This issue has plagued my mind since the last renovation that I managed. I found myself thinking, “Why has this seemed to be such a common theme over the years with all the renovations that we’ve done. WHY DO RENOVATIONS ALWAYS TAKE LONGER AND COST MORE?” The project that I’m referencing took just shy of a month longer than it was supposed to and cost several thousand more.

And I know that this is not just a problem that I’m facing either. I’ve heard hundreds of investors complain about this same thing. Sooooo, I’m going to go through the reasons that I’ve come up with so far.

5 Reasons Why Renovations Always Take Longer and Cost More

1. Unforeseen Damages

When you’re doing your due diligence on a property, there are always going to be some instances where you’re going to take an educated guess. It’s not like you can start tearing out sheet rock throughout the house to make sure everything looks good.

For instance, some additional water damage was found under the last roof that we replaced. When the contractor gave me the original estimate, he didn’t know that he would have to replace a good bit of additional plywood. Thus, the job cost more than we thought it would.

I would suggest ALWAYS adding an additional $5K on top of any estimate you get for a full scale renovation. That way, you can easily absorb some additional costs, and if everything goes to plan, your deal will be that much more profitable.

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