Renovations post buy

Before or after?

I guarantee that once you buy a house, you’ll want to make some modifications—either immediately or down the line. It’s almost a Kiwi rite of passage. Broadly speaking, there are two approaches: renovating before you move in, or renovating after you’ve settled.

Renovating before you move in is ideal from a project management perspective. You’re dealing with an empty house, so there’s no need to work around your existing life or furniture. Staying somewhere else temporarily means minimal disruption, and you have a blank canvas to implement your vision exactly as you want it. It also gives a clean mental start—you walk in on day one and everything is exactly how you envisaged it.

Renovating after you move in, however, has its own advantages. Living in the space first allows you to understand how it really works for your lifestyle. You see how the rooms flow, how light moves through the house, and how you actually use the space day-to-day. This insight often leads to more practical and satisfying renovations.

Personally, I used to favor the “before” camp, wanting everything perfect before stepping foot in the house. Over time, though, I’ve shifted to the “after” mindset. A good example: I’ve always loved granite kitchen benchtops, and my new property had stainless steel. Initially, I hated it and wanted to replace it before moving in. Now, after using it, I appreciate how easy it is to clean and maintain—something I wouldn’t have known without living in the space.

Finances

Renovations can be really cheap, or really expensive. What I do is have a renovation "cheat-sheet" with general estimates of how much different rooms, etc would cost to bring it up to my personal preferences. I just assume I'm going to rip everything out and redo as worst case scenario (which often turns true). I then factor this into the price I'm willing to pay.

Cost of house if "perfect" - Cost of Renovations = Price I offer

You need to figure out your own renovation budget, but for me, this is how I do it:

Room	Cost	Work Spec
Kitchen	30K	Floors, cupboards, sink, induction, range, oven, dishwasher, countertop
Bathroom	30K	Flooring, walk-in shower, bath-tub, toilet, vanity, heated floors
Bedroom	5K	Insulation, wall mounted TV, lighting, home automation
Laundry	2K	Cupboards and benchtop with a cheap sink