Renovation - out of money AGAIN

[Kevinthesnipe]

Can’t wait for this nightmare to be over. All our money is in the house now and now the money has ran out AGAIN.
No more loans or credit cards available - got a decent amount of equity in but can’t remortgage for another year without paying huge exit fees. House is able to be lived in but not finished, now with the cost of living going up I just can’t see it being finished ever.
Its really starting to get me down now it’s just so bloody depressing. Anyone else been here and managed to come out the other side not bankrupt with marriage and mental health intact??

Gosh @Kevinthesnipe that sounds tough and I get the frustration. We're on our 3rd renovation and with the best planning and budgeting based on our experience we have still run out of money before being able to refurbish our en-suite or replace the garage doors. Cost of materials and labour have doubled in the last year and probably like you we couldn't afford to buy a fully done up house of the size we need in the SE so have had to do it this way.

What are the two rooms you have left?

@Snoken while I'm not normally a 'be kind' type I think it's a shame with all your experience of trades and no doubt where to spend, where to save, what to prioritise etc. that you chose to be annoyed rather than helpful. It's not all Insta and Pinterest aspiration, most people are just trying to create homes for their families in a really difficult circumstances.

how rude. no need to swear

I think you might have quoted the wrong person. I am totally with you.

not sure what you mean or are getting at?

it was a statement of FACT. cheap credit is over for good. people need to save. DH and I saved before we bought our house outright, with no debt

So sorry @Snoken I meant that comment for @NCFT0922

im betting that was some time ago.

saving to buy outright is a very poor financial decision with rising prices and high rents.

sorry op - im in a similar position. I’m hopeful that with a final push the kitchen will be in and in a year once I remortgage things will be easier. I do understand- it’s not forever but I too am utterly sick of living in a building site.

@NCFT0922 yes it was aimed at you and the other nasty commentator. Regardless of whether you joint own 🙄 a company, there’s no need to be so rude. Let’s hope your well managed company rides out the recession eh…

@Gettingonabitnow it will do. Thank you for your concern.

I'm sorry this is happening op. You won't be the only people forced to buy a project due to your budget, and it's not your fault that the cost of everything is rocketing. Just ignore the people revelling in the misfortune of other people or dying to tell you how they made better choices. Most right-thinking people feel nothing but sympathy for you.

Stop watching Grand Designs, stop watching anything that hints of a domestic life. After a long day we'd relax in front of Battlestar Galactica - now they had real problems out there in deep space.

Stop looking at Instagram, cut out friends and family that pull faces, head tilt or mention in by Christmas. Hang out with the cheerful, the robust, the ones that can see into the future.

Stop going to the gym, having a social life, doing anything, even cooking complicated meals and crack on. Encourage each other, get a site radio and keep saying 'its an investment for our future'

Spend money on stuff that you won't want to change or you touch all the time, save else where. Children will wreck your carpet and upholstery but not your front door, your banisters, the guttering. Technology dates, keep it simple.

It will pass and then in ten years you'll be sat on your sofa, having wrapped some presents, pottered around the garden and be passing similar information on to the next wave of project home owners. You are not the first in this situation and you won't be the last and we end up with the best homes.

This is an excellent post 🙂

you need to tidy , clean , clear the house as much as you can to make it better. Then just knuckle down and plod on with one small job at a time , I find when I’m low on money there is always something to do that needs doing but dosnt cost 1000’s.

I’ve never been on tik tok or instagram 🙂

id go and deliver pizzas for dominos if I was struggling for money and needed it to move on.

Someone I worked with years ago always used to say “ there are no problems,only solutions “ And it’s stuck with me the whole of my life.

chin-up op and crack on.👍

Super post! 🙂

We are struggling with our renovation and I am finding it so helpful to read some of these responses.

I drew up a list of everything that needs doing yesterday. Found out I can do a lot myself. But some things really do need tradesmen and our builder has gone on to his next job and I am panicking he won't bother to come back and do what needs doing to ours.

We have to be on the market in the spring and there is so much still to be done

As someone about to start a renovation I needed this!! At the end of it all we will have the best house because it’s been perfectly designed and made for us.

I buy a house and renovate then let it out. It often takes a while. Sometimes everything needs doing. DH is good at doing jobs but he is sometimes too busy with work to get much time off. We pay for electrics, gas and plumbing but tiling, kitchen fitting, laying laminate, laying carpet, putting in new doors, paining, wallpaper, and garden tidying we do ourselves. It takes us much longer than a tradesman to do a job but it is done to a high standard. The good thing for us is we are not living in house at same time as renovating it. I have bought some brilliant kitchen including appliances bargains on eBay and we have hired a large van to go and dismantle and collect.

Draw up a list of everything that needs doing. Plan an order of work. Price up jobs. I try to do 1 room at a time if possible. I only do kitchen which is a big job when DH has a weeks holiday..