# First apartment fit-out: 7 tips to avoid cost overruns

- Source: https://tranhungthinhphat.com/en/blog/kinh-nghiem-lam-noi-that-can-ho/
- Author: Trần Hưng Thịnh Phát
- Published: 2026-02-10

![First apartment fit-out: 7 tips to avoid cost overruns](https://tranhungthinhphat.com/images/blog-03.webp)

Cost overruns are the biggest worry for first-time fit-out customers. Here are the 7 tips we often share with customers.

One: finalize the design before your apartment handover, so construction can start the day you get the keys — saving rent while you wait. Two: request itemized quotes with per-meter/m² unit prices — avoid 'one-line package' quotes. Three: identify the 20% of items worth spending most on (usually the kitchen and bed) and economize on the rest.

Four: scrutinize materials in the contract — board brand, thickness, surface coating, hardware brands. This is where the biggest price gaps hide. Five: minimize design changes after production starts; every change at that stage costs many times more than revising drawings.

Six: reserve 5–10% of the budget for loose furniture and décor (curtains, lamps, rugs, plants) — without it, a finished apartment still feels incomplete. Seven: choose a company with its own workshop and visit it before signing — a fit-out company's real capability is in its workshop, not its 3D renders.

Want a sample estimate for your apartment? Send us your floor plan and we will advise and quote.