I don't know when or why talking about money became so taboo. To me, it is a very important topic in today's society that I think should be talked about often, especially with young adults (but that is a whole other blog post). One thing I was always curious about is how people afford and pay for restoring an old home. You have to purchase the home first, which is usually a hefty expense, and then you have to consider the costs to fix the place up (materials, labor, fees, etc.). I think one of the worst things that can happen is for people to buy a fixer-upper, and then underestimate the cost of restoring it. So today, I would like to share a bit of budget background for the Myrtle House.
It is important to note that we were fortunate enough to inherit the house from Brian's family. The only expense with the actual house is paying yearly property taxes. To be honest, if we had had to purchase a house, it probably would have been out of reach for us right now. I have broken down each task and *estimated* based on web research/forums. I then set up a rough timeline for when these items should be complete. I have Phase I and Phase II broken out - the first phase needs to be complete in order for move in.
I came up with this knowing that WE will be doing almost all of the labor. Please do not use this as a guide for your project as areas and houses vary so much. Our house is relatively small and we are trying to re-use most of the existing items in the house. It helps to get a local contractor to give you an estimate.
As you can see, we are already behind! I have a feeling I am going to look back on this original draft and laugh at myself when we end up spending $1000x more than this.
No, we do not have 50 grand laying around for a rainy day. Brian and I were very opposed to taking out any kind of loan for this project (our goal is to be debt free in the next two years) so we have made some sacrifices in order to save up. I am so lucky to have gracious parents who allow us to live with them during this renovation. We rarely eat out, are not planning any lavish vacations, and also run a side business to supplement our day jobs income.
So there we have a little bit of the money side of this reno. Is this something that interests any of you? I actually love talking about money (and how to save it), so I would be happy to continue posts like this. :)