A lot of you commented BUDGET on my Instagram video asking what we actually spent on my mom’s house. So here’s the honest answer. The renovation cost about $150,000. That’s the real number.

And the house appraised at $250,000 once complete, which we just confirmed after receiving our Certificate of Occupancy this week. But that $150K didn’t go where most people think. Most people assume the money goes to kitchens and bathrooms. In reality, a lot of renovation budgets go into the unsexy parts of a house.

Here’s the rough breakdown of where the money actually went.

Transformation of the dining room. Just punch-list items left to tackle.

Structural + Basement Work
This house sits near a river with a high water table, which meant a lot of the work was in the basement. Stabilization, drainage, moisture control, and structural repairs took a large portion of the budget. Not glamorous, but absolutely necessary.

Mechanical Systems
We had to modernize the core systems of the house. This includes:
• Electrical
• Plumbing
• Heating systems
• Insulation
• Mechanical upgrades
These are the things that make a house safe and livable. They also tend to be some of the biggest expenses in old houses.

Contractor Labor
Even when you’re careful with spending, skilled labor is a real cost. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, specialty contractors (tile, HVAC, conrete, etc.). Managing these relationships — and their timelines — is one of the biggest parts of keeping a renovation under control.

Materials
Lumber, drywall, flooring, fixtures, insulation, and thousands of smaller items add up quickly. Even a modest renovation involves hundreds of individual purchases.

Permits and Inspections
Every project has administrative costs. Permits, inspections, approvals, and local requirements all play a role in the budget.

The kitchen went from tragic to fanciful, with smart budget-friendly sources for materials.

One of the biggest surprises in renovations is how much holding the house costs. While we were renovating we still had to pay: real estate taxes ($3-4K a year), electricity (about $30–40/month during construction), internet (started around $40/month and rose to about $80/month)

And the big one: heating. We had to run propane heat while testing the heating systems during construction. This winter hit -28°F here. Heating an unfinished house for the first year during testing cost roughly $5,000–$7,000. That’s the kind of cost people rarely include in renovation budgets. But it’s very real.

Originally we started this project paying for things in cash and slowly working on the house. But after a while we realized that approach was going to take too long. So we worked with a bank and took out a construction loan to finish the project properly. That allowed us to move forward quickly and get the house finished so my mom can move in next month.

Still a few projects left to finalize, but we couldn’t be more proud.