Best Ways to Remodel a Kitchen at Cost

Remodeling a kitchen can be an expensive business. The average costs will be driven by your reasons behind the remodel… Is it for your own kitchen in the house you live in? Perhaps it’s in a rental property you own, you’re rehabbing a property, or have bought a fixer-upper that you’re going to flip for profit…

Whatever’s driving the remodel, there are plenty of things you can do to drive down the price and get it as close to cost as possible.

Kitchen Remodeling Secrets that Help Drive Down the Costs

• Driving down labor costs
• Beware the estimate…
• Tips for finding cut price appliances and accessories

Driving down labor costs

With the average price of hired labor accounting for a large percentage of the overall remodeling costs, there’s one key way to make this cheaper. Do as much of the work yourself as possible. Now, we’re not talking about the skilled stuff, such as electrical or plumbing (unless that’s your trade). No, what we mean is the hard graft… You know, scraping off wallpaper, painting, installing the appliances, fixing that backsplash in place… You get the picture. 

Even if you’ve never done anything like it before, with the wonder of YouTube tutorials available with a single click, there isn’t much you can’t find out how to do…

Beware the estimate

OK, so by this we mean that—in general—you get what you pay for. Going with the provider who offers the cheapest estimate for your project can often be a recipe for disaster. This is especially the case if the lowest cost is significantly less than all the others. (Oh, you have had multiple tradespeople estimates, haven’t you? If not, be sure to get a few more before you commit).

Unless the provider can give you realistic reasons why they think they can do the job for less money than their competitors, then it’s definitely a case of “proceed with caution”. Many a remodeler has found themselves caught out when costs spiral beyond the initial estimate.

Tips for finding cut price appliances and accessories

This is another excellent area to drive down the costs. For example:

• You can keep existing cabinets. Instead of splashing out on brand new ones, repair, paint, and refurbish the originals. Not only does it give the kitchen character, but it’s the ultimate in upcycling and great for the planet too.
• Unless you really have to, stick with stock materials and appliances. You can go for good brand names that don’t cost the earth. It’s only when you start choosing the fancy high-end models that the outgoings start to spiral. If you want to up the luxury, simply select one or two higher-quality items and make them a feature. This will make the quality statement you want to achieve but won’t cost the earth to do so.
• You can also shop around for appliances—perhaps picking up end-of-range or last season’s models. These are usually sold off with some quite impressive discounts. They’ll still do the same job but will drive your remodel cost down considerably.

Need to Finance a Kitchen Remodel? BRRRR Loans Can Help

BRRR Loans is a leading lender that's helping thousands of real estate investors and home remodelers turn their plans into reality. From Fix & Flip lending to bridging loans, DSCR funding to commercial borrowing—and everything in between—we’re fast becoming the go-to financier for those in the know.

Discover how BRRRR Loans can fast-track your funding needs at https://www.brrrr.com.