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My Family Bought A Fixer-upper In Another Country, Sight Unseen. Renovations Cost Us A Million Dollars And Years Of Peace.
It took five years and nearly a million dollars to finish renovating our fixer-upper.
Kirsten Fogg
- We bought a fixer-upper in Canada while living in Australia, then moved our family across the world.
- Living in active construction for years was much more destabilizing than I ever imagined.
- My husband and I spent double our budget, missed time with our kids, and almost lost each other.
In 2017, we were living in Australia with our daughters and planning our move to Canada when I found my dream house on the internet.
From our home in Brisbane, I video-called and emailed a real-estate agent in Toronto, doing my best to juggle our 15-hour time difference.
Within days, I'd signed an online contract to buy the 1913 fixer-upper without ever setting foot in the house or the neighborhood.
My husband and I thought we could handle it, as we'd both lived in a few different countries and had worked with builders to renovate our Brisbane home years earlier.
However, the reality of our situation was far from what I had imagined.
The house needed more work than expected
Many parts of the house needed to be gutted.Kirsten Fogg
When we bought the house, it had been divided into four apartments, so we agreed we'd live in it for a year or so while we drew up renovation plans.
However, as soon as our family moved in, we found that the house needed urgent repairs, including fixing its crumbling foundation and replacing its dangerous knob-and-tube wiring.
My husband, an engineer, decided we had to start work right away, and I didn't say no. In an attempt to cut costs, we hired the first person who said they could save us money and get the work done while we lived in the house.
As my husband commuted to his clean, quiet office for work each day, I tried to write and edit from home. Renovations, on top of the international move, were grueling.
No amount of plastic taped over doors kept the dust out of my hair, my nose, or the rest of the house. I dealt with bathroom floods and burst pipes while juggling being the sole parent and project manager since my husband had to travel for work.
My daughters, ages 9 and 11, missed their friends and our Brisbane home, and so did I.
Builders and the pandemic pushed me to a breaking point
The before (left) and (after) of my office.Kirsten Fogg
By 2020, we had only finished a quarter of the house, and I finally convinced my husband we should move out during remodel. Before we could, though, our area went into lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Living in renovations during the pandemic exacerbated every problem we already had. We were overwhelmed by decisions and financial pressures, and we were far away from friends in a city we didn't know.
Our daughters wrestled with severe mental-health issues, and family conversations spiraled into quarrels and angry silence.
Our kitchen before (left) and after (right).Kirsten Fogg
During one late-night argument, my husband collapsed onto the kitchen floor. I should've taken it as a sign we all needed to step back, but I didn't. I became my worst self, and I hated the house.
I reminded myself constantly that we were lucky to even own a home, but it didn't help my panic attacks. After a particularly severe crisis, my doctor prescribed me medication for anxiety.
Years later, we're happy with our home — but the path to get here wasn't glamorous
The before (left) and after (right) of our living room.Kirsten Fogg
All in all, it took us five years, over a dozen tradespeople, and two separate contractors to finish the house. We spent more than $1.4 million Canadian dollars (about $973,000.00), which was double our original budget.
It's hard to say if the renovations were worth all of the struggles. What I do know is that we now have a beautiful home and a new perspective.
Looking back, we realized our family took on far too much.
Our daughters were displaced by the move and destabilized by living with builders constantly in our home. And, by spending so much time working on the house, we missed precious growing-up time with them.
During these renovations, I also struggled to feel like an equal in my relationship. By letting my husband (an engineer and the main earner) make the decisions, I put too much pressure on him — and I was angry at myself for not speaking up.
After 20 years of marriage, we're finally talking about what we've learned and what we want our partnership to look like moving forward. I'm becoming more assertive, building my self-confidence, and prioritizing my mental health.
Above all, my husband and I are looking forward to never renovating again.
Read the original article on Business Insider
