Update: Recovering from Renovation Wreckage

Remember the plight of Real Savvy readers Jocelyn and Kevan? The ones who bought their dream home, planning to spend a few thousand on minor repairs and ended up mired in four times the damage and expense?

To refresh your memory, here’s what the front of their house looked like after their contractor discovered massive termite and fire damage while doing a simple window replacement:

After two and a half months of take-out Chinese food and living with a construction crew, Jocelyn and Kevan are happy to report that their dream house is back in one piece:

Here’s one more shot to give the full effect. Can’t you imagine them collapsing on the comfy couch after saying goodbye to the construction crew for the last time?

If you haven’t yet, be sure to read their eye-opening full story, which contains a ton of useful tips for first time homebuyers. Here are my three favorite:

• Know your rights and advocate for yourself. You have to remember that it’s your money and your livelihood on the line, so you absolutely should be educated and vocal throughout the process. Don’t let anyone sweep your concerns aside.

• Trust your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not.

• Don’t buy up to your budget cap, and allow lots of room for incidental costs. This is one thing we were smart about–we bought a home $60K under our limit, which has allowed us to pay for the unexpected repairs without going into huge debt.

As we’ve learned, even the most harrowing of tales can have happy endings. Congratulations to Jocelyn and Kevan on their gorgeous new home!