So out of my depth… Budget nowhere near enough

[Downdumps]

I’ve name changed for this as my friends don’t know my dire financial straits.

I bought a doer upper (because we had to move and it was all I could afford). I knew I would have a very fixed budget for it, but as I’m starting to get quotes in I’m realising that it doesn’t even touch the sides.

Everything is twice what I expected (I’m not stupid and have renovated houses before, but not for a while). Wtf am I going to do? At this rate my budget is going to run out and I won’t have done half the stuff this house needs. As an example, I’d budgeted around £2k to get the kitchen fitted - first quote is £4k.

Earning more isn’t really an option and the stress of the renovation is already taking its toll. I’ve already borrowed £10k from family. I’m not talking expensive kitchens and marble flooring either, just getting the basics done.

How do people renovate on a budget in this day and age? I’m not skilled so doing things myself isn’t really an option.

I am starting to get really worried I’ve bought a wreck that I’ll never be able to do up. Any advice?

£4k to just fit the kitchen is very high, unless you have a catering kitchen! How many fitters and how many days did they say it would take? If they're earning £250 a day, that's 8 days for 2 men - seems quite a lot. You could make the units up yourself which will save time and tell them not to clean up at the end of the day, you'll do it?

If you sell now.. you might be priced out of anything at all..get on i Instagram. Great ideas there
Forget the 4k. Do any thing structural and then prioritise ' make do etc for time being. Well done for getting on the property ladder but honestly dont jump off

Totally hear you, OP. We are in a very similar position.
Been here nearly 3years. Sometimes I feel totally overwhelmed and just want to run away.
Had a leak over the past few days’ awful weather and it causes me so much anxiety. It’s on top of essential renovations that we have been saving for months/years and just sets us back.
All our money goes on the house!

It’s really hard to do DIY with kids around. Do you actually have time to do it?
I agree with PPs that it may be a case of spending a little money on cheap, facelift type items just to put up with bits you want to change soon.
If it’s just cosmetic, and you are safe, warm and dry, your electric is safe and you have hot water - that is what matters, really.
We bought a few rugs from IKEA to cover the bare floorboards, and used leftover carpet remnants on areas where we are still decorating and haven’t got permanent floor coverings.
We are working from top to bottom.
We have learnt so many DIY skills, but finding the time is really hard.
Kitchen and bathroom are the big ticket items and probably need to be done by trades, ideally (for convenience) a one stop shop although you will save lots by trying to source a 2nd hand / end of line kitchen, as others have said.
We got our bathroom replaced after 2y and hoping for the kitchen to be done later this year.
It will be worth the wait -
I’m glad we haven’t got into debt over it. Adding it to the mortgage means you pay absolutely masses of interest over the whole term.

Step 1: what is going to cause long term damage or kill/injure you? These things you have to do

Step 2: I’m guessing virtually nothing fell under 1. So don’t do it for now. Keep your eyes open for second hand options and sign up to charity shops, eBay alerts, freecycle, everything. Learn how to do stuff yourself on YouTube—if you can’t afford to pay someone then you just have to do it yourself or not do it. E.g. will get paint on freecycle, you do it yourself, yay it looks good! If foors are unsafe buy cheap Lino and do it yourself.

Lower your standards and don’t let your mental health get affected by something silly like this. If you can’t afford it you can’t afford it, it’s not a huge deal.

We bought a doer upper last summer also thinking that we had a rough idea of how much it would cost to do and were floored by how much costs have rocketed and also how hard it is to get anyone to quote for work given how in demand all tradespeople are. We have no experience whatsoever of DIY but have found ourselves watching a lot of YouTube videos and giving it a go. We're currently leveling floors and plumbing in a new bathroom, it might not have the finish that a professional would achieve and it's taking us forever as we have a young child and an infant (born 3 days after we moved in). But we are saving a ridiculous amount of money (two plumbers both quoted over £100 to remove a toilet, which my husband ended up doing in less than 10 minutes after watching people do it on YouTube).

I completely get that it likely feels very overwhelming and I'm not saying do it all yourself, but can you break it all down into smaller tasks, prioritise the things that need doing and within that work out what you might be able to give a go yourself? As long as the house is structurally safe you can take your time with it. Ours looks terrible in most places at the moment but it's a bit by bit journey until we find a magic money tree somewhere.

Oh and just to add to the PP who said £4k to fit a kitchen was high, it's sadly common at the moment. We were quoted that and my friend has just paid £3.5k to have a small kitchen fitted. We elected to spend £30 on wood and tile paint and are painting our kitchen cabinets and tiles instead as a shorter term face-lift. It's made a big difference to our hideous 70s style kitchen.

Do as much yourself as possible. It's exhausting but you have to if you can't afford pros

Could check out i-bidder? They often have things like showroom kitchens, bathrooms, carpets, flooring, etc. Might help cut a few costs.

eg: www.i-bidder.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/ncm/catalogue-id-ncm-au10543/lot-0a383ad6-6c21-42f0-97f5-ae3700fdb6cb

Also, I should add, you will be surprised how much you can do yourself. Just look up videos on YouTube as a guide and things are often a lot easier than you would have thought.

Looks like Ikea now fits kitchen too. Worth a quote? www.ikea.com/gb/en/customer-service/services/kitchen-installation/

Do as much as you possibly can yourself. If you don't have the time with work and the kids, book annual leave to start asap and get sorted while the kids are at school. Or ask relatives to watch them for the day/a few hours to get a chunk of the to do list done.

Do you have any friends/family who could help with a trade in return for feeding them, picking them up and dropping them, or owing them a favour in the future? My dad fitted our carpets and helped paint while we were at work.

Get as much second hand as you can. Think kitchen cabinets, appliances, furniture, radiators... FB marketplace, eBay, gumtree, etc. You can always replace them with new a few years down the line.
If you can't buy second hand, check alternative stores and online. I saw a beautiful kitchen tap in b&q for £80, but bought an identical one on eBay for £30.

Alternatively, buy new materials that are other people's leftovers. We bought some beautiful, expensive laminate that was just enough for our hallway from Gumtree. I found enough new, leftover 10mm underlay for the carpets across eBay and Facebook, and even have spare to pass on. We also picked up 7 boxes of tiles for £30, which would've cost £90+ from a DIY store.

Is there anything you can live without replacing for now? For example, we lived without carpets for months (largely because Covid meant no one would deliver such large items), but we appreciated them soo much once they were fitted. We also didn't have a proper kitchen for months, but made do with a make shift sink area, a fridge, a table to prep food and a gas oven we bought 2nd hand for £20 😁

Unfortunately the cost of materials has increased. Even timber has increased dramatically! Just do your best, it's all you can do.

Prices have gone up massively recently. A combination of of labor and materials. However labor may well have to come down again because people simply can't afford to get work done and building companies are folding.

We lived (with 2 under 5s) in a house many considered uninhabitable and did it up over time. For example, I'm waiting on the kitchen being finished - we don't have a kitchen sink. My walls have channels out and exposed cables from the rewire. No carpet on the landing. Our lounge is our nice safe space. For about 6 months we had no shower as they both leaked in to the rooms below.

Some of these posts are so smug.

Oh we just, DH just...

The OP is a single mum. It's not so easy to do stuff on your own, let alone as a single parent!!

Think before you post about how you & your DH, just muddled through together & picked up bits & pieces....

@Downdumps

Firstly, TRY really hard not to let it get you down!

It sounds to me a bit like you're trying to live up to expectations other have if you or that you feel like you have something to prove to friends/family??

Don't. This is. YOUR house, YOUR home, YOUR life...

Think about what would make YOU happiest getting done first...

If your kids are very young, I'd probably prioritise the lounge. What needs doing in there?? (I'd clean/remove wallpaper whatever the walls need) paint -choose a colour(s) YOU love and make it a happy space. If the kids are teenagers & their rooms are pretty bad, I'd focus on getting ALL the bedrooms done (yours too)

Pre Covid I'd have said about £1500-£2k to get a kitchen fitted, but I know it has gone up, however, unless yours is HUGE I think you need to get other quotes!!

DIY kitchens (up north, not B&Q) do very good kitchen cabinets for a reasonable price. Getting second hand is fine - if you can find something suitable and have friends with a van, otherwise it's a major faff!!

This is your HOME don't feel pressured into getting it all done quickly!! Just bumble at your own speed!!

You will need to learn to do the kitchen surfaces yourself. The only thing that's hard to do is plastering and you have to pay for certificated work. You can learn most other things. It's scary at first. I used to make a mistake, have a little frustrated weep and start again. Now on doer-upper number 4. You can totally do it!

Post each job in detail on quote sites such as www.ratedpeople.com

You'll get a better idea of what people are charging.

Have you considered a second hand kitchen? It's surprising what lovely kitchens people are getting rid off.

I know the feeling though :( my house is horrible. Bare walls and brown tile floors. Can't do it unless we do the kitchen at the same time and that's such a big job all at once.

My dd bought a doer upper with a strict budget. Donedeal is your friend got a kitchen from a show house 1.5k was qouted 33k. Yes had to remove it and refit it but could be done. Doors also had a skilled carpenter to do it. It can be done.

Thanks all, some good tips .

One thing I am good at is sourcing things very cheaply and I’ve already found some bargains, including the kitchen units. Need to source appliances and taps etc now. Will try eBay.

It’s the labour costs that are killing me. And the time it takes to get people out to quote, chase them etc. Meanwhile, I’m not working (self-employed so not working = not earning). So spending weeks learning how to plumb in a bathroom just isn’t an option. We’ll starve!

It’s just a living nightmare and I want my old life back.

Is there a working kitchen? Because if there is just leave it be.

OMG, @FantasticFebruary Thank you, I think you are the only one who gets it!

The kids are teenagers and their rooms are AWFUL. I feel under so much pressure to get them done quickly so they’ll feel happier.

You could opt to go a bit retro and have a freestanding kitchen for now. Obviously the sink has to be plumbed in but you could look for other freestanding units, pantry type cupboards, a dresser, an island on wheels etc

Can the teenagers do their own rooms? If I handed mine a tin of paint, some brushes and a roller they’d be quite happy to put in the work as long as they had design control

@Downdumps

The kids are teenagers and their rooms are AWFUL. I feel under so much pressure to get them done quickly so they’ll feel happier.

If they're teenagers let em loose on their own bedroom. You tube tutorial, paint their own rooms.

If the kids are teens, can they paint the bedrooms themselves? my 13yr old did her own bedroom & is v proud of it even if it isn't perfect.

Also for the teens, wall hangings / posters can cover up a lot of grotty walls & make the place look like 'mine'. which is often more important than having a perfect finish.