Is it time to get ready to remodel your home after the New Year?

If you’re thinking about remodeling your house, this time of year might be a good time to start planning even though you have to get through the holidays first before major changes can be arranged.

Start by walking through the house and take some notes on what you would like to do. Try to be as specific as possible and ask yourself a lot of questions.

Are you going to keep the same footprint in that bathroom or kitchen?  Or do you want to rip everything out and even move walls? Are you going to upgrade your appliances significantly? Or will you keep that nearly new refrigerator and the gas cook-top you love to use?

Try to firm up your plans before you start meeting with contractors. That way you can get better estimates of what everything will cost.

Elizabeth Dodson of HomeZada, an online digital home management program that we have researched, said her program has features to help homeowners estimate labor and prices for major replacements and renovations in advance.

You can add up all the different items on your wish list and their possible cost. Then you can start budgeting for what you want to do before you get estimates. You can store names of contractors you want to call.

HomeZada’s home improvement module can help consolidate all your project information in one online location.

As time goes on you can even track your experiences with various contractors; you can keep tabs on how and when you will pay for various improvements.

The program can even help you decide what projects to execute now and which to put on hold for a while.