Redo

Aaron had me scared this weekend when we went on a Panera breakfast date. We were discussing house stuff and he told me that the $8,000 first time homebuyer’s tax credit was just that, a credit, and not a refund. I had assumed that it was going to be an additional $8,000 I was going to get back as part of my tax refund. But he tried to explain to me that it was just going to go towards the taxes I owe on my condo or something like that. It made more sense the way he described it to me because they are calling it a ‘credit’ and not a ‘refund.’ I was in a bit of shock about it but couldn’t do any research on it until I got back to work on Monday where I had internet. I should have been terribly upset because I am saving a lot of home projects (blinds, curtains, bathroom and kitchen redo) and trips (Seattle) until after I get that money. But I figured I would just have to suck it up with the money I had and just save more of it so I could put it towards these projects.

But I looked it up on Monday and luckily Aaron was wrong and I was right. Whew, what a relief!

I told Aaron about what I wanted to do in my bathroom and kitchen and the prices I found for materials, etc and what my estimate was going to be to do both rooms. But he told me I was missing the bigger costs of doing electrical and plumbing work and hiring a contractor. Sigh. But he named off several people he knows who have worked with contractors and said that I could probably get a good rate from them. I wasn’t planning on having a contractor for an extended period of time. I don’t think I need one for my bathroom but I need one to hang my cupboards in the kitchen and install my countertop (since my walls have a lot of bump outs). I wasn’t planning on doing any electrical or plumbing work. But maybe I should have my electrical system put into my wall in the kitchen while it is under remodel. I guess I’ll just wait and see how much that will cost when the time comes.