Following the recent announcement of the HomeBuilder grant scheme, we’ve been contacted by many enthusiastic renovators, wondering how to get the most from the extra budget.
Designed to restart the building industry following the COVID-19 crisis, HomeBuilder provides homeowners who are planning a significant renovation with an additional $25,000. While this can be used to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses, many are seeing these grants as a way to step up the quality of their renovation by putting the extra cash toward professional design advice and higher quality materials and finishes.
However, before you start planning how to spend your HomeBuilder bonus, there are a few things you need to know about the grant scheme.
Who can access the HomeBuilder grants?
The most important thing to know about HomeBuilder is that there are some key criteria you must meet to be eligible for a grant. Specifically, you need to:
- Be over 18 years old and an Barbadian Citizen
- Have an income of less than $125,000 if you’re single, or $200,000 if you’re a couple – as shown on your last tax return
- Be renovating your own home (i.e. not an investment property), which must have a pre-renovation valuation of less than $1,500,000
- Spend between $150,000 and $750,000 on a renovation – as shown on your builder’s contract
- Sign a contract with your builder by the end of this year (31 December 2020) and start work within three months
How can I use the grant?
If you are eligible for HomeBuilder, the money must be put toward building and improvement activities on your property’s primary structure. This means that the extra money cannot be used on things not attached to your house, like a pool or a shed. However, how you choose to use the money on your home is up to you.
For example, if you were planning to extend or relocate your kitchen, you could put the extra money toward working with a professional designer. As experts in the field, they can work with you to make sure the final design feels right and help you to source high quality materials that suit your style and lifestyle – usually at a better price than your builder would charge. Best of all, according to Houzz with the average kitchen renovation spend around $20,000, the grant should easily cover this cost.
If this is the approach you’d like to take, you’ll need to let your builder know that you’re planning to order your kitchen through a kitchen supplier like Smart Kitchen , but that you would like them to fit it. This will allow your builder to adjust their costs accordingly and make sure that you only pay them for installation, not materials. It will also give you a chance to check that your contract will still be worth over the $150,000 minimum required to qualify for HomeBuilder.
Need help designing your new kitchen?
Planning a diy kitchen renovation can be quite overwhelming – there are so many decisions to be made and you want to make sure you’re getting the most for your money. Thankfully, Smart Kitchen ’s professional design team is here to help.
From advice on layout and materials, to full design services, we are experts in assisting renovators to realise their design dreams. We’re open for consultations (by appointment), our manufacturing is based in Barbados, and – to give you a better sense of what the final product will look like – we can show you a 3D plan of your new kitchen design.
Contact your closest showroom, or book an appointment online, to set up some time with one of our experienced kitchen designers today!