Fixer Upper Friday: Cost of Renovations $0

Our $0 renovation

This isn't going to be a post about scouring the internet for the best deal on fixtures. Or how to find upcycled goods at salvage yards. Or even how to cut your contractor costs by doing some DIY yourself. (Though, I can readily get behind any one or all of those things.)

This is about something very real that you don't hear too much about in the home blogs. How to buy a home that's equity will pay for your renovation.

If I were to add up the cost of the renovations to our new home - contractor fees, materials, and fixtures - it totals more than $40k. But it didn't cost us a cent.

Wa-wa-what what? That's right. Here's how we did it.

Yes, You Can Sell Your Own Home FSBO!

I am closing on my sale in a week!

We've met all the major milestones for me to be able to say with confidence that my FSBO has been a complete success. Here is what I did to get the best price for my home. You can do it too.

Real Estate Closings Are Taking Longer Than Ever!

It's been a while since my last post. For once I had a summer without projects. That's right, we spent the summer biking, BBQing, and beach sitting. And it was lovely!

Truth be told, our little cottage could use a new roof, and come next spring it will get one. But what's really keeping me in thrall these days are my Carroll Gardens sale and my Jackson Heights purchase.

The sale is in the home stretch. (Ba-dump-bump.)

The buyer has been approved by the board. The bank has all they need. The subletters are moving out when their lease ends at the end of the month. I wish I could tell you that we have a closing date locked in, but we do not.

The buyer has been trying his best to wrangle all the lawyers since his board approval August 28th. Yes - almost a full month of lawyers comparing calendars and shrugging.

What gives?

And my purchase is going even slower. It took two months from my offer date to get all the due diligence documents in. I still don't know what the hold up was. Was it possible it was all due to August vacations?

Then I went into my lawyers office to sign the contract, check in hand, only to find that the seller's lawyer had never sent it!

So I'm heading back tomorrow a second time on my lunch hour -- hoping this is it.

At this rate I am estimating we won't be in the new place until December -- make that January if we run into holidays.

Bah humbug!

My Carroll Gardens FSBO Got Multiple Bids

When I decided to sell my home, I did a FSBO. Unemployed at the time, I had been subletting since I'd moved in with Mr. Renov8or. My experience as a landlord was mostly positive. My tenants paid the rent on time and in exchange, when something was wrong I jumped to fix it. That's the social contract, right?