Happy Friday!!!! The weekend is finally here and I don’t have anything planned as of yet.   These kind of weekends have become my favorite lately

I set a goal for myself to go to the gym BEFORE work this morning.  I set my alarm for 5am, had my stuff all packed up and even slept in my gym clothes last night.  My alarm went off at 5am and I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth.  After that…I saw my bed and layed right back down in it.  I’m glad I had an alarm set at 5am just to brush my teeth.

I don’t know how people workout in the mornings.  It’s just NOT ME.  I like every minute of sleep that I can get.  I truly admire those morning exercisers and I hope that some day I can be one of them.  So it looks like a gym sesh is in store for me after work today. 

I successfully took one week off from the gym and it felt pretty damn good.  I didn’t gain weight, I don’t look different, I just feel rested.  This was my first full week off from the gym since my cruise in January.  I think everyone needs a break now and then.  It’s good for the body (especially when you’re recovering from a sickness)!

I know this is random but I’ve totally got the itch to flip another house lately.  I am a kinda girl that likes to get my hands on stuff and do DIY projects.  I thought I’d share my past house flipping experience with you, for those that are interested…

I made this blog post a year and a half ago and wanted to re-post it.  Enjoy

How to Flip A House For Cheap!

“As a kid growing up, I always imagined my first home to be a move in ready, cute-as-a-button home where I would just come in and have fun decorating.  As I grew older and became more educated on real esate (thanks to my boyfriend!), I realized that my first home wasn’t going to be what I had originally planned.

In September of 2010, I started the search for my first place.  I wasn’t quite sure what type of house I wanted, but I knew I wanted one that needed some work.  After seeing about 50 places, I remember seeing the last one and knew that it was THE ONE!  Because I was looking for a fixer-upper, I didn’t think I’d ever get the feeling of knowing that this was THE house for me, when so much work had to be put into it to make it how I wanted it.  I was wrong because I had that feeling almost instantly.

Mid October, 2010, I walked out of the closing with keys in hand to my first home!

I would be lieing if I told you I didn’t second guess myself constantly after buying the home.  I would have serious anxiety trying to determine if I made the right decision.  The one thing that made me more confident in my decision was the experience in construction that my boyfriend had.  We decided to do almost the entire renovation ourselves, with only a little help from contractors that my boyfriend already had a relationship with.  If I were to have a contractor do the renovations on my home, I would have spent about $40-50k on renovations.  The cost of my renovations ended up costing me about $13k.

The hardest part of this renovation was having to live through it all.  It’s tough when you come home from working a full-time job and don’t have a kitchen, or have dust/debris all over everything else!

What had to be done:

Kitchen:

• New Stainless Steel Appliances (counterdepth fridge, dishwasher, microwave, hood, range & faucet)
• Install Tile
• Remove Wallpaper
• Paint
• Install Travertine backsplash
• New ceiling fan
• New electric & pendent lights

Living Room:

• Buy and Install new red oak hardwood floors

Dining Room:

• Remove Wallpaper
• Paint
• Fix Plaster ceiling damage
• New electric work and chandelier
• Install new red oak hardwood floors

Main Bathroom:

• Install new exhaust fan

Office:

• Remove wallpaper
• Paint

Guest Bedroom:

• Remove Wallpaper
• Paint

Master Bedroom:

• Remove Wallpaper
• Paint

Master Bathroom:

• Remove old built in vanity/mirror
• Remove tile on walls
• Demo shower and all walls down to studs
• Expand shower width and height
• Tear up old bathroom floor and lay new subfloor
• Install new tile on bathroom floor and one wall
• Install Slate tile on shower floor and perimeter
• Re-work plumbing in shower
• Replace toilet
• Install new drywall
• New shower hardware
• New vanity & Mirror
• Paint

Entry Way:

• Remove existing tile
• Remove existing paneling on walls
• Install new drywall
• Install new tile
• Add baseboard trim and trim out an entry table
• Add crown molding
• Paint new drywall

Other:

• Needed to buy washer & dryer
• Switch out all light switch plates/covers
• Remove paneling in attached kitchen area, drywall and paint

Wow, this list makes me tired looking at it!  In the end, this took my boyfriend and I about 4 months and only $13,000 to flip this whole house!!!! We are now living in it and loving every minute of it. 

Here are some before and after pictures of our renovation…enjoy

Living Room:

Kitchen:

Entry Way:

Dining Room:

Master Bathroom:

Office:

Tips:

1.) USE COUPONS!  My biggest tip on saving money when flipping a house would be to USE COUPONS at Lowes, Home Depot or Menards.  Here is a secret….if you go to the post office, you can ask them for a Change Of Address envelope.  Inside this envelope has a 10% off Lowes coupon.  I made several trips to the post office during these 4 months of renovations to get coupons.  The best part about these Lowes coupons is that they are accepted at Home Depot and Menards too! 

2.) Shop around and look for sales on appliances: I bought all of my appliances when they were having a HUGE sale at Sears.  I also got a contractors discount because my boyfriend has connections

3.) Don’t be scared to Buy Used: I purchased my washer & dryer from Craigslist and they have worked like a charm!!

4.) Do it yourself!  We tried to do almost everything ourselves.  If there is a project around the house that you think you can manage on your own, do it yourself!  Contractor’s prices are way too expensive!  Buy a book, look online, watch you-tube videos and LEARN how to DIY!

Overall, I’m thrilled about purchasing a fixer upper for my first home.  It was a very intimidating at first, but I realize that I have increased the market value of my home by a LOT for an excellent price.”

Would you ever buy a fixer upper or would rather a move in ready house to avoid the headaches?