Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Looking to renovate your first house? Join us as we share our journey of turning a fixer-upper into our dream home with blood, sweat, and tears for under $25,000.
Can you believe Purchasing your first house is an exciting yet stressful time for anyone?
Trying to decide between a ‘turn-key’ or a ‘fix-er-up-er’ is often a decision people face.
Both advantages exist, but we knew we wanted something to make into a home with good old-fashioned elbow grease.
We bought, knowing we would probably be here for 5-10 years until we built enough equity to afford our forever home.
We were looking for a lovely house that needed a little TLC and eventually found one and managed to snag it up for a steal.
The sellers were motivated to sell because a job took them out of town.
However, knocking down walls and moving bathrooms proved more difficult than anticipated.
Our $25,000 First Home Renovation Budget
Saving as much money as possible on the purchase was vital because we had a long list of things we wanted to renovate, all within a modest budget of $25,000.
The spaces we decided to renovate were the:
- Kitchen: New cabinets, countertop, all repairs, and installed hardwood floor.
- Main Bathroom: Vanity/sink.
- Half bath: Vanity/sink.
- Exterior: New siding, all new windows, re-pave driveway.
- Paint throughout the entire home.
A kitchen alone can set you back over 25,000, depending on finishes and accessories.
Luckily, we renovated our entire kitchen for less than $10,000.
Home Depot Kitchen Design
We went to Home Depot, where they have a free kitchen design service through their store’s design staff.
It was a painless and quite enjoyable process to design our dream kitchen.
We brought in basic dimensions, and a few hours later, we had a brand-spankin’ new kitchen design.
Any kitchen design process can save you a few hundred dollars, as most smaller retailers won’t waste their time until you’ve committed to their product and paid a deposit or a design fee.
It took a few tweaks, but we settled on a kitchen design and, with their assistance, could pick out a cabinet product that fit our renovation budget.
Renovate And Save Money – Before and After Kitchen
Where the renovation savings came from:
Cabinets
We bought solid wood doors but went with a cheaper cabinet box (only the homeowner knows the difference), and adding inexpensive crown molding makes them look high-end.
Cabinet Hardware
I was shocked at the hardware for our kitchen cupboards, which cost $20.00 each.
Most large retailers sell multi-packs of hardware at a much cheaper price.
We bought two ten-packs for $20.00 each at Home Depot, and they look just as lovely as the expensive ones.
Flooring
We wanted to extend the hardwood from the rest of the house into the kitchen.
I called around and found the exact flooring at a local retailer that was on clearance.
After we purchased the hardwood, I sourced a man who had an ad on Kijiji to install it for less than $500.
Renovate And Garbage Removal
Did you know you pay for garbage removal and home renovations with some professionals?
Home Depot has a small fee of a few hundred dollars built into their contract to take all their garbage with them.
We took care of it ourselves, and while cutting and binding cardboard for what felt like a year, I’d do it again for that savings!
Kitchen Plumbing
The contractor’s unhooking and re-hooking basic plumbing was also an additional charge; basic plumbing is relatively easy.
Look up YouTube videos to see if you can do the work yourself if you can’t complete the repair.
Often, some tasks are simple and can be done by the homeowner.
It saves you moola (that’s money for those who don’t know).
Countertops
We chose a used high-end laminate co-countertop over granite, quartz, and natural stones for the kitchen.
With the size of the renovation(s) we were doing and the age of our neighborhood, I didn’t want to start putting money into renovations we may not recover or ‘’over-renovate.’’
Reusing Renovation Materials
We liked the light fixtures in the kitchen and dining room, so we kept them.
The lights in the entryway and hallway were not our style, so I sold them on Kijji for the price we paid to replace them.
Same with appliances, we’d eventually like stainless, but we’ll save for them; the ones we have are fine for now.
Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Demo
We did the entire kitchen demo ourselves, a huge savings for our renovation budget.
Windows and Siding
Re-siding the whole house and replacing windows is where negotiations can happen (negotiations = savings).
I called around, got general prices, and then had formal quotes done up from five different contractors.
Ultimately, it was cheaper for us to separate the windows from the siding.
However, if you’ve ever gone through a similar renovation, trying to nail down a timeline and coordinate these projects would have been challenging.
With weather delays alone, contractors rarely start to renovate on time.
We wanted the same contractor to renovate both jobs, so I chose the one we liked the most.
I negotiated to get both jobs done for 10% less than it would cost to use two independent contractors.
Asphalt Driveway
Our asphalt driveway was finished by a friend of a friend, which was nice.
We saved over $2,000 because of a mutual friend, so ask around!
Bathroom Renovations
We did the bathrooms and painting.
The vanity and sink were purchased from a local hardware store sale.
It took some time, but we put it together and installed it ourselves.
My husband got help from his grandfather (the world’s most resourceful man) to care for the plumbing.
Thankfully, my sister-in-law and I spent countless hours painting, my least favorite task, but I hate paying someone for a job I can do.
Managing The Renovation Budget
Seeking out deals and managing our renovation budget was exhausting mentally and physically.
If you can renovate and live to tell the story, your marriage will be rock solid!
Having the opportunity to renovate our first house was hard work, but we’d do it again to get the custom look we wanted.
Guest Post By: Catherine is the voice behind the blog Plunged in Debt, where she chronicles her (and her husband’s) journey out of $300,000 worth of debt.
When we moved in…all the light fixtures in the house needed updating including 2 huge chadeliers. We also updated the light switches and plug-ins throughout. I added some towel racks, a bathroom vanity and a few decorating items and there went $10,000! It looks much better to us but we’d need to do the flooring and carpets for a re-sale.
Costs add up fast for sure! make sure you get a lot of quotes for your flooring and look into buying the flooring/carpeting and finding someone else to install it…you don’t have to have a contractor from the purchasing store do the work!
Good for you! My hubby and I are just finishing renovations on our first home together, it has been very challenging since you never really know whats behind that wall, or under that flooring, until you remove it! LOL:)
You made some great purchases! And I love the molding on the cabinets, aesthetic tricks like that can make a WORLD of difference in appearance as well as budget!
Thanks for sharing:)
If you can live through a renovation, your marriage is rock solid 😉 It can be scary with the unknowns but you have to roll with the punches as they come at you, make sure you have some contingency funds set aside for said surprises and you’ll be good to go! The cheapest quote/produce price doesn’t always mean cheapest quality!
Your house looks beautiful! Going with a fixer upper for your first home is a wise financial decision. It is most likely you won’t stay in that house forever. By putting sweat equity in the house, it makes it easier to rent it or sell for a profit.
We are currently saving for a down payment on our first home. I have been looking at homes in our area through zillow, and most homes in our price range need renovation. I’m hoping we can find a rough diamond when we purchase our house in a couple of years.
I’m sure you will! If you go house hunting knowing you will be renovating it’s much easier to see past the cosmetic things that bother most home buyers who aren’t interested in doing any work. Good luck!!
Sounds like an amazing reno ! $25,000 for the whole house is pretty great!
Thanks Gillian, there was a lot of due diligence but it paid off for sure! We could have easily paid much,much more had we not put the effort into it that we did.
Frugal and talented. Great job!
Thank you!
I love the new look. You accomplished a great deal for 25K. I would go with high end laminate over granite any day. We had granite in our last house and it was so cold.
This is true. granite is cold, but lasts a great deal longer and I don’t sit on my countertops often so coldness doesn’t bother me 🙂 having said this, I’m loving the laminate,especially at the miter cuts where granite would look funny.
There is a CAT on your dining table : O,,,,,,,,,oh,, and you didn’t save $2000 on your driveway,,you spent less.
PS I guess the cat would be better than a mouse 🙂
Sarah
No we saved over 2k…the quotes we got for our driveway were 4k+, we have a long driveway! and yes, kitty was being bad!
Therefore instead of spending 4K, you spent 2 K,….. the difference between the two dollar amounts is not savings,,, I could give you a quote for 10 K,,,does that mean you save $6K. Where will the 6K be when you are done? Someone else may give you a quote for $1500,,,does that mean you are saving more??? No,,it means you are spending less then you might of.
Now,,,,if someone GAVE you a gift of 4K to do your driveway,,,,,you got the job done for 2K,,,,,AND you took the difference and SAVED it in a bank, gic, TFSA etc,,,THEN you have saved money.
IF you save up 4K to do your driveway,,,and get it done for 2K,,,have you saved 2K? No,,,you are spending less of your savings.
You are not saving by spending. You may gain some equity,,quality of life,, pleasure,,,,by doing maintenance, you are are spending less in the long run etc etc. It is a myth that you can SAVE by SPENDING.
Do you SAVE by switching to GEICO? No,, you are spending less (maybe).
Sorry for going on and on,,,just a pet peeve of mine. I have a problem making myself understood.
OK fair enough. I will explain this then…I get what you’re saying and yes we saved 2k.
Here’s what we did:
We got quotes for all the renos that needed to be done on the house, took the most expensive quotes to the lender for approval. Once we got approval we then searched out savings in every area and pocked the difference between the jobs. So in the end we ended up with over 16k in difference that we used to pay debt off.
Does this help? I just didn’t want to get into all these details in the post 🙂
Wow you did great! Love your kitchen.
Thanks Michelle! I still have to DIY a backsplash before it’s 100% complete but we’re happy with it so far!
I had no idea about A LOT of this…but especially the garbage! I wouldn’t even think to look of the charge/do it myself. Fantastic job and thanks SO much for sharing!
You are very welcome!
Great post, Catherine! We’ve been dreaming of buying a fixer-uper but I’m not confident in my remodeling skills. 🙂 That demo’d pic of your kitchen is amazing; well done on the remodel! My wife and I recently visited Ikea in Minneapolis and I fell in love with many of their designs. It’s amazing what you can do for only $10,000! Congrats on saving a boat-load and for following through on your vision. It’s probable that I may have called it quits mid-way and hired somebody to finish the work. lol.
Haha there were many times I wanted to throw the towel,like when the kitchen reno ended up lasting 4months! 4 months with no kitchen isn’t easy, but we saw it though and we’re happy we did. You really have to stay on top of your contacts so you don’t get lost in the shuffle of all their projects. I wish we had an IKEA here…sigh…
You did amazing Catherine! Lots of good idea as I am starting to renovate my house!
Thank you Pauline…once you stop globetrotting you’ll be able to sit down and really look for savings to help execute your vision!
Wow! Good for you! We do stuff like that in our family too. We try to do renovations as much as we can on our own to save money. My dad has flipped two cottages for a good profit by doing most of the work on his own. I helped with painting, installing crown molding and refinishing the hardwoood floors. My house was bought brand new so not many renovations but I painted the whole house by myself (except my dad painted the high ceiling over the stairs). I bought a nice chandelier at a garage sale, bought my coffee table at a garage sale and refinished it, bought my sofa at a warehouse sale, many items are from freecycle. My dad built our deck and we bought all the wood when the government offered a home repair tax credit. We also bought the wood for finishing our basement then too. We slowly gather what we need for finishing the basement (a lot we get at yard sales) so that it isn’t a huge cost all at once. My dad will be doing most of the work lol 🙂
It always helps when you know someone who can help that’s for sure. My husbands grandfather has been a hue help-there’s nothing this man can’t do, he’s like Google in man form! One of my long term dreams is to flip a property…I think I could do it pretty well when we get out finances in order.
Wow …you got a lot done and it looks great!!!!!! Don’t worry about the cat on the table, ours does it all the time to watch the birds outside the window….I just wipe the table down after he jumps down. We’ve had a number of handy man specials over the years, and we do most of the work ourselves. My husband figured out how to do the wiring about 3 houses back, that’s the one thing we get a permit for for sure!!! Plumbing not so much. It costs a little but we have learned from the inspectors every time!!! They see so much and have great ideas they love to share with you. Our currant house we had an electrical contractor come in to change the service to breakers from fuses, we showed him a few of the nightmares around here in the wiring dept and just shook his head saying that he was glad we were re-doing the wiring…. We did the same as you in the kitchen, getting the plain box cupboards and getting the better doors. Still need new floors here in the whole house, don’t know when we will get to that. I think if we sell the house we will move out before it goes on the market and do the floors then….so much easier than moving stuff from pillar to post……
Yes, living in the reno isn’t fun…we started as soon as we moved in so didn’t have much to deal with but living out of boxes wasn’t fun! Hubby is a 2-wire man…leaves the 3 wires for the professionals. Luckily all we needed to do for electrical was move one outlet which was quite easy. Hubby and I also changed the location of a baseboard heater which wasn’t too bad as we had access from the back to the wall.
Wow, Catherine, that looks amazing. I don’t know what we’d do without Home Depot. It is tempting to go all out, but it looks like you made some really excellent decisions. That’s great you improved the house to the standard of the neighborhood. You’ll be glad when you sell.
Exactly. As much as I’d love some higher end finishes long-term it didn’t make sense for this house or the 25yr old+ neighborhood it’s in. If someone wants to buy it and replace the coutertops/lights/whatever they can but I won’t waste my money!
Looks great! We did some major work on our house when we moved in, too – though the kitchen and floors so far have been left untouched. Someday, though… =)
You have time! We still need to replace the carpeting in the basement but they work fine now (neutral color) but they’re not in the best shape. I know we need to replace to resell so we’ll save and probably replace in a year or two…just keep having them cleaned.
We did a kitchen remodel from HD a few years ago as well, and also had a very good experience.. It is much more affordable to use HD than a custom designer, and if done right.. You can end up with a great looking product!
Your kitchen looks awesome! It looks almost like the exact layout of mine…kind’ve freaky!
Thanks for sharing!
Great minds think alike 😉
That is pretty amazing – you should be very proud of yourself for doing so much for so little!
Excellent post! Any house that I’ll be buying in the next few years will be a fixer upper, so it’s good to know it can be done so well and cheaply!
IN HALIFAX too Jordann!!
Hey Mr CBB – That is a seriously impressive budget! As you say, people often blow 25k on a new kitchen or a car or something equally as less valuable… you managed a house on that! Ever thought about writing an eBook on how you did it with tips etc. Prob quite a good niche there 🙂
That will teach me for speed reading – I meant Catherine not MR CBB :$
I have renovated quite a bit of our house and will be doing the kitchen,bathrooms,basement, lounge, dining room and more although this one belongs to Catherine!
haha…I have no time for an e-book. Mr CBB can take care of that!
Oh ya in between working 45 hours a week.. sure I’ll fit it on my toilet breaks .. oh that was baddddddd
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on kitchens halifax. Regards
Do you guys live in TO? Can you share the contact of your hardwood floor installer? We have a really small area and the installers we saw charge more per st foot than the actual hardwood costs!
I can ask her just in case she doesn’t see your question and we can get back to you. Thanks for dropping in. Mr.CBB
Awesome, thanks! Just found your blog today, really cool!
Cheers mate! Mr.CBB I’m emailing her now.
Hey-I’m not in TO, unfortunately we’re in Halifax. I found him on Kijiji, I posted an add describing what we wanted done and the time frame we’d like it done in. We had a lot of interest and finally settled on a guy who worked in construction in Jamaica and just getting settled in Canada. Could you try Kijiji or Craigslist to get your job done?
Great idea, post a “wanted” on Kijiji! Thanks for sharing!
That is without doubt an amazing job you did, renovation sure is a tough job to do and to keep it in your budget is more tougher to be honest.