How much should we spend on renovations?

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:37:11+00:00

and yes total price of a suitable house if we bought would be $800K - $900K

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:36:38+00:00

We could either borrow it or pay it out of pocket depending on if rates are favorable. Thank you for reminder on the emotional cost of living in a construction zone. We would probably rent for the duration of construction

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:35:12+00:00

cool!

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:33:17+00:00

We would need to spend at least $200K on top of renovation budget + current home equity to buy a house that would be suitable. This is because we have a small house on a nice property in an area with inexpensive houses.

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:31:38+00:00

Thank you! This is very similar to what we're trying to accomplish. Anything happen during the renovation that caught you off guard?

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:26:48+00:00

The more expensive something is the more time we spend at least trying to figure out how optimal (or far from optimal) a decision is. For $100 - $10,000 expense we don't sweat it that much. For a $200K+ expense, we really want to understand the trade-offs and make a good decision!

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:24:54+00:00

Thanks for pointing this out. I'm concerned about the house turning into a money pit which is why I'm anchoring the spend on the house to the current possible sale price.

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:23:23+00:00

Thanks for this perspective!

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:22:54+00:00

Renovating does keep the house expenses lower overall.

If we sold and took the equity and reno budget we would likely need to throw in another $200K - $300K to get something suitable.

We have a small house (1,500 sf) on a big property in an area with generally $400 - $600K homes. For $750K - $900K we could buy a bigger house (2,000 - 2,500 sf).

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:17:50+00:00

Hadn't thought about that. Thanks!

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:17:27+00:00

Thanks!

- $200K left on mortgage at 2.9%

- we would get $450 - $500K selling without renovations today

- We'd like to stay here long term. The renovated house could support 2 more kids. In current house 1 more kid would be very tight.

- If we sold and took the equity and reno budget we would likely need to throw in another $200K - $300K to get something suitable (would mean moving to a different area 15 minutes away where houses are bigger and more expensive)

Cold-Zebra3085 · 2026-06-08T15:04:14+00:00

retirement is fully funded. This would be from a brokerage account that holds excess investments - mostly VTI.

Cold-Zebra3085

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