Small home renovation projects can be inconvenient — disrupting your normal routine, causing some noisy days, and perhaps even making you eat dinner on the living room floor. But if it’s just for a few days, you can probably manage.
However, if you’re planning a larger project like a whole-home remodel, those inconveniences become a lot bigger and a lot more difficult to manage. To stay or to find alternative housing is a big decision, but living in a home under major renovation can add a whole bunch of stress to your life, or can even be dangerous. As bothersome as it may sound, you probably need to find an alternative housing arrangement for the duration of your project.
Sound like something you might have to deal with? Here’s what you need to know to make the process go as smoothly as possible, so you can channel your mental energy toward dreaming of your beautifully updated home!
When faced with the need to choose a temporary housing arrangement during your home renovation, it’s important to know all of your options. That way, you can evaluate each one and determine which may be the best fit for your family's lifestyle, budget, and project timeline.
If you need a place to start your research, here are a few of the most popular temporary housing choices:
Short-term rental property — A short-term rental is a property with a lease term that’s usually shorter than 12 months. It can be any type of property, from extended-stay hotels to apartments, condos, and even single-family homes. Companies like Airbnb, Zillow, and VRBO have made it easier than ever to find and book one. For any rental property you should also find about availability of extending the length of your stay in the event of unexpected project delays.
Trailer or RV — If you have a trailer, RV, or another type of mobile home, you may consider making it your new temporary home. This is generally one of the more cost-friendly options, but you may need to be willing to “rough it” and give up certain amenities for a while.
Vacation rental property — Can’t stay in your house? It might be the perfect opportunity to pack your bags and go on vacation! Just make sure that you’re available to communicate with your contractor about any project decisions, issues, and changes. Don’t go fully off the grid.
Friend’s or family member’s home — While moving back in with Mom and Dad may not be the most appealing option as a homeowner, it can often be the most convenient and affordable one. Embrace it, and enjoy those home-cooked meals you used to love!
If your home renovation requires you to find temporary housing, you may be wondering how much additional dough you’ll have to fork over.
Well, it depends on which option you choose. Something like a hotel or vacation rental is likely going to take a considerable chunk out of your savings, but something like staying at Mom and Dad’s house could be virtually free.
The takeaway? Choosing temporary housing is something you should plan for upfront. Knowing the scope of work and your lifestyle preferences, you should be able to determine and accommodate for what you need. Make it part of your remodeling budget!
In order to get the best idea of how long you’ll need to stay in temporary housing, you should work with your contractor to establish a clear timeline for your project. Depending on which rooms and areas of the home you’ve scoped out, you may be able to move back in before the project’s full completion. Or, you might be stuck elsewhere throughout the full duration. Either way, it’s good information to know upfront so you can plan accordingly.
Once you have that timeline, do everything in your power to stick to it. Of course, unexpected problems can always arise, but if you commit to things like making selections on time and responding quickly to contractor needs, your project will have a better chance of staying on track.
Things happen. Your contractor could find a structural issue, or your new countertop shipment date may be pushed back another week or two. What do you do then?
Your first step should be to extend your stay, if possible. However, that doesn’t always work. Short-term rentals may not have availability, you might have already purchased plane tickets home from vacation, or Mom and Dad have made the executive decision to kick you out again (ugh!). In those situations, you’ll have to seek out another one of the temporary housing options on the list.
Another thing to do during this time is to keep in constant communication with your contractor. As long as you’re working with a reputable contractor or design-build team, they should be pretty helpful in making you aware of any project updates and timeline changes. That communication is key in knowing what to do, even if things don’t go quite as planned.
Figuring out where to live is just one of many potentially stressful decisions during a major home renovation. Let us handle the rest of them. Get in touch with the Meadowlark Design+Build team for a smooth remodel that brings your dream home to life!