There may be a point in while planning your project that you realize you don’t have enough money to cover the budget on that dream project. When that happens Project Phasing is the best way to move forward on a limited budget.

Project Phasing is common on big projects and is just as useful on home renovation projects.

That sounds complicated and time-consuming. There must be easier are easier, quicker ways out. Right?

Sure, you can find the cheapest contractor with the biggest promises, and fight your way all the way through, but it will end up costing more anyway after you piss off the contractor. In the end, you won’t be happy with what you get, not to mention all the added stress. Why should you suffer all that?

Or, you could abandon the dream and accept mediocre substitutions all the way through, sacrificing quality and longevity; then try and convince yourself that you’re not disappointed, every time you have to address something that wasn’t done quite “right”. In the short run it’ll be cheaper. In the long run, who knows. It can be a lot more. Every project is different. Some will need a little cosmetic touch up, others, complete redo depending on material and workmanship. Why would you want to suffer all that.

Either way, you’ll be glad when that contractor’s out of your life. You’ll only have that bad taste in your mouth, when some detail reminds you of them. Over time that will fade, but before then; you may have paid off that additional loan you had to get when you blew the budget.

There is another, better way. Project Phasing is the best way to move forward on a limited budget.

Project phasing, gets you what you want in chunks you can afford, without sacrificing scope or quality. It’s the best way to move forward with a project when the goal is bigger than your budget. Phasing is easy and works on any sized project.

To phase your project, follow these simple steps:

• Break your project down in to the basic trade activities (i.e. counters, cabinets, tile, painting, etc.).
• Estimate the detailed costs for each trade activity.
• Identify your needs, wants and wishes, to prioritize items by importance.
• Add up all your needs. These are going to cost what they cost. Make sure it fits in the budget. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to split the project up in to smaller parts.
• Next are wants and wishes. You can mix these up if you want (no pun intended). Add these elements in to the budget until you reach about 80% – 90% of budget.
• The last 10% – 20% is your contingency, for unforeseen site conditions; and there are always unforeseen site conditions.

For more detailed information on how you can use project phasing to move forward on a limited budget, or get help planning, bidding, and managing your project, join Construction Conductor.

I’m not in to clipping coupons, but I like saving money. With most industries it’s easy to watch and wait for a sale to save money on what you want. But in construction there aren’t really sales like that. Construction materials are seldom on sale; and fixtures and finishes are never all on sale at the same time or when you need them.

In construction, there are only a few ways to save money. Some use the lowest cost materials they can buy. Some use the lowest cost labor they can find. Some push people to work faster or sooner than they should. These methods are easy and obvious, but each has it’s pitfall. and while they do save some money, what they cost later in redoing and repairing work is often far greater.

In construction, saving money is about negotiating the best prices for what you want, and controlling costs. The best to do that is to use this simple 3 – step process:

1 – Plan your renovation project and outline all the work you want done. Include adds and deducts to account for things you might or might not want.

2 – Negotiate the best price by using competitive bid, adjusting the scope of the work with new information and objectively comparing prices.

3 – Manage your contractor(s), enforcing the scope, contract and quality you expect, paying only for what is complete.

Contractors make money by getting in, doing the work and getting out. The faster they can get in and out with the least amount of problems, the more money they make. This 3 – step process works because contractors have a clear picture of what they need to do before getting to the project, what the expectations are, how long they have to do it, and the price has been well negotiated before starting.

For a more information on how this works join Construction Conductor.

Real estate flippers, investors and sellers know that realtor fees feel expensive.

Using the 70% ARV (After Repair Value) rule for investing and assuming some reasonable repairs, realtor fees can wind up costing %30 to 50% of the profit.

If you’ve flipped a few properties, you may be thinking about being your own realtor or putting the property up for sale by owner, in order to maximize profit. That’s why many investors become their own real estate agent, but what can seem like a good idea at first can sometimes become more than what you were bargaining for.

There is an immense amount of effort and overall work that goes in to selling property. Countless hours of making and taking calls, evening and weekend meetings, and endless tire kickers, not to mention the classes, yearly licensing fees and costs. Add it all up and there are thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours involved.

If you read “When do you make money on the property flip” (read it here!), you know that there are 3 steps in every flip; 1) buy, 2) fix, and 3) sell, and that you make your money by predicting and controlling the fix, and developing a ‘partnership’ with an agent or broker in exchange for a lower commission to increase the margin on the sale.

No one can do it all, and do it well. If you try, the market often steams past you and you lose your edge. You’re much better off building good teams with people who you work well with. Cutting out an agent who’s spent years cultivating a market, networks and market knowledge is not the answer, learning how to estimate property repairs before buying and using a construction system that helps save time and money, is.