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I'm going through this right now in a crumbling prewar coop in Queens. It's been a rental since 1929, if that's any indication of the condition it's in. The nice part about it is that all its original everything is intact - all the floors, moulding, fixtures, etc. On the other hand, I've been living out of boxes and without a stove for 10 months now and have become a lead paint expert. I'm not sure if I'd do this again, now that I understand everything that's involved. But I'd never be able to afford this apartment in mint condition, and that's what it's going to look like after my 1-2 years of labor.

Our house is a new construction, not a renovation, but we moved in as soon as there were functional appliances, and have been doing all the work ourselves. It does get you down sometimes to live for 2 months without bathroom doors, or 7 months without flooring, but the cost savings and satisfaction of having done it yourself is worth it. Also once you've lived in the space, you see how you use it, and it affects the later design choices that you make in a way that's hard to forsee if you wait until it's totally done. (But it really is a lot of work!)

Move-in Day
and
Now

www.vtecobuilder.com

I just blogged about this article over on my own home renovation blog. I really identified with the story until I got to the price tags of these fixer-uppers, and then I thanked my lucky stars that I live in Philly, not NY. www.mercystreet08.blogspot.com.

Seems to me like part of this is also motivated by greed. Get in low, suffer during the reno, let the children suffer and eventually build an asset worth a ton of cash. Guess it's just an issue of how much your comfort (and that of your children in some cases) is worth to you.

Yes, I have, and it's hell. DesignGod, it's doubtful that anyone would go through such madness for any other reason than to make a true home for themselves and their families. While my kid did suffer, it was mostly because mom and dad were working so much of the time and were so stressed. I'm not sure that passing our opportunity up and taking another rental would've been better for my son in the long run. It's his future wealth we're building (hopefully), and living in a rental with rats (which we had before) is no picnic either.

I couldn't live with my total gut renovation. It was on my one and only bathroom, which is located right off the main hallway, so we decided to do it immediately after purchasing the home, but before moving in completely. It was a month and a half or so before we could move in :( while staying at his parents house :( :( But it was so worth it.

Next up is a major gut/remodel of the kitchen. i'm not looking forward to that since we eat at home every meal, but we're going to try and find a way to cook meals at home still!

iheartmmi - The best advise I ever got regarding kitchen remodels was: do it in the summer. That way you can grill every night. Good luck.

I know this isnt really an option in the city, but when I was doing the remodel of my house, we parked our 1985 pop-up in the driveway and lived in it when the weather was good. It was so nice to have a place to go at the end of the day that wasnt dusty and full of worklights. Now that I'm alone again, I've been seriously considering selling the house and going full time in a Boler or something similar so I can travel easier.

My parents have done this as a hobby/for extra income their entire married lives- move in, fix up, move out, repeat- and my sister and I turned out ok. Actually, it probably made our family closer. If my dad was working in a certain room, the rest of the family and cat eventually ended up in there, too. Plus all the family trips to home improvement stores on the weekends.

grngodes - our real estate lawyer did the same thing, except they camped in a tent on the land while they were building the house. My husband's family lived in a tent IN the house while they were renovating a centuries-old coachman's house in England.

I moved into my 350 sq ft apartment and decided to gut the kitchen due to the roaches. I had planned to wait a year but I couldn't stand the dried up grease on the nasty cabinets. It was hell and I was moody from not having a stove a sink or anything for about 2 months, but it was worth it. It looks wonderful now and the stress is in the past. I have to remodel the bathroom next, but I think I'll live at my parents or boyfriend's during that time since it's the only bathroom.

PS....I gained about 5 pounds during the remodeling because I ate fast food a lot in order to rush home to work on the kitchen. I have since lost the weight.

I think there's a big distinction between those who live in a place while they do the renovation themselves and those who use a contractor.

If you're renovating yourself because you don't have the cash for the alternative or because you want to be the creator of your home you can carefully control the impact on your life and take things at the pace they deserve.

If the reno is being done by your contractor while you live in the space, I think you're clearly making both the contractor's and your own life slip into an uncomfortable chaos. I've worked for contractors on these kinds of projects, and I promise they hate it, no matter what they say to your face.

We're moving out when we renovate the kitchen, because our bedroom is right next to the kitchen, and we can't access the rest of the house without going through the kitchen. It's literally going to be top to bottom (pulling up old vinyl and refinishing the wood floors, new cabinets & countertops, updated wiring & plumbing), and my S/O is ill with home medical equipment, so we're staying in a local hotel while the work is done.

I'm living this dream right now. 6 br home, renovating top floor to rent out, new kitchen and 1st floor floor in the works for us.

The only things that are done right now is our bedroom and "tech" room, and the spiral staircase for us to use in our part of the house. The tenants will get the regular front staircase.