Just curious... to those who bought homes that need work and updating - We bought the house in Aug. moved in Oct. Has this happened to anyone else out there - When we first closed we got so much done we were working on the house day and night - Once we moved in things started to slow down. I have been living without a kitchen since - Plus... I never thought we would go through the money we had saved for repairs so quickly - I thought we were going to be able to do so much more - We decided to paint and distress our wood cabinets - so far it's been a month and they are still not complete - everything takes so long - To those of you who have bought a home that needed no work - I envy you...
Fran M
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
A friend of mine once told me she needed only one appliance in kitchen - A Phone!
I know you probably dont want to live that forever but think of how long you will be enjoying your home. I takes time to do a good job. Dont stress over it. You will get finished. Like any other large task try to set goals for yourself and break it down to smaller tasks. Enjoy your new home.
MSCJLK
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
I feel the same way...we have been saying that we were going to change the carpet in our downstairs bedrooms. Ok then our fridge went, then the washing machine so there went the money for that...Rememeber rome was not built in a day big things first
michele31
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
It takes years to get your home the way you want, and then when you finally think you are done, you start new projects. I would just make a list of what you NEED and what you WANT. Then prioritize the lists. And like a wedding, the money goes fast and is never enough.
NovemberSue
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
You also may want to check to see if you qualify for the STAR program to save some money.
Scoop
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
We closed on our house in June. Fi moved in right away and I moved in after we got married in November. Although, my house didn't need that much work, we still have many 'projects' to complete. It's been quite stressful but we made a pact to complete an affordable 'project' each month. For big stuff, we will save and work on later. January's project is buying curtains. Yes, the entire neighborhood can see everything we do....except in the bedroom of course, the only room that has curtains so far.
Things will work out. Don't stress. Best of luck to you.
jenny11.9
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
we moved into our home 7 years ago! that first month we 'did the office'. since then, we have moved from room to room...and finally it is done! And beautiful! And guess what! 'the office' is next - again!!!!!!
Claud2001
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
I definitely agree that you need to prioritize!! Especially since you [Junebride] have a baby coming soon!! Try to get your kitchen into a somewhat usable state. I think that you will find it even harder to function in a home w/o any kitchen after the baby is born - how will you wash bottles, nipples, toys, etc??
Take your time and try to enjoy the process!
teresa518
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
We bought our house in Feb 1999 - Almost 4 years ago. It needed a ton of work and we haven't gotten to too much of it.
First we started with the Bathroom - couldn't move in until it was completed.
After that, we have installed new electric and heating systems as well as painted Living Room, Bedroom and Dining Room - with new carpets.
Now we're onto the basement - installing a new laundry room - which will double as my kitchen while we're re-doing ours.
And all we've touched so far is the first floor and basement. We still have the 2nd floor to get started. I feel like we'll never finish.
Our current project - the laundry room - has turned into a huge one since we decided to put in cabinets and a sink to ensure that we have space for all of our linens and a place to fill up a bucket to wash floors, do hand washing of clothes, etc. It's turning into a much larger project than we had expected. Also, we need to re-configure much of the plumbing to accommodate relocation of the washer and dryer. Fortunately, my DH can do this himself.
We have major plans for the rest of the house but the money doesn't always stretch as far as we would expect.
We take it one project at a time and try not to get overwhelmed with one project knowing that there's another just around the corner.
Yikes. I always feel like we haven't done much but when you put in on paper, it sounds like a lot more.
Hope this makes you feel like you are not alone!!! Good luck with your kitchen. I know it can be difficult to be without a kitchen, especially with a baby.
Sonicstef
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Re: Homeowners... what still needs to be done?
We have been living in our home for 4 years. When we first moved in we did some renovations right away with shady contractors because that was all we could afford. Aside from painting, we didnt have any money left for all the projects we wanted.
Now that the wedding is over we have a few major to-dos like custom bookshelves in the dining room, new front door, redo kitchen, etc..
Our house is close to a 100 years old so there are a lot of little thing that are wrong with it. It will take us a lifetime to get it right but thats okay.
