When I moved to Sioux Falls a couple of years ago, I was working with a limited budget.
I was reluctant to throw away money paying rent.
I started house-hunting immediately. The section is wonderful & the properties for sale were quite fancy. I spent more than six months touring one apartment after another, then my priority was a safe town & enjoyable amount of property. The only way I was able to afford a apartment with potential was to purchase a fixer-upper. I found a three-kitchen, two-bathroom residence that had been left vacant for over five years. The bones of the apartment were solid & square however everything else was a mess. I am handy & have some experience with renovations. I wasn’t afraid of tackling the project & making improvements that would significantly increase the resale value. The most hard aspect was making sure I completed necessary repairs & replaces before the arrival winter. I knew that by the end of November, the temperature would plummet into the thirties. By Thanksgiving there would be snow on the ground & hot & cold temperatures in the teens. I needed to have airtight windows, insulated walls & ceilings & a working heater. I was dealing with a leaking duct system, a leaking roof & lots of water disfigurement. The winters in Sioux Falls are unforgiving. I didn’t want to shiver all winter, pay immense heating bills or risk my water pipes freezing. I spent all of my free time & every dollar of my savings on my house. I went separate from anything that wasn’t a necessity, including new appliances & furniture, until the Spring thaw.