To wait again? Or not to wait? I am so frustrated

amother

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 8:43 am

I saved up to this day when I can finally afford to fix up my house and live like a mentch. Not anything fancy, just to have normal conditions, and a decent kitchen, so that I am not embarrassed to have guests over, and that my kids (who are now older) feel comfortable having their friends around. Our house is around a 100 years old and starting to fall apart. When we moved in twenty something years ago, the kitchen was old... It is now very very old. Same thing with bathroom and bathtub. Staring to get moldy too. Just when I was ready to start construction, the pandemic hit. Now lumber prices and other raw materials became exorbitant. I am afraid to even take the first step and have someone come in to give me a quote. The prediction is the the prices will eventually go down in the next year or two. I don't think I can wait that long but maybe I should. Is it worth it to go deeper into savings and do it now, or wait until the prices become more reasonable? We have worked hard for this, and just when I thought that I had it figured out, it feels like it is getting further away from me again. I appreciate your thoughts.

PS. I do not mean to be insensitive to all the women on this site who either do not own a home or had it worse during COVID and are really struggling. I am grateful for what we have B"H, but this is what I am struggling with now. I have had worse struggles but this is on my mind -- a lot.

Amarante

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 9:42 am

As the other poster wrote, start the process by getting recommendations for good contractors.

Spend time researching so that you have a good sense of what you want and need. I remodeled a little while ago and I am so glad that I had spent time so that I was able to collaborate in terms of both aesthetics ajd function. Houzz.com forums are your friend in terms of helping you with the process including ways to budget sensibly in terms of what to spend on and what to save on.

Any good contractor is booked for months ahead of time so you wouldn’t be able to start work right away anyway.

amother

Lily

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 9:55 am

I would work out a priority list of what work you need done first- like mold starting to grow, that room needs fixing before it gets worse. And you can do some of the work and not all. Some things are cosmetic and not as expensive, and you can also choose a cheaper range to make the money go further.
Think about whether you need to do everything now, or whether some things can wait, and do more work at a later stage. I know people who did it room by room as they couldn't afford anything else.
When you say things are old, are they falling apart? A solid kitchen, if the units are still in good shape, you might be able to just switch the fronts and replace the countertops and sinks, which won't be as expensive as replacing the whole kitchen.
Get quotes, depending on what you want to do, it might not be as bad as you think. You can't work with unknowns, it might be more expensive right now, but you don't know the real price. Once you have some quotes to work with, then you can know what you can or can't do.
I would say it's worth doing at least some of the work because your house is important. You live in it, and you spend time in it. It needs to make you happy, not depressed it needs so much work. Even just a paint job to freshen up the walls can make it brighter.

Amarante

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 10:15 am

Coming back to add to Lily's advice regarding mold. You should definitely at least check that out to find out why there is mold. If something in your bathroom is leaking it could be causing a lot of damage and the mold is just the tip of the iceberg. So you should find out why a bathroom is suddenly developing mold as mold isn't a "normal" thing.

amother

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 7:19 pm

Thanks everyone. Yes, I should get a quote and take it from there. I am definitely concerned about the mold. Regarding the kitchen -- I waited that long that I do not wish to just do a 'quick fix'. I would like to replace it and do a proper job, as I know that it is not something that I am likely do over in a few years, so I want to make sure that it is done the right way, and that I am happy with it and want to spend time in the new kitchen.

amother

DarkGray

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 7:59 pm

Lumber prices feel dramatically recently (more then 40%) , the same for other similar materials as many people moved from diys, renovations and home upgrades to leaving on extended vacations. So it may be a good time to start now. Especially if you are financing the project- rates are excellent and banks are willing to lend.

Do some basic Google research, that should help. Good luck!

amother

Thu, Jul 15 2021, 12:55 pm

amother [ DarkGray ] wrote:

Thank you! This gives me hope