Planning and Documenting a Renovation

A renovation is one of the biggest investments you'll make in your home. Documenting it properly protects that investment — and your resale value.

Before the first hammer swings

Get it in writing: scope of work, timeline, fixed price, payment schedule and the contractor's licence number. For anything structural, electrical or plumbing, confirm whether you need building consent before work begins. Unconsented work is one of the most common reasons a sale falls over years later.

Document as you go

• Keep every quote, invoice and variation.
• Photograph the work at each stage — especially behind walls before they close up.
• Record the contractor, licence and contact details.
• File the consent, inspection and code of compliance paperwork.

The renovation record you build during the project is worth ten times the one you try to reconstruct years later.

After completion

File warranties and manuals for anything installed. Log the total cost — it's part of your home's value story, and it feeds your timeline. Each renovation becomes a permanent event in your Property Passport.

Before and after

Photos tell the story numbers can't. Before-and-after images are the first thing a future buyer or valuer will look at — keep them with the renovation record, not buried in a phone gallery.