Person Asks For Help After Aunt Hands Them $70K Bill For House Flip No One Asked For
Fixing something as minor as a broken tile can prove to be time-consuming and more costly than expected, let alone redoing an entire house.
The latter is what this netizen was planning on doing when her aunt—a fan of renovation projects on TV—showed interest in taking it upon herself. Her effort resulted in a renovated house and one large bill, taking the OP by surprise, and eventually tearing her between paying up a rather cosmic amount or ruining the relationship with her aunt. Scroll down to find the full story, as it was shared with Slate’s money advice column, ‘Pay Dirt’.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with Associate Professor of Sociology at Salem State University, Sara Moore, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions regarding the junction of money and family-related matters.
Choosing amateurs over professionals is not always the best, nor the cheapest option
Image credits: Nataliya Vaitkevich (not the actual image)
This person’s aunt wanted to help with their home renovation, the help resulted in a jaw-dropping lump sum
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual image)
The OP received advice on how best to approach the situation
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual image)
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual image)
Image credits: slate.com
Family relationships can become complicated when there’s money involved
“Family can be a gray area when it comes to money and resource lending,” Sara Moore told Bored Panda in a recent interview. “Some people assume any exchange of money between family members is a gift, while others more realistically see such an exchange as an economic transaction.”
The expert added that the family context might be the factor making the OP question whether she has a right to be upset and whether to confront her aunt or not. She also suggested that in such a context, finance-related matters tend to escalate rather quickly. “Many American families have been feeling squeezed financially, especially since the pandemic and subsequent period of inflation. This, along with the ongoing housing crisis in many areas of the US, has put a significant strain on many families, and financial tensions can quickly escalate.”
Be that as it may, according to Prof. Moore, it is possible to carry out money-related activities or even engage in business with one’s family members, as long as written agreements that all parties contribute to and agree upon are presented; even if they feel unnecessary.
Home renovation tends to be a rather strong blow to the wallet
Home renovation is an arduous process, which typically requires hours and hours of hard work and all sorts of—and often, large quantities of—materials, both of which are not cheap nowadays. Personal Finance by TIME Stamped suggested that now, in 2024, a light renovation might cost you roughly $10-$60 per square foot, while mid-range and extensive renovations would likely call for $100-$250 and $120-$275 per square foot respectively.
Houzz’s overview of home renovation activity in the US in 2021 and 2022 revealed that in 2021, such activity and spending related to it reached the highest rates since 2018. During that year, more than half of the country’s homeowners spruced up their homes (55% of them, to be exact, versus 53% in 2020 and 54% in both 2019 and 2018) with the median renovation cost standing at roughly $18,000.
Image credits: Blue Bird (not the actual image)
Sometimes choosing the more expensive option can prove to be more cost-efficient in the long run
While renovation costs are clearly not that wallet-friendly, some ways people try to save up might not be either. By turning to individuals with less experience—as the OP’s aunt did—to do the job or opting for cheaper items and materials, people might spend less at that time, but it can end up being more expensive in the long run due to repairs that poor construction work and cheap solutions tend to call for.
“Buying quality items is one of my top ways to save money,” personal finance expert, also known as The Frugal Girl, Kristen Cross told Business Insider, discussing how being cheap can end up costing more.
The Frugal Girl pointed out that this goes for everything, from furniture to paint, and beyond. “Items that are flimsily constructed of particle board won’t last long and will be near impossible to repair, which means you’ll need to buy replacements in fairly short order,” she suggested.
As for the paint, the expert admitted that the lesson on what happens when you buy cheap paint was another thing her family learned the hard way: “We had to paint our cement basement walls, so we thought we’d save money by buying cheap paint, but the coverage was terrible and we had to do multiple coats,” she shared, adding that while cheap paint might seem like a frugal option, it might require more coats—therefore negating any cost savings—as well as more labor.
Image credits: Maria Ovchinnikova (not the actual image)
Many people opt for DIY projects to spruce up their homes
While cheaping out on materials—or construction workers—is evidently not always the way to go, some renovation projects can be saved on, as they can be done with your own hands. Though it is a time-consuming process, the hourly rate might drop from tens, if not hundreds, of dollars to chocolates, naps, or other things you treat yourself to after a job well done.
While it’s important to admit that some do it yourself (DIY) projects are not meant to turn out the way one envisioned, with enough time, effort, and patience, beautiful—and cost-friendly—results can be achieved. (But if you’re sure that building things is not for you, hiring professional help is the cheaper way to go).
Roughly three-fourths of homeowners in the US have attempted a DIY project themselves, Ruby Home reports, roughly six-in-ten of them doing it in order to save money. If you think that you wouldn’t know where to start, the majority of those giving DIYs a go seemingly turn to YouTube for instructions and information.
The OP’s aunt likely used renovation projects on TV she seemingly loves as her source of inspiration and information, as she was said to have no actual experience in construction. But whether or not that was the case, her niece didn’t expect her input to amount to such a shocking lump sum.
Image credits: Blue Bird (not the actual image)
Fellow netizens shared their thoughts and suggestions online
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While there may have been a verbal contract (as one poster suggested) I'd argue that there is no proof that the value of work is actually $70k. This needs more information to make a judgment on. Like did the Aunt literally pay for everything included in the renovations, materials, tools, skip bins, deliveries etc. or did the home owner pay some or all of that? Just what work was actually done? $70k is a lot, and unless they've done a huge amount of work it sounds like they're trying to make a killing on the job. I think I'd start with the polite option, which is "can you break down what the $70k is for?" See if the Aunt can even justify that expense. If there were genuine expenses that tally to that, well at that point it sucks, but the homeowner really should own the expense and pay it. Learn from the experience that you need proper quotes before proceeding like this. If they can't actually justify the expenses then I'd be calculating roughly what the work *should* cost and...
... paying a reasonable amount based on that. eg: it's not hard to calculate the amount of paint required to paint a room, then add a figure for labour and come up with decent estimate. Same with tiling, plaster and other things. I really hope Auntie didn't do electrical work. Because that's a real no-no.
Load More Replies...
I mean, if the aunt did the whole house and used expensive materials, it’s possible it could’ve added up to that. The LW said their aunt insisted on handling all the upfront fees. Was the LW informed about the purchases the aunt was making prior to her handling all these upfront costs?
This story is missing critical information. First, how many hours did the aunt work on the project? Did she spend money on materials? Did she do project management on the project, coordinating with any subcontractors. All of these have a value. No idea if what the aunt did was worth $5k or $100K. I work as a carpenter at $95/hr and more for project management. That said, if it was only "cosmetic", then $70k on a $350k home sounds high. But so does the OP, who got no clarification on any of this...
While there may have been a verbal contract (as one poster suggested) I'd argue that there is no proof that the value of work is actually $70k. This needs more information to make a judgment on. Like did the Aunt literally pay for everything included in the renovations, materials, tools, skip bins, deliveries etc. or did the home owner pay some or all of that? Just what work was actually done? $70k is a lot, and unless they've done a huge amount of work it sounds like they're trying to make a killing on the job. I think I'd start with the polite option, which is "can you break down what the $70k is for?" See if the Aunt can even justify that expense. If there were genuine expenses that tally to that, well at that point it sucks, but the homeowner really should own the expense and pay it. Learn from the experience that you need proper quotes before proceeding like this. If they can't actually justify the expenses then I'd be calculating roughly what the work *should* cost and...
... paying a reasonable amount based on that. eg: it's not hard to calculate the amount of paint required to paint a room, then add a figure for labour and come up with decent estimate. Same with tiling, plaster and other things. I really hope Auntie didn't do electrical work. Because that's a real no-no.
Load More Replies... I mean, if the aunt did the whole house and used expensive materials, it’s possible it could’ve added up to that. The LW said their aunt insisted on handling all the upfront fees. Was the LW informed about the purchases the aunt was making prior to her handling all these upfront costs?
This story is missing critical information. First, how many hours did the aunt work on the project? Did she spend money on materials? Did she do project management on the project, coordinating with any subcontractors. All of these have a value. No idea if what the aunt did was worth $5k or $100K. I work as a carpenter at $95/hr and more for project management. That said, if it was only "cosmetic", then $70k on a $350k home sounds high. But so does the OP, who got no clarification on any of this...
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