get an Idea of What You’re Renovating

Before you start on your renovation project, the first thing you need to do is know what you’ll be renovating and why you’re renovating.

For some, they may be renovating to increase the market value of a property before they sell it. But for others, they may just want to refresh their haunts. Whatever the reason is, you must understand why you’re doing it, so you can direct your vision towards meeting it.

Knowing which rooms will be renovated and what kind of work you want to be done will also be crucial in calculating the total renovation cost. 

Set a Budget

Once you’ve figured out which rooms will be renovated. You’ll need to measure these rooms to get an idea of how much it’ll cost to renovate a house.

A good rule of thumb is to peg each square meter to cost between Php 15,000 to 20,000. This average is only for mid-level projects, it won’t apply to luxurious endeavors. Additionally, you should also remember that full-blown renovations may cost a lot more than what your average is because of sudden problems that may arise.

This is why we recommend that you set a buffer of 10-20% as a contingency from your original budget just to account for any unforeseen expenses.

If you feel like the cost is too high at the moment, but you still want to proceed according to your timeline, you can apply for a bank housing loan for the project’s cash flow. 

Prepare All Necessary Documents

Another thing to think about when you’re planning for your home renovations is the permits that you need to file. Although purely aesthetic renovations aren’t subject to building permits, other types of renovations must have a building permit.

Under the Philippine National Building Code, your property will be subject to inspection and evaluation to ensure that it’s up to par with the country’s National Building Code, Fire Code, and your local building code. Depending on your property, these fees can reach at least Php 6,000.

If you’ve also decided to get a bank loan to finance your renovation project, you should also secure all housing loan requirements early on. 

Consult or Hire an Expert

When it comes to structures like this, sometimes the best way to save money is to spend money. 

For the safety and security of your home, you may want to consult or hire an expert for this job. Hiring a contractor can give you the peace of mind you need, but it can also make the process go much smoother.

You can also consult with an interior designer and architect to go through your renovation plans and sign off on the details. These professionals can also give you a ballpark number about your renovation plans and whether your budget can meet it or not.

Settle on Materials

Before you start construction, make sure to settle on the materials that you’ll want. If you start canvassing early on from different suppliers, you’ll get a better deal on the materials you want. Allowing you more wiggle room in your budget for emergency purposes.

Aside from this, make sure to run your material choices by licensed professionals and listen to what they have to say about these materials. Ask if there are any pros and cons and if there’s anything you should look out for.

Plan for Electrical and Plumbing Works

If you’re renovating an old home, time and pests may have impacted the plumbing and electrical works of your property. Make sure to allot a part of your budget to ensure that a professional is working on the electricity and plumbing of your house. 

After all, having these aspects fixed while the renovations are underway will come out much cheaper than having to open up the house again just to repair it.

DIY Where you can

Finally, some parts of renovation you can do by yourself. DIYing is a great way to renovate a house with no money. 

Painting walls, installing shelves, and installing faucets are some low-risk tasks that you can do by yourself. You can consult YouTube or ask a knowledgeable friend if they can help you with these tasks.

Make Your Dream Home Come True With RCBC

Learning how to invest in your real estate in the Philippines was just one part of the process; renovating it is another, but whatever it is you want to do, know that you always have a bank that’s ready to help you meet your goals.

With RCBC’s housing loans, you can turn your house into a home. But before you sign and submit the RCBC home loan application form, make sure to read through the RCBC housing loan FAQs and list down any other questions you may have so our bank professionals can help you.

Avail yourself of a housing loan with RCBC today and bring your vision to life.