Not in the DMV. Drive south on 95 and stop in RVA. We built our place in 2016 for $670k. Now worth about $1M looking a comparables in our neighborhood.

We did interior painting, added additional crown molding, added a patio, whole house generator, upgraded landscaping, added a storage shed, and kitchenette in the finished basement. All in that's probably $65-70k.

Finished the basement, redid the floors and countertops in the kitchen, bought a generator, put in landscaping

Anonymous wrote:You people are all lazy. Growing up my parents had us do all the home repairs or we did not eat.

You built a three story addition and installed solar panels as a kid? I'm impressed. I did not have those skills then or now.

Very little. We own a townhome purchased for $635k in 2008.

Improvements all done before 2010:
Painted ourselves - $500 for supplies
Removed gas fireplace and added built-in with cubby for flat screen TV - $5,000 including all electronic components and surround sound
Cork Flooring in child's bedroom - $800

Maintenance items are separate and ongoing:
Refrigerator, range, dishwasher (x2), microwave, washing machine, hot water heater replaced - $12k-ish
Roof replaced - $15k
Heat pump replaced - $10k

We have zero interest in home improvement. Home now worth $900k. We did not buy a home to make money. We bought it to live in.

Bought in 2016 for $750K. Now worth 1.4M according to Zillow. Spent 90K to finish basement.

Bought for a bit over $3M a little over a decade ago. Gorgeous historic house with massive deferred maintenance. We restored everything to mint condition and custom interior design of everything, all in $1.6-1.7M. Worth mid 7Ms- mid 8Ms, depending on who you ask.

DP, but I have done crown molding and have installed drywall myself. Always paint rooms myself and have done basic electrical work like replacing outlets and ceiling fans. I could probably do a half bath if I gave myself enough time.

Aside from the cost savings, I don’t like dealing with a lot of sheisters trying to rip me off or creepy subcontractors who the general contractor sends out to my house around DW and DDs. More time with the family and I can teach the kids how to be handy. Less strangers in the home. A win / win.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are all lazy. Growing up my parents had us do all the home repairs or we did not eat.

I was one who said that we’d spent over 200k. Sadly most of that was with us doing all the major work. New cabinets alone were 30k, shower doors and tile and drywall was $$$. We’re the opposite of lazy.

+1 doing the work yourself only goes so far toward meaningfully reducing costs

Anonymous wrote:You people are all lazy. Growing up my parents had us do all the home repairs or we did not eat.

I was one who said that we’d spent over 200k. Sadly most of that was with us doing all the major work. New cabinets alone were 30k, shower doors and tile and drywall was $$$. We’re the opposite of lazy.

Anonymous wrote:You people are all lazy. Growing up my parents had us do all the home repairs or we did not eat.

Oh, you replaced the windows, roof, and gutters? You tore up the floors and put in new floors? You replaced the HVAC system? Amazing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are all lazy. Growing up my parents had us do all the home repairs or we did not eat.

+1

I had no interest in doing that stuff when I was younger, but what it taught me was that most projects were doable with a little patience. Fast forward 25 years and YouTube has been a game changer. Here are the major expenses over the last 20 years:

2k half bath
1.5k tile shower
11k kitchen
20k update/renovate entire rental property (townhouse)
15k add basement kitchen

It cost A LOT more than that if you value your time—hours and hours spent on YouTube and installation.

That's true. You can choose to be broke like most people and spend your valuable time on the interwebs or watching Real Housewives

I wasn’t saying it’s a bad thing, but there’s a greater cost. I wasn’t thinking about watching TV, I was thinking about working.

We just bought a SF home for about 1.9M. Since moving in, we've:

New front door: $5k
Tankless water heater: $6k
New panel and assorted electrical fixes: $7k
Roof repairs: $2k
Power wash exterior: $1k
Duct cleaning: $1200
Hardwood floor repair/refinishing: $3k
Carpet replacement: $1500
Painting: $2k

This doesn't include a bunch of stuff we're doing ourselves like light and plumbing fixtures or some painting, new furniture, gym equipment, etc. Or planned future enhancements, maintenance costs, etc.

We'll probably spend about $100k within the first 12 months getting it to a happy place. Which is crazy to type out.

^ We saved about 20K doing that bathroom ourselves. We get complements on it even though people don't know we did it ourselves.

Anonymous wrote:
I’m pp and we have friends who did their own house renos and they’re all pretty sh-tty.


They must have no idea what they're doing and are most likely rushing the job. The key is to take your time and resolve each problem before moving on to the next task. You don't have to be very skilled or talented. You just need to be somewhat handy or mechanically inclined.

But it's not for everyone. If you are the type of person who likes to half ass things, just don't even bother doing a renovation.

And there is no shame in hiring a contractor to do work that is outside your skill set. No way in hell would I attempt to install a long load bearing beam or large format tile on a mortar bed.

+1 I am married to a guy who is a perfectionist about DIY. There's good DIY and there's bad DIY. You have to research the options and the materials (and if you are putting in the labor it makes sense to use the very best materials because you are saving A LOT on the labor and it's not worth your time to use the crap stuff). Are there some things he jobbed out? Of course. But tons of stuff we did ourselves and it came out wonderfully. It does help to have grown up doing this stuff, but it can be done. One of the mistakes we have seen is people who try to do everything at once instead of thinking something through and moving more slowly. Yes, it took eight months to do a bathroom, but that bathroom is fabulous now. If you have a job and/or kids it's not a fast process.

Anonymous wrote:I’m pp and we have friends who did their own house renos and they’re all pretty sh-tty.

They must have no idea what they're doing and are most likely rushing the job. The key is to take your time and resolve each problem before moving on to the next task. You don't have to be very skilled or talented. You just need to be somewhat handy or mechanically inclined.

But it's not for everyone. If you are the type of person who likes to half ass things, just don't even bother doing a renovation.

And there is no shame in hiring a contractor to do work that is outside your skill set. No way in hell would I attempt to install a long load bearing beam or large format tile on a mortar bed.