Financing a Project

Create a Budget

Proper budgeting and financing for your project are keys to making your dream addition a reality without annoying delays. Develop a working budget by first getting estimates on the materials and labor costs that will go into building the addition. That will require a pretty good idea of the size of the addition and the quality of materials that you plan to use.

You also need to consider how you will fund the project, perhaps with savings or a loan, such as a home equity line of credit, a second mortgage, refinancing, or a personal loan. Besides figuring your budget and how you'll fund the project, keep in mind ways to conserve cash and know where to cut costs if you need to without jeopardizing quality.

And don't be afraid to dream. It's better to start off with a budget that covers everything you can think of and then trimming it down than to find out later that you could have afforded the hot tub, too, if you'd only had a better plan.