We have come along way since June 2015 when we purchased our 3rd home. 
Our house stats when we purchased it were:
3,534 sqft
5 bedrooms
4 bathrooms
Purchase price: $160,000
Appraisal value at purchase: $180,000
When we bought this house, we knew it would require a good amount of work. We spent $40,000 in improvements just in the first year, and the majority of that went toward mandatory or practical improvements (not the fun cosmetic stuff), but after a year of work, we can finally rest easy knowing that we made a good investment.
When we moved in to this house, we had insane house bills for the entire first year. Not only were we paying to fix things that needed fixing, but we had added insurance costs because our home had previously been a foreclosure. We also paid a much higher rate for very little insurance coverage due to the fact that we had cloth wiring and extremely old galvanized plumbing. Our electric bill was sky high in the hot months (which in Florida is about 360 days per year) because of old single-pane windows and very little insulation. Additionally the PMI (private mortgage insurance) we had to pay for not being able to put down a 20% down-payment tacked on almost $200 per month.
So we were on a mission to lower those costs in every way possible. We focused on material updates that would increase our home’s value (to help us get rid of our PMI), and also anything to help us lower our insurance costs or save on utilities. The updates we did in the first year included:
- Replacing all the windows- $5,000
- Replacing one of the A/C units- $1,000
- Purchasing and installing all kitchen appliances (there were NONE originally)- $5,000
- Paid handymen to remove above ground pool built into part of the deck and the deck that surrounded it- $1,200
- Replacing all galvanized plumbing- $5,000
- Replacing and updating electrical (removing cloth wires)- $2,500
- Drywall repair after redoing plumbing and electrical- $3,000
- Installing a home security system complete with smart-home thermostats and smoke detectors- $100
- Redoing the hall bathroom (the sub-floor under the tile was moldy from a small leak that was never fixed and when you walked on the tile floor it moved similar to that of a trampoline under your feet)- $2,000
- Purchasing and installing doors (multiple rooms didn’t have any doors- thus the beauty of buying a foreclosure)- $600
- Fixing leak in sports room ceiling/reworking lighting/drywall repair- $1,500
- Replacing lights in kitchen with recessed can lighting- $500
- DIY wall install in master bedroom to make a walk through closet- $300
- Built in IKEA closets- $1,900
- Reworking lighting in upstairs master bedroom and relocating some wall outlets in the nursery- $1,000
- Drywall repair and painting for upstairs- $1,000
- Replacing upstairs floors (including 2 bedrooms and stair landing) and stairs with hardwood floors- $5,200
- Adding foam insulation in walls and attic throughout the house- $800
- DIY painting interior walls, purchasing and installing light fixtures (where there were none) and other minor DIY fixes- $2,400
Total first year costs: $40,000
After a year, we were hopeful that our updates combined with the housing market’s natural climb would get us an appraisal of at least $200k to allow us to cancel our PMI payments. (In order to cancel PMI manually, you have to purchase and order an appraisal on your home and it has to come back at least 20% above your original home loan price).
Our current home stats are:
3,534 sqft
5 bedrooms
4 bathrooms
Purchase price: $160,000
Appraisal value at purchase: $180,000
Appraisal value 1 year later: $275,000
After a year of hard work, staying focused on our budget and gritting our teeth while putting our hard earned money into many practical things that will possibly never be seen (i.e. plumbing and electrical), we are proud to say that our home appraised $115,000 more than we purchased it for and with an overall investment of $200,000 ($160,000 purchase price + $40,000 renovations), that gives us a net equity value of $75,000! Also, after cancelling our PMI and making the necessary updates per our insurance requirements, we were able to get solid home insurance coverage and reduce our monthly payments by almost $400.
We are in our dream house and we don’t have plans to flip this house anytime soon, but it’s comforting to know that we wouldn’t be underwater if we had to sell. In the meantime, stick around, follow along as we work our way through our home updates and renovations. Now that we’re through the worst of the mandatory fixes, we can finally focus on the fun stuff.
Next up: Backyard makeover!