5 Things I Wish I Knew Before We Bought a Fixer Upper

1. You really do need to create a detailed budget.

It’s boring, I know!! But I cannot stress it enough… Understanding how much you will need to spend on each item is crucial. It helps you prioritize projects and stay sane as you manage the timeline.

2. You will (most likely) need to prepare to go over that budget.

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before! Whether you didn’t account for purchasing tools (like us 🙂 ), or you fall in love with countertops that are more expensive than you were expecting, or you have an issue with HVAC that was unanticipated, something will come up.

Of course, you can always choose to cut back in other areas to compensate for the extra costs (i.e. go with cheaper cabinets to make up for the more expensive countertops). Just be prepared to pick and choose if you truly want to stick to your initial budget.

3. You will have to make decisions that you don’t want to make

You can’t always get what you want. but you just might find you get what you neeeed! 😉 Example: We have a column on the corner of our kitchen island. I really did NOT want that column there, but we would have had to completely reroute our HVAC system in order to eliminate the column. We truly didn’t have the money to do that, so we just stuck with the column.

Although I don’t love the column, it’s not an eyesore, and it’s actually fun to decorate. Try to look on the bright side for each comprise that arises. 🙂

4. Create a timeline… and then double it

Let’s just take my experience for example. We closed in early October, and we thought we would have all our projects completed (including the kitchen!!) by January. That would be about three months.

Well… we were both working full time and doing all the work ourselves, which really limited us! BUT we worked our tail off on nights and weekends, and we ended up moving in on February 2. (4 months after we closed)

The catch? We still were using the original kitchen from the 70s!!! We were still in the process of saving $$$ for the cabinets and countertops. Once we had the funds to do so, we ordered both, but the lead time for both custom cabinets and countertops is about 8 weeks. Our kitchen didn’t end up being totally finished (backsplash and everything) until one year later, or 1 year and 4 months after purchasing our fixer upper.

Y’all can read all about our kitchen progress here!

5. The process is really fun if you have the right attitude.

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” I love that quote, and it definitely applies to those who take on a fixer upper! There will be days that you just don’t feel like working on your home, but due to scheduling, you have to push through and work.

My advice for those days when you just don’t want to work: take a break for an hour or have a relaxing morning if you need the mental break. Then, get up, put on some fun music, and get to work.

Ask yourself: at the end of the day, will I regret not doing this?

I documented how getting a fixer upper “fixed up my entire life” and y’all can read that HERE.

It’s all about perspective!

In conclusion…

The best way to learn anything is to roll up your sleeves and get to work. That being said, I’m hoping these few tips can help you as you prepare to take on a fixer upper of your own.