[Financing] Renovations on new home before moving question

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TXDoc21
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[Financing] Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

We have put an offer on a home that needs some work done before we move in (kitchen, new floors). We are getting contractors out this week to estimate our cost before we proceed. This home will be 20+ year home (that’s the plan anyway, Lord willing).

In our current home we have 300K equity (sale - mortgage - closing costs).

We have a down payment and closing costs for new home.

We can cash flow some renovations from other cash savings and then cash flow. Is a HELOC a reasonable option?

We are thinking the renovations will be around 150-200K but we don’t know and that’s why we are getting contractors out to tell us before we fully commit to this.

We love the neighborhood, school district, house, lot, etc. it’s close to where we live now.

How would you proceed?
folkher0
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by folkher0 »

It will take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expect.

Plan your move accordingly.

Personally I would do the bare minimum to make it livable right now and plan on cosmetic renovations to take place more slowly in the future.
Californiastate
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Californiastate »

I'd definitely renovate before you move in if you can afford it.
wilked
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by wilked »

150-200K for a kitchen and new floors? That sounds crazy to me unless you are expanding the house
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

We are thinking of pushing a wall back about 5-6 feet (x30 feet) to add on ~150-180 square feet. Then do the kitchen remodel. Then redo the floors probably in about 70%+ of the <4000 square foot house.

With the home equity and cash flow, I think it is doable. We just need some contractors out to give us estimates of what it will cost.
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Watty
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Watty »

Getting remodeling done right now is a nightmare since contractors are so overwhelmed and there are all the supply chain problems.

I think there was a post awhile back where someone mentioned they were facing a six month delay in getting some high end kitchen appliances and they were not sure that if they would get them then.

There is a house up the street from me that someone bought and they are doing some significant remodeling before they move in. I don't know many details but it looks like they are doing things like new windows, siding, adding a sunroom, and probably lots of interior updates too.

The crazy thing is that they will literally go several weeks with no one working on the house and then workers will work for a few days then disappear again.

It has been over six months so far and at this rate I will be surprised if it does not take more than a year before they can move in. There have also been things going on like they have removed windows and left open holes in the walls for weeks before putting the new windows in. That has to be a mess with rain and birds getting into the house.
TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:37 am How would you proceed?
I would not do anything now that does not absolutely need to be done to make the house livable.

You might put the new flooring in now since that will be hard to do once you move in. I would delay redoing the kitchen for a few years until things get to be more normal.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

By the time the closing date comes around in December I will have an extra 50K and could even make it 75K by deferring taxable contributions (not being used for closing) and not tapping into money in checking or E-fund.

With 300K home equity and then just call it 75K extra in cash I feel like I should be able to make this work to get renovations done (hopefully for less than 200K) before we move in and not have to sell our current home.

Is the best vehicle to tap into the home equity a HELOC?

Would anyone do anything differently? Is my logic ok?

If I end up deferring the taxable contributions I will be keep a ledger of this and pay myself back when the house closes. This is not intended to be lifestyle creep. Just trying to figure out how to cash flow everything.

Thank you for your help.
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Watty
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Watty »

TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:31 am ....I feel like I should be able to make this work to get renovations done (hopefully for less than 200K) before we move in and not have to sell our current home.
If you are planning on keeping your current house as a rental then there are all sorts of issues with that so it would be good to outline the details of that in a seperate post. Keeping a house you have lived in as a rental property rarely makes sense because you will lose the home owners capital gains exemption.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

Plan is to sell our current home as soon as we move into the new home. No plans to rent out our current home since we did not buy it with that in mind and I don’t think it would be a good rental.
wilked
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by wilked »

So in your mind is the order of operations:

1. Close on new home, pay closing costs (down payment, etc)
2. Renovate new home while living in existing home, use HELOC to finance
3. Move into newly renovated home, list prior home
4. Close on prior home, pay off HELOC with proceeds

Yes?

I'd be wary of that HELOC screwing up your loan closure on the new home... careful there
fortunefavored
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by fortunefavored »

Unless you can afford to carry both houses for 6+ months, have an existing relationship with a good contractor, and are VERY flexible on finishes/appliances/etc.. I'd say forget it.

The fact you're entertaining a HELOC tells me no. Prices are eye popping and time lines are crazy for any renovation work.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:01 am So in your mind is the order of operations:

1. Close on new home, pay closing costs (down payment, etc)
2. Renovate new home while living in existing home, use HELOC to finance
3. Move into newly renovated home, list prior home
4. Close on prior home, pay off HELOC with proceeds

Yes?

I'd be wary of that HELOC screwing up your loan closure on the new home... careful there
Yes. That is the order of operations we are thinking.

Can you explain what you mean by screwing up closing?
wilked
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by wilked »

An alternative

Get the floors done, will be nice to get it done with nothing in the house. Pay out of pocket. Don't do the kitchen floors

Do the kitchen in a year. In a year you will know more about likes/dislikes of the house, that gives time for design work / line up contractors, and you may decide it is not needed after all (maybe just a facelift)
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

fortunefavored wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:07 am Unless you can afford to carry both houses for 6+ months, have an existing relationship with a good contractor, and are VERY flexible on finishes/appliances/etc.. I'd say forget it.

The fact you're entertaining a HELOC tells me no. Prices are eye popping and time lines are crazy for any renovation work.
We have several options for contractors. We could carry both mortgages for a very long time in terms of cash flow per month. All the cabinets will be made by a contractor friend who specializes in that. He did a great job for us before.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:12 am An alternative

Get the floors done, will be nice to get it done with nothing in the house. Pay out of pocket. Don't do the kitchen floors

Do the kitchen in a year. In a year you will know more about likes/dislikes of the house, that gives time for design work / line up contractors, and you may decide it is not needed after all (maybe just a facelift)
That is a very interesting idea. Floors could be done quickly in the grand scheme of things.
wilked
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by wilked »

TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:13 am
fortunefavored wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:07 am Unless you can afford to carry both houses for 6+ months, have an existing relationship with a good contractor, and are VERY flexible on finishes/appliances/etc.. I'd say forget it.

The fact you're entertaining a HELOC tells me no. Prices are eye popping and time lines are crazy for any renovation work.
We have several options for contractors. We could carry both mortgages for a very long time in terms of cash flow per month. All the cabinets will be made by a contractor friend who specializes in that. He did a great job for us before.
A rough schedule I'd plan on

Design - 2 months. Contractor likely to design it. Build plans of the existing house, likely model 3-D, interview owners for needs/wants, iterate the design 3-4 times before all agreeing. Price iterations along the way

Get permitting - this can vary depending on location, but don't overlook it. You said you are going to change the envelope of the house, be aware of neighbor setbacks, etc. Might be nothing, but also might be a big deal.

Order long lead items (appliances, cabinets) - many appliances are 3-6 months out, some longer. Get in line once the design is done and you're committed

Line up the trades - it's no good to have the plumber and carpenter ready if the electrician is over a month out. For any trades worth a #### you need to get in line and the overall GC needs to reserve time from each on a common schedule. I'd expect 2-4 months depending on where you are.

My overall point is that this is a year-long project from design to last paintbrush. Maybe 8-9 months if the planets align.
wilked
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by wilked »

TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:10 am
wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:01 am So in your mind is the order of operations:

1. Close on new home, pay closing costs (down payment, etc)
2. Renovate new home while living in existing home, use HELOC to finance
3. Move into newly renovated home, list prior home
4. Close on prior home, pay off HELOC with proceeds

Yes?

I'd be wary of that HELOC screwing up your loan closure on the new home... careful there
Yes. That is the order of operations we are thinking.

Can you explain what you mean by screwing up closing?
if you add the HELOC after the lender has already committed to you it jeopardizes the overall closing. If you do it beforehand, probably ok, and afterward is fine. Just don't do any big credit things in that period between lender commitment and closing
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:22 am
TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:13 am
fortunefavored wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:07 am Unless you can afford to carry both houses for 6+ months, have an existing relationship with a good contractor, and are VERY flexible on finishes/appliances/etc.. I'd say forget it.

The fact you're entertaining a HELOC tells me no. Prices are eye popping and time lines are crazy for any renovation work.
We have several options for contractors. We could carry both mortgages for a very long time in terms of cash flow per month. All the cabinets will be made by a contractor friend who specializes in that. He did a great job for us before.
A rough schedule I'd plan on

Design - 2 months. Contractor likely to design it. Build plans of the existing house, likely model 3-D, interview owners for needs/wants, iterate the design 3-4 times before all agreeing. Price iterations along the way

Get permitting - this can vary depending on location, but don't overlook it. You said you are going to change the envelope of the house, be aware of neighbor setbacks, etc. Might be nothing, but also might be a big deal.

Order long lead items (appliances, cabinets) - many appliances are 3-6 months out, some longer. Get in line once the design is done and you're committed

Line up the trades - it's no good to have the plumber and carpenter ready if the electrician is over a month out. For any trades worth a #### you need to get in line and the overall GC needs to reserve time from each on a common schedule. I'd expect 2-4 months depending on where you are.

My overall point is that this is a year-long project from design to last paintbrush. Maybe 8-9 months if the planets align.
I think that timeline sounds reasonable. I misspoke earlier. We are probably looking at adding about 60 square feet to the house. Knock out a wall to make room for the kitchen. We are perfectly fine with the timeline. That doesn’t scare us at all. We just need to know what the project would cost and how best to do it.
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Valuethinker »

TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:13 am
wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:12 am An alternative

Get the floors done, will be nice to get it done with nothing in the house. Pay out of pocket. Don't do the kitchen floors

Do the kitchen in a year. In a year you will know more about likes/dislikes of the house, that gives time for design work / line up contractors, and you may decide it is not needed after all (maybe just a facelift)
That is a very interesting idea. Floors could be done quickly in the grand scheme of things.
There are shortages of just about everything building related: materials, labor, skilled subcontractors, appliances (chip shortages) etc etc. This is a global problem, btw, not just in US or even parts of USA. Construction right now is, for the client (and the contractor), just this endless experience of frustration and uncertainty.

The more you can defer to a later year, the better.

Make your house habitable - floors are a good idea because they are such a pain to do after you have moved in.

Wait a year, see if conditions have improved. Then you can look at home finance - HELOC is probably the right solution when you are at that point (HELOC plus some retirement contributions) - I am not US based so don't take that opinion as anything more than that.

Proceed w sale of existing home and thus be in a more solid financial position when it comes time to do this work? Plus you will have a much better idea of how you use the house and what needs changing.
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Watty
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Watty »

TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:45 am We just need to know what the project would cost and how best to do it.
A couple of things to budget for that are easy to miss;

1) Landscaping. The landscaping on the side of the house they are expanding will likely need to be redone.

2) Property taxes. You will likely not qualify for owner occupied tax breaks until you move in and that can be significant in some areas.

3) Changes in the housing market before you are ready to sell your current house. There is no telling what the housing market will be like when you are ready to sell it and in addition to it possibly selling for less than expected if the housing market is soft then it can take a long time to sell the house. Having two mortgage payments could go on for many months after you move.

Selling your current house and renting while the next house is being remodeled would avoid this risk. That would also free up your home equity to pay for the remodeling.

4) Transportation costs to get your kids to and from school. If the remodel is done by next spring(unlikely) you would likely want to let your kids finish out the school year at their old school. Likewise if you can't move into the new house until next October then you might want to let your kids start the next school year at their new school. In either of these situations you would need to transport your kids to and from the school.

If you just got the flooring done then you might be able to move by January so that the kids could start at their new school in January at the start of the second semester.

5) Repainting. With all the work that is being done you may want to repaint the entire house just to make everything match and look fresh.
Last edited by Watty on Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
SuzBanyan
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by SuzBanyan »

TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:45 am
wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:22 am
TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:13 am
fortunefavored wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:07 am Unless you can afford to carry both houses for 6+ months, have an existing relationship with a good contractor, and are VERY flexible on finishes/appliances/etc.. I'd say forget it.

The fact you're entertaining a HELOC tells me no. Prices are eye popping and time lines are crazy for any renovation work.
We have several options for contractors. We could carry both mortgages for a very long time in terms of cash flow per month. All the cabinets will be made by a contractor friend who specializes in that. He did a great job for us before.
A rough schedule I'd plan on

Design - 2 months. Contractor likely to design it. Build plans of the existing house, likely model 3-D, interview owners for needs/wants, iterate the design 3-4 times before all agreeing. Price iterations along the way

Get permitting - this can vary depending on location, but don't overlook it. You said you are going to change the envelope of the house, be aware of neighbor setbacks, etc. Might be nothing, but also might be a big deal.

Order long lead items (appliances, cabinets) - many appliances are 3-6 months out, some longer. Get in line once the design is done and you're committed

Line up the trades - it's no good to have the plumber and carpenter ready if the electrician is over a month out. For any trades worth a #### you need to get in line and the overall GC needs to reserve time from each on a common schedule. I'd expect 2-4 months depending on where you are.

My overall point is that this is a year-long project from design to last paintbrush. Maybe 8-9 months if the planets align.
I think that timeline sounds reasonable. I misspoke earlier. We are probably looking at adding about 60 square feet to the house. Knock out a wall to make room for the kitchen. We are perfectly fine with the timeline. That doesn’t scare us at all. We just need to know what the project would cost and how best to do it.
I’m sure you already know that those 60 sf will be crazy expensive. And that you won’t know how much it will cost until it is completed. I won’t add any more delay and cost escalation horror stories because many can be found here on BH.

If you are willing to wait a year, why not continue to look for a home to buy that is move-in ready?
davebo
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by davebo »

This addition/renovation process will probably take you a year and most likely much longer than that. I did an addition a few years back and the project alone took 6 months and, at that point, we didn't have delays with finding product. We also tacked on another 6 months to find the contractor, design the addition, get permits, and then wait to get slotted into the contractors schedule.

Like someone else said, I'd do the floors and then hold off on anything else until the time is right. If you do decide to move out, you'll move out during the actual construction. With your current plan, you'd be out of the house when there is nothing happening.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by quantAndHold »

TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:14 am We are thinking of pushing a wall back about 5-6 feet (x30 feet) to add on ~150-180 square feet. Then do the kitchen remodel. Then redo the floors probably in about 70%+ of the <4000 square foot house.

With the home equity and cash flow, I think it is doable. We just need some contractors out to give us estimates of what it will cost.
The additional square footage is what is driving the exorbitant cost and time estimates. 150 sqft added to a 4000 sqft house is a drop in the bucket that you probably would never notice in the long run. You could probably save a lot of time and money by making some different decisions about how the interior of the house is configured.

The floors could be done in a few days. In normal times, the kitchen would take 4 months, but with pandemic material and labor shortages, I would double that, and double it again to expand the footprint of the house.

My personal experience was we did the floors and then just moved in. By the time we got to the kitchen, we had lived with it for long enough to realize that what it actually needed was a lot less extensive than what we originally planned. So we designed the kitchen that we actually needed, and spent a lot less money than we would have otherwise.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

Thank you everyone for the feedback. We are meeting with contractors now. I think it will only be about 60 sq feet addition just moving 1 wall. So not too bad. I’ll report back when I get some more information.
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by psteinx »

Watty wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:27 amI think there was a post awhile back where someone mentioned they were facing a six month delay in getting some high end kitchen appliances and they were not sure that if they would get them then.
A simple dishwasher replacement - basically like for like, is taking us 3 weeks (IF it happens on time), all due to labor backups (the dishwasher was in-stock). And that's for what - a one worker, one hour job?

I would NOT undertake a complex renovation right now, unless one was prepared to sink in a lot of:

TIME (spent without access to the house in OP's case)
MONEY
MORE TIME (time to manage contractors and the process)
Scotttheking
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Scotttheking »

Appliances are currently 6 months backlog, cabinets 4 months backlog.
Ordered dishwasher in July, latest estimate is December delivery.
We closed in May and hope to be done sometime next summer. Similar scope. Good luck.
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unclescrooge
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by unclescrooge »

Californiastate wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:50 am I'd definitely renovate before you move in if you can afford it.
+1
It's super painful to do a renovation while living in a house. Especially if your contractor goes AWOL after ripping out your kitchen.
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unclescrooge
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by unclescrooge »

wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:03 am 150-200K for a kitchen and new floors? That sounds crazy to me unless you are expanding the house
My cousin just got a quote to upgrade his master bath. Nothing fancy, but still $80k.

For that amount, I would expect a replica of the Pope's bath in the Vatican, but it wasn't anywhere close to that.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

Scotttheking wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:07 pm Appliances are currently 6 months backlog, cabinets 4 months backlog.
Ordered dishwasher in July, latest estimate is December delivery.
We closed in May and hope to be done sometime next summer. Similar scope. Good luck.
We are going to have the cabinets made for us so not worried about that.

The time will be frustrating for sure. But we can wait it out for a year or more if needed while the house is being worked on.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

Scotttheking wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:07 pm Appliances are currently 6 months backlog, cabinets 4 months backlog.
Ordered dishwasher in July, latest estimate is December delivery.
We closed in May and hope to be done sometime next summer. Similar scope. Good luck.
You know in our other home I ordered a dishwasher from Costco and it came with 6 days. This was about 2 months ago.

We also did a home renovation in our other home and lived through it. We don't want to do this again if we can help it. We are only going to do the stuff that is crucial before we would be moving in to the home (floors, kitchen, paint). That's it. I know a lot, but other things we can do as we go and when we live there. We have good contractor relationships with everyone for those types of things.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

unclescrooge wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:16 pm
wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:03 am 150-200K for a kitchen and new floors? That sounds crazy to me unless you are expanding the house
My cousin just got a quote to upgrade his master bath. Nothing fancy, but still $80k.

For that amount, I would expect a replica of the Pope's bath in the Vatican, but it wasn't anywhere close to that.

I mean...80K? We redid a bathroom earlier this year and we did the whole thing for 6K (we had the original cast iron tub acid washed and then painted). There was even a time the guy fell through the floor due to wood rot. And it still only added a few hundred to the total to come in just under 6K.

That 80K estimate sounds like a "I don't want to do this job, but if you really want me I'll do it for XXX" price. I would shop around if I was your cousin.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

Watty wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:19 am
TXDoc21 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:45 am We just need to know what the project would cost and how best to do it.
A couple of things to budget for that are easy to miss;

1) Landscaping. The landscaping on the side of the house they are expanding will likely need to be redone.

2) Property taxes. You will likely not qualify for owner occupied tax breaks until you move in and that can be significant in some areas.

3) Changes in the housing market before you are ready to sell your current house. There is no telling what the housing market will be like when you are ready to sell it and in addition to it possibly selling for less than expected if the housing market is soft then it can take a long time to sell the house. Having two mortgage payments could go on for many months after you move.

Selling your current house and renting while the next house is being remodeled would avoid this risk. That would also free up your home equity to pay for the remodeling.

4) Transportation costs to get your kids to and from school. If the remodel is done by next spring(unlikely) you would likely want to let your kids finish out the school year at their old school. Likewise if you can't move into the new house until next October then you might want to let your kids start the next school year at their new school. In either of these situations you would need to transport your kids to and from the school.

If you just got the flooring done then you might be able to move by January so that the kids could start at their new school in January at the start of the second semester.

5) Repainting. With all the work that is being done you may want to repaint the entire house just to make everything match and look fresh.
These are good items to think about. Thank you.
1) There isn't any landscaping at this portion of the house. Its about a 10 foot section where this is a patio that will be eliminated. Let's see what it all costs though before we commit.

2) Good point. Will look into it with our tax guy.

3) That is a risk. We have asked several realtors about our area and they all indicate that the home will sell very quickly. Some are friends that have no business relationship with us and never will. That could easily change.

4) This home is <10 minutes from our current home, but in the school district we want. We'll be ok.

5) Yes, also a good point. Will have to make sure it all matches.
Scotttheking
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Scotttheking »

TXDoc21 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:17 am
Scotttheking wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:07 pm Appliances are currently 6 months backlog, cabinets 4 months backlog.
Ordered dishwasher in July, latest estimate is December delivery.
We closed in May and hope to be done sometime next summer. Similar scope. Good luck.
You know in our other home I ordered a dishwasher from Costco and it came with 6 days. This was about 2 months ago.

We also did a home renovation in our other home and lived through it. We don't want to do this again if we can help it. We are only going to do the stuff that is crucial before we would be moving in to the home (floors, kitchen, paint). That's it. I know a lot, but other things we can do as we go and when we live there. We have good contractor relationships with everyone for those types of things.
If you don’t care about model there’s probably something you can find in stock, but be aware that even models costco is promoting on their site show sold out.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

Scotttheking wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:15 am
TXDoc21 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:17 am
Scotttheking wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:07 pm Appliances are currently 6 months backlog, cabinets 4 months backlog.
Ordered dishwasher in July, latest estimate is December delivery.
We closed in May and hope to be done sometime next summer. Similar scope. Good luck.
You know in our other home I ordered a dishwasher from Costco and it came with 6 days. This was about 2 months ago.

We also did a home renovation in our other home and lived through it. We don't want to do this again if we can help it. We are only going to do the stuff that is crucial before we would be moving in to the home (floors, kitchen, paint). That's it. I know a lot, but other things we can do as we go and when we live there. We have good contractor relationships with everyone for those types of things.
If you don’t care about model there’s probably something you can find in stock, but be aware that even models costco is promoting on their site show sold out.
I have a friend who’s company ordered 20,000 sets of kitchen appliances recently. Whoa.
Californiastate
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Californiastate »

TXDoc21 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:20 am
unclescrooge wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:16 pm
wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:03 am 150-200K for a kitchen and new floors? That sounds crazy to me unless you are expanding the house
My cousin just got a quote to upgrade his master bath. Nothing fancy, but still $80k.

For that amount, I would expect a replica of the Pope's bath in the Vatican, but it wasn't anywhere close to that.

I mean...80K? We redid a bathroom earlier this year and we did the whole thing for 6K (we had the original cast iron tub acid washed and then painted). There was even a time the guy fell through the floor due to wood rot. And it still only added a few hundred to the total to come in just under 6K.

That 80K estimate sounds like a "I don't want to do this job, but if you really want me I'll do it for XXX" price. I would shop around if I was your cousin.
It depends on the location and the contractor. A union shop in SF will charge a lot more than a handyman in Des Moines.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by quantAndHold »

TXDoc21 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:20 am
unclescrooge wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:16 pm
wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:03 am 150-200K for a kitchen and new floors? That sounds crazy to me unless you are expanding the house
My cousin just got a quote to upgrade his master bath. Nothing fancy, but still $80k.

For that amount, I would expect a replica of the Pope's bath in the Vatican, but it wasn't anywhere close to that.

I mean...80K? We redid a bathroom earlier this year and we did the whole thing for 6K (we had the original cast iron tub acid washed and then painted). There was even a time the guy fell through the floor due to wood rot. And it still only added a few hundred to the total to come in just under 6K.

That 80K estimate sounds like a "I don't want to do this job, but if you really want me I'll do it for XXX" price. I would shop around if I was your cousin.
It depends on where you are and what you want done. We spent $40k on a bathroom at the beginning of the pandemic. Nothing particularly fancy. Normal sized four piece family bath, taken down to the studs, $4k of structural work, then built back up again with nice, but not extravagant materials. Everything in the same place it was before. Multiple bids, and we chose the cheapest bid that we thought could do the job properly. And it was $40k. It would be a lot more now.
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by MarkerFM »

psteinx wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:50 pm
Watty wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:27 amI think there was a post awhile back where someone mentioned they were facing a six month delay in getting some high end kitchen appliances and they were not sure that if they would get them then.
A simple dishwasher replacement - basically like for like, is taking us 3 weeks (IF it happens on time), all due to labor backups (the dishwasher was in-stock). And that's for what - a one worker, one hour job?

I would NOT undertake a complex renovation right now, unless one was prepared to sink in a lot of:

TIME (spent without access to the house in OP's case)
MONEY
MORE TIME (time to manage contractors and the process)
If you are just replacing a dishwasher that is already there (electric, water supply, drain all good), then it is really trivial to install a new one yourself if you can get help moving it where it needs to go. I did one myself including getting it from the back porch into its place and didn't have to use any bad words or visit the hardware store even once.
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

Well, I think we are going to do it. I'll report back down the road when all is said and done. :sharebeer :sharebeer
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unclescrooge
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by unclescrooge »

TXDoc21 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:20 am
unclescrooge wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:16 pm
wilked wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:03 am 150-200K for a kitchen and new floors? That sounds crazy to me unless you are expanding the house
My cousin just got a quote to upgrade his master bath. Nothing fancy, but still $80k.

For that amount, I would expect a replica of the Pope's bath in the Vatican, but it wasn't anywhere close to that.

I mean...80K? We redid a bathroom earlier this year and we did the whole thing for 6K (we had the original cast iron tub acid washed and then painted). There was even a time the guy fell through the floor due to wood rot. And it still only added a few hundred to the total to come in just under 6K.

That 80K estimate sounds like a "I don't want to do this job, but if you really want me I'll do it for XXX" price. I would shop around if I was your cousin.
They couldn't even get people to give them quotes. And they live in a very nice suburb of SoCal. There is just too much work and too few skilled people right now.
He's going to wait for the next recession.
goblue102
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by goblue102 »

TXDoc21 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:22 pm Well, I think we are going to do it. I'll report back down the road when all is said and done. :sharebeer :sharebeer
Hey OP,
This was roughly 6 months ago… would love to hear an update! I’m considering my a similar move, with similar conditions (we know the area we want to live in and could stay out of the way of a renovation for a while, but hard to judge cost and time in this environment). How has your project progressed? Thanks!
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TXDoc21
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by TXDoc21 »

I wanted to report back regarding my home renovation.

We went for it. The renovations took about 6 months. There have been some little hiccups (still waiting on 1 custom size window - coming soon). Our appliances are trickling in still. Things like that.

But we came in under the proposed budget from our contractor and love the house.

Thanks everyone!
Mr. Rumples
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Mr. Rumples »

Thanks for the update and congratulations on getting it done in a timely manner.
"History is the memory of time, the life of the dead and the happiness of the living." Captain John Smith 1580-1631
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Supergrover
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Re: Renovations on new home before moving question

Post by Supergrover »

OP, I’m so happy for you!
You knew you didn’t want to live through another renovation, you had the $$ to carry both mortgages, etc. That’s the whole point of all this saving and investing, right? Enjoy your new home!
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