October marks the 6th month that Brian and I have lived in our fixer upper home. In those short 6 months we have learned a lot of lessons about buying a fixer upper. There are things I didn’t think about before buying a house that needed major work, and things that were also a pleasant surprise. So whether you are considering buying a fixer upper house or are in one and can relate, this post is for you! Now I am not a real estate agent, and I am not an expert in construction or finances, but my perspective comes from a millennial first time home buyer who is an expert in interior design. 1. Time equals money It has not been any secret that i’ve been trying to revamp my 1970’s house on a tiny budget. Like TINY. After spending less than $400 on my kitchen, I felt like a champ. The rest of my projects have has similar success; I’ve kept budgets low and had great results. However, the time I’ve sacrificed was something I didn’t fully consider. For example, it took 6 full days to finish our kitchen, which does not seem like much, but this was days spent inside, putting sweat equity into the house instead of doing anything else. My advice to you when looking at a house that needs work – be realistic about how much time you have, but more than that, if you can’t afford to outsource work (a painter, laborer, contractor, etc) then be realistic […]