A number of people have mentioned that this renovation must be stressing me out. Up until last night it was just annoying…. now I’m stressed. Last night I got the latest bill. If this keeps up I’ll run out of money in two weeks.
Completely tapped out. No other reasonable sources of money. Savings, wiped out. Stock, just selling the last bits today. Piggy bank, that was raided early, it no longer exists. I maxed out on the 2nd mortgage. Relatives, the older ones are still working because they can’t afford to retire, the younger ones are young and broke. There is a ‘do not exceed’ amount in the contract, but I swear he doesn’t believe me when I tell him once he hits that amount there is no more money. None. Zip. That’s it. Pack up and go home. No, dude, really, I got nothing.
The end is sort of in sight but the problem is there are three things not in the house that is stressing me out. Toilet, bath tub and radiators. I was hoping to maybe have some money for AC as the stuff behind the walls have been put in, but now I’d be happy if I get my 3 plumbing needs.
5 thoughts on “Renovation 2007: Gone for broke”
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Some ideas for fundraisers: organize a neighborhood house tour and charge admission ($20); have a yard sale; have a car wash; organize a running race and require that everyone have sponsors; invite the neighbors to a happy hour with a suggested donation; sell lottery tickets; throw a housewarming party and ask your friends to bring their subcontractors; place a PayPal link on your blog; discover a valuable antique in your attic; get a hard-money construction loan from a nefarious lender and refinance when you have increased equity; make friends with lobbyists; make friends with your contractor.
I think the car wash would be my top pick because it would be so useful.
I am sorry to hear about the situation and scared that I will be following you into the abyss very soon.
Before the renovation, I gave away a lot of my things, so I don’t have anything to sell. I had a PayPal button on this blog once, it generated $0.00.
I’m a little less stressed because I played the worse case scenario (selling a half finished house in a softening market) in my head then worked from there to think of other solutions. None of them get me flushed with cash but they involve my goal of getting myself back in my house.
So how much are we talking about needing for the toilet, tub &rads?
I hope the question isn’t too personal, I ‘m just hoping that maybe I can help.
SC
Radiators were quoted somewhere in the 1500-3000 range at different points. I’m not sure if covered part of the work that has been done or what’s left to do. The plumber has already put in new lines they just need to be hooked up. There is no rush on those as they can be done late Summer, early Fall.
The amount I have left (keeping all hard numbers to myself till I run out of money) is around about the same amount of money I spent for the whole kitchen job 3-4 years ago. For the amount left I should be able to get a friggin bathroom.
The lines, plumbing is there for the toilets and the sink and the tub, the plumber just needs to hook it up.
Oh no! Up until 2 weeks ago there was a toilet sitting on our back porch, and 2 radiators up in the attic waiting to be taken away!
FWIW, you didn’t want that ugly old toilet anyway. According to N., a new one is less than $100, and you can count on us for a ride to pick it up. Better yet, you can count on N. to install it for you. When he first told me about that crappy (pun intended) summer job he had back in college – repainting apartments and refitting toilets – I laughed at him.
Then… about 2 weeks ago, Clem flushed a toy down the toilet and it got stuck. WAY stuck. N. had to BREAK the old one OUT (the crack-head renovation job of the previous owner included CEMENTING THE TOILET TO THE FLOOR) and then buy and install a new one, and he actually made it look easy. And inexpensive. I guess anything’s easy when you know how to do it, but I don’t laugh about that old summer job anymore!
Call us for all your urgent toilet needs.
😉 BL