Renovation, Lessons Learned. 🛠️🏡

Brock's newsletter | DECEMBER 13, 2025

Renovation, Lessons Learned.

Yesterday I walked into my living room and discovered wallpaper going up.

Lori hadn’t mentioned wallpaper. Yet there it was, halfway up my wall.

No one is as surprised as a husband walking through his own house during a renovation.

I was ready for this renovation to be over before it started, but my wife seems to disagree.

Which is why we are currently quarreling about replacing all the windows next year. As the windows currently all open and let in light and keep out wind and water, I’m in the camp of “they seem to be working, let’s just keep them and save the money.”

Lori has other ideas and you bet that by this time next year, we will have all new windows.

Yes, our home looks nice, and it's our home, which we have no intention of selling any time soon. But we don't talk about the six figures we've spent on this renovation as an “investment," because the only thing we're investing in is my wife's happiness.

From an “investment” standpoint, home renovation is not a good one. The cost of material has doubled and the cost of labor has tripled.

Here's the truth about real estate investing and ownership: the biggest edge isn't finding deals. It's not timing the market. It's not even leverage. It's mastering renovation costs.

It Always Costs More Than You Think.

No one knows what is going to come up when you open walls. Our home was built in the 1930s, so it's about 100 years old. There have been add-ons and roof leaks and deterioration, so when you open up the can of renovation worms, think of the worms as dollars slithering away.

Here are the “overages” we have paid in this very limited renovation, for unforeseen items:

Leveling and replacing wood flooring from a prior addition ($10,000)
Adding structural support to the upstairs bathroom as required by the city ($5,000)
Re-stuccoing the exterior ($2,000)
Replacing the rotted wood around the window in our laundry room and re-stuccoing and painting the exterior ($2,000)

This does not include Lori's very predictable case of the might-as-wells. It started with a bathroom addition and new pantry, and we currently have a new laundry room, all new closet built-ins, new furniture and, like I said, wallpaper going up. I have no idea what this has cost, and I frankly don't want to.

You Have To Go To Your Jobsite Every Day.

There's no outsourcing renovation. Things come up. Things go wrong. Your intention is in conflict with the execution. It is part of the process, no matter what.

In home renovation, there's a lot of people involved and making decisions on the fly. Expensive decisions. We did a video about it that was a little controversial.

But if you go to your job site every day and find the mistakes, they will fix them. Otherwise, you have to live with them or find yourself 8 years later, like us, in a second renovation undoing the mistakes of the first.

Here's My System, Still Not Always Following It.

Here are my tips for managing renovation:

Written scope, always. If it's not in writing, it doesn't exist. And track the change orders; they add up.
Check on your job site every. single. day. Not weekly. Daily. Weekly with your whole team.
Pay in stages, hold the final 20%. Money is your only leverage. Once it's gone, so is your contractor.
Get three bids, throw out the lowest. The cheapest guy is cheap for a reason. He's either incompetent or planning to nickel-and-dime you later. And go with a referral if you can. If someone loves their contractor (like we do), then they're probably pretty good.
HIRE A DESIGNER. An experienced one. You have no idea the number of baseboards you can choose from, paint samples, etc. Making bad decisions on your own will cost you more money fixing them in the long run. And your contractor is NOT a designer, no matter what he says.
Do not take out a loan to renovate your house. Money is expensive and prices are flat. This is a bad financial move.
When you stop checking your bank account, then it's time to wrap it up. If you can't confront the costs, the costs are too high. Don't worry about the curtains, you can get them next year.

Because in real estate, like in life, the money you keep matters more than the money you make.

-Brock

P.S. “Buying a house in December can result in significant savings due to less competition and more motivated sellers, with average price reductions potentially reaching 5-8% compared to peak summer months.” Reply to this email to start shopping.

☔️🚫 Saw this on Instagram last week and it's perfect: "Half of owning a home is discovering new ways water can ruin your house."

🏠🔎 Every House Has a History. Here’s How to Find Yours.

💰🚨Refinance Now or Wait? Decoding the Fed’s Final Rate Cut.

🤏 🏢 How to Shrink Housing Supply in Los Angeles. The city tightens its rent control law. Good luck finding an apartment.

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