Finance Roll

Even with realistic plans, a project can encounter abrupt surprises and need for adjustments. Take heart, professional builders also readjust plans and budgets mid-way in a project, so don't harass yourself about your plight. There are some handy solutions and some guiding principles that can help along the way. So, what can you do?

First, take stock of your project's progress and the hang-ups in the plans. Getting a clear picture of the situation will help you maintain integrity for your project and the value of your house.

Realizing that a half-done project can devalue your property, an important principle of DIY home construction is to always know the shortest distance to a completed project. That is called Plan C and usually has no frills, but does have finish work done. Of course you may still have Plan A and B in your mind: the nice bay window, the stone patio and outdoor fireplace, but if push comes to shove, you still need to be able to see the plain door, with trim in place and simple wooden steps out of the house to a graded surface outside.

Is it time for Plan C? It may be, if you have had to change work and schedules, if you foresee that your next opportunity for generating disposable income is more than 6 or 8 months away. If it looks like your building will have an hiatus of a year under such circumstances, then it may be time for Plan C. There is likely some money available in your reach to do some work, so that is the resource to draw upon to bring things over to Plan C.

So, what is Plan C? It is a short plan with less outlay that will bring your home into cosmetic and structural completion within your foreseeable upcoming available time. It involves abbreviating plans, re-working traffic flow, resettling space allocation, and trimming down expectations. It still does need to be energy efficient, cosmetically consistent with the house, and achieve some positive purpose in its design.

You will need to discuss this with your Home Team, as this is an abrupt change in plans and affects dreams, hopes and promises among you. Trust is maintained if you make these decisions together. No matter how good the outside advice is, if the solution is a surprise to your team, you will be in the doghouse. So, talk it through.

How can you talk about it? A discussion like this may generate heated feelings; you know. So, it is one that really needs several stages in the discussion process. First, one of you brings up the issue and reviews the unfortunate circumstances. You review the facts and pose the problem that needs to be addressed such as the available time frame for work, the lesser budget, the need to develop a Plan C, and its requirement to have the shortest steps to achieve a finished house.

Folks will resist the truth and will need facts and reassurance. Perhaps read this article to the Home Team and then start the ball rolling. Ok, now how do you deal with that ball in motion?

Know that such a change will indeed bring much re-thinking to your grand plan. This is the part that can be difficult both emotionally and thinking-wise. We get attached to our designs, deeply attached. It can feel personally threatening to have to change them. So, how do we get through that? If you understand their difficulty and reassure the team that you care as you go through these changes, you will ride more evenly over the rough road of readjustment.

Letting go is a hard, hard step. Your Home Team will need caring encouragement to take this step. The team may help to know what the alternatives are, but even more, it will help to know you care and understand the loss for each one as they let go of their fantasy of how the finished project would have brought them something special, their own room, a fancy entertainment area, frills and lovelies that fulfill a vision. You will need to communicate your appreciation of their vision; their worth in your eyes, and that you would care that they be happy.

You may need to brainstorm alternate ways to entertain, share space and so on, but most important is that you attend to caring for the people, not the house or the money. Sure, you may be nervous about the circumstances too, but if you and your partner address this together, you will have already set the limits about finances and the rest is about the people.

Facing adversity is one of life's challenges. We can learn steps to handle these events in our projects and still care about each other. Learning this brings True Home Improvement as we work it out together.