Bridging the Gap between Want and Need: Champagne Tastes on a Kool Aid Budget

We stand in the kitchen arguing about the utiltity of keeping cabinets that are older than 1990. I point out that with some new hardware, these cabinets could really get a new lease on life. My boss is fingering the covering that is peeling from one side of the cabinets and yells, "Look at this! They look terrible! New cabinets!" But I all I hear is .

I'm not just being hard on my boss. Our entire development department is extremely gun-shy from our first experience with a contractor who did lackluster work (a brand new roof is leaking 6 months after installation? A door fell off its hinges? The gas company wouldn't turn on the gas? Jigga?). To avoid those problems, on this go-round our desired scope of work is outsized: all new systems (flooring, HVAC, furnace), new cabinets, new appliances, new interior paint, new exterior paint/siding where needed, beautiful trim, no fiberglass tub surrounds, natural tile in all bathrooms and kitchens, all new fixtures. Not to mention the "green" touches that include insulation batts in the crawl space, blown-in insulation in the attic and new windows. I am here to tell you that is a pricey scope of work. One estimate came back at $69,000 -- for a $73,000 house! Obviously that is not sustainable or affordable, so we find ourselves in a quandary. We need a champagne product. We have kool-aid money.

Normally this paragraph would be the one where I tell you how we found a solution. But we haven't yet. I think we're going to have to get started on some rehab work before we can plot a reliable path to affordable quality on a large scale. My first acquisition closing is in 3 weeks., then the construction work begins. Stay tuned.