How do I do a full farmhouse Reno on a budget ?

April, Start with what bothers you the most! One room at a time is a good way to keep your budget in line! Fresh paint, new flooring, redo the trim,etc. Make a plan as to what you'd like to do in every room and explore the cost to see where you'd like to put your money. Kitchens and bathroom are always the most expensive so plan accordingly. You might be able to do some DIY to keep the costs lower. Owning your own home is always a work in progress! I don't think I'd know what to do if it wasn't for all these house projects I keep coming up with!

If your living in it now, and your up north do your heating and cooling and windows and your roof first! Winter is comming! You can use the can of flex seal rubber on you bad spots on your roof first as a temporary fix with a tarp on top. It will keep you dry and warm. Seal and redo all your windows especially the broken ones. Try to get double or triple pane windows as replacement. Tripple pane saves money in the long run and these days you can make them using your existing window jams. Get your heater going. If it's a boiler replace with gas or electric furnace. Make the place capable of keeping you warm and safe to live in. Fix the paths of travel in your home you mostly use and 1 room at first. Make sure you have water and plumbing. Once you have the amenities secure and the first room fixed move on to the next room. Contact me if you can on Facebook "Stephen Canas" of Albuquerque.

I can only imagine how exciting it is to totally own your house! That said, you now have a source of money to fix your house. If you were planning to purchase supplies on a credit card, a home equity loan has far lower rates.

There are many ways to save money while getting what you want. Decide what is a an absolute essential brand new item-appliances, water heater, furnace-and what can be purchased " pre-owned" to finish your vision. As mentioned above, plan what you want to live with/what your vision is. Hometalk & Pinterest are great resources for DIY as are many others. Research. You can't spend too much time (well, you can) researching what matches your style. Habitat for Humanity Restores, thrift stores and salvage stores are great places to find the items the big box stores don't carry and even some they do. I see there are some Menards stores in N. Dakota-they have a wild variety of items, more than Home Depot or Lowes, plus they sometimes have 11% off your entire purchase as well as rebates on items. The rebates are in store credit but they add up. And check Craigslist and Facebook. Craigslist also has a Free category and people give away amazing things. (If you want a piano to play or make something out of, people are giving those away like crazy).

Many, many ways to save $$ while making your dream home. Enjoy!!