The Craigslist House
The “Flip” that started it all… THE CRAIGSLIST HOUSE Part 2
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: oh, how I wish we had more before and progress pictures to share of our Craigslist house, that first “flip”.
I suppose you’ll have to settle for reading words and looking at pictures with our kids in them – just note what’s in the background.
The Craigslist House: First Year Priorities
There were three things that took priority in within the first year of living at The Craigslist House:
- Flooring
- Interior Paint
- Clean Water
The Craigslist House was on well water and testing of the well revealed bacteria in the well as well as a major hardware issue, forcing us to install a whole house water filtration system. We chose a reverse osmosis system by Purlogix, which cost a whopping $5,000.
As much as this cute-as-a-button kiddo makes your heart want to explode as you look at this photo, I know you see what she is standing on. That flooring had to go, ASAP
As it turns out, the floors were the second largest expense we’d incur at the The Craigslist House. We scored this 5″ Brazilian Angelim for $3,750 and carried them throughout the 1500 sq.ft. house.
Before the floors, though, we cleaned and painted the entire interior ourselves. So. Much. Paint. You’ll notice my taste has evolved a bit over the years. Ahem: baby blue and lime green – a Young House Love recommendation!
How did you THE CRAIGSLIST HOUSE FLIP with no money?
Like I’ve told you, when we bought this house we had almost NO extra cash – maybe $2000 to our name. So how did we do it? Thankfully, there was a first time home buyers program that gave us $10,000! We took full advantage.
The remainder of this fixer-upper went something like this…
- Renovate the hall and master bathroom
- A kitchen facelift
- Replace damaged windows
- Replace siding
- A deck refresh
- Fence Install
- Landscape
DiY Or Die
Life was one big DIY project after another over the course of the next three years. We became accustomed to designing and tackling our house projects on almost no budget. Inspiration via Pinterest, education via YouTube. We’d figure out how to get materials or for cheap and DIY’d our way through just about everything. My proudest find ever was the siding: I paid $950 for siding for our whole house, delivered! Cha-ching!
CRAIGSLIST HOUSE Renovation: In the middle
In the middle of our season at The Craigslist House, amidst all the DIY projects, we had another baby and I finished nursing school. Then, unexpectedly, Uriah was let go from his job due to a company restructure. You can imagine the anxiety! We totally panicked. But as you will see, there is a common thread that runs in the background of our story: God provides.
Just then, I got a call from the telemetry floor nurse manager who offered me a position as staff RN – exactly when we needed it.
Have you ever been in the midst of an ordeal that totally wrecks your world? But just at the right moment something fills its place? That’s not even the end of the story. It’s happened over and over again. Read to the end to see what happened next.
But How Much Did It Cost??
Because I know you’re going to ask, here is the approximate amount we spent on renovations over 4 years:
- Water Filtration System – $5,000
- Interior and Exterior Paint – $1,000
- Hardwood Floors – $3,750 plus $840 for labor
- Hardiplank Siding – $950 delivered
- Landscaping rocks and new gravel for driveway – $1,000 + $900 for labor
- Concrete countertops in kitchen/master bathroom and concrete tile floors for master bathroom – $100 (Uriah worked at a company that made concrete products so we got these at material cost)
- New Doors -front, basement and exterior – found on craigslist $750
- Bathroom Renos – $1,250 each
- Carpet in basement playroom – $500
- Stainless Steel appliances – $3,000
- Miscellaneous supplies – $3,500
Total expenses over 4 years, approximately: $23,700
In total, the financial investment of about $23,700, the emotional investment of our sanity and sacrifice of time resulted in a profit of $73,000. It altered the trajectory of our lives.
Would you believe that before we moved away from the Craigslist house, Uriah was offered a position at a real estate hedge fund, based out of California? God is so good. He loves you and me so well… and he ALWAYS provides.
Our intention is that by sharing our story, it will inspire you to think differently about your home, that it will give you hope, anyone can the potential in your home, if you buy at the right price, at the right time and improve in the right places.
