The Vanderveen House

Tips from accidental real estate investors

  • Start Here
    • About Us
    • Policies and Contact
  • Fix and Flip Houses
    • 1st House: Run down bungalow
    • 2nd House: New build
    • Flip House
    • 3rd house: Outdated split level
  • Buy and hold properties
    • 4th house: New build raised bungalow
    • Construction schedule & budget worksheet
    • Rental House
    • Cabin in the Woods
  • DIY Projects
    • Craft Ideas
    • Furniture Makeovers
    • Woodworking
    • Outdoor Ideas
    • Gardening
Home » Fix and Flip Houses » First House » 1st House: Run down bungalow renovation

First House Fix and Flip Houses

1st House: Run down bungalow renovation

Are you looking for bungalow renovation ideas? Do you want to find prime examples of fixer upper bungalow renovations, and how they can increase your long term wealth? Our first house was a 1980s rundown bungalow in Williamsburg ON. It was owned by the bank and we bought it without even seeing it first. It needed a fair bit of work, but the structure was sound and we knew we could flip the house within a couple years. We bought this house in November 2007, moved into it together in May 2008 after we got married, and spent the next two and a half years renovating it. We sold it after a few years and made a very decent profit. Keep reading to find out more about our run down bungalow renovation! Or find out more about us and our real estate investing journey.

BEFORE and after

This fixer upper bungalow was in pretty rough shape when we bought it. But it was a great price, and as a newly married couple it was all we could afford.  We never even saw the house before be bought it, but my father-in-law was our real estate agent and we totally trusted him with this house.

Please note: When we renovated this house I didn’t know I’d be starting a blog! I don’t have very many pictures, and the ones I took are not very good. But the lessons learned are still relevant despite the lack of pictures.

Exterior

The previous owner had dogs and there was a big ugly fence in the front yard. We took the fence down pretty soon after we got possession. The exterior of the house was pretty bad. There was no deck and the patio doors were boarded up. The shed was in very bad shape and a total eyesore.

run down bungalow renovation run down bungalow renovation run down bungalow renovation

LIVING ROOM

Entering the front door was the living room to the right and the dining room straight ahead.

run down bungalow renovation

The living room was complete with water damaged laminate flooring, lace curtains, and bullet holes in the wall. We eventually took down that stub wall, replaced the front window, and replaced the laminate flooring with hardwood. In the dining room we replaced the patio door and took down the tile that was on the wall.

run down bungalow renovation dining room before and after

Kitchen

The kitchen was around the corner from the dining area. The cupboards really weren’t too bad, but everything was so dirty and dark. The house even came with bonus dishes in the dishwasher.

 kitchen makeover kitchen makeover before and after

kitchen renovation before and after

The biggest renovation project we did in our first house was the kitchen. There used to be a granny suite in the basement and the kitchen cabinets there were fairly new and quite nice, and they fit the configuration of the upstairs kitchen almost perfectly.

This was the kitchen the day we moved in. Overall, not too bad, but we felt the black cabinets were dark and outdated, and the tile looked dirty with that dark grout.

fixer upper kitchen renovation

Here are a few pictures during the gutting stage. We got a lot of help with the kitchen from Tony’s brothers and father.

fixer upper kitchen renovation

And here is the kitchen after starting to put it back together. These were the cabinets that were in the basement when we moved in. Tony had to build a few cabinets including the large pantry beside the fridge.

fixer upper kitchen renovation fixer upper kitchen renovation fixer upper kitchen renovation

And we moved the sink from the corner where it was originally to the peninsula closer to the dining area. Tony did all the plumbing work himself.

fixer upper kitchen renovation before and after

In the dining area we took out the drywall with the white tile on it and Tony redid the drywall. We also replaced the patio door with the help of my parents.

run down bungalow renovation

Tony made the countertop with a wood edge and laminate top. We installed the tiled backsplash together using square tumbled travertine tiles in a brick pattern. We were able to keep the existing tile floor. Here are a few pictures of the final result – not too bad for our first kitchen makeover!

dining room before and after

Bathroom

The upstairs bathroom was one of the nicest rooms in the house, other than the gold plastic mirror and light fixture. And the vanity was chewed by the dogs so we did replace that eventually.

run down bathroom renovation before and after bathroom

Bedrooms

This was the smallest bedroom. I think this was where the dogs slept, because that carpet was pretty nasty.

run down bungalow renovation

The second bedroom really wasn’t too bad other than the paint colour and lack of trim.

The master bedroom was painted two shades of orange and there was a hole in the wall where a tv had been.  That fireplace was kind of nice, but after it almost caught fire one day we decided it was safer to remove it.

orange bedroom in a run down bungalow renovation orange bedroom in a run down bungalow renovation

Stairs

Off the kitchen was the stairs to the basement. The carpet was dirty, and there was pink striped wallpaper on the walls. This wallpaper was so hard to remove that we ended up just tearing out the drywall and installing new drywall. We took up the carpet and Tony tiled the stairs.

outdated stairs in a fixer upper outdated stairs fixerupper

Downstairs

The basement bedroom was quite large. We eventually moved a wall to make the bedroom smaller and the family room bigger. The bottom 4 feet of drywall was missing in the whole basement. We think the previous owner had a flood and took the insurance money rather than fixing the drywall.

fixer upper house before and after basement renovation run down bungalow renovation    

The basement living area used to have a granny suite. There was a complete kitchen with pretty nice cabinets. We used these cabinets upstairs in the kitchen renovation.

basement renovation before and afterrun down bungalow renovation

The basement bathroom was also the laundry room. It was nice to have two working toilets in the house, however there was not much privacy.

run down bungalow renovationbungalow basement laundry room

During this run down bungalow renovation, Tony drywalled everything in the basement and I removed the wallpaper border and painted. Half of the basement had tile floor, and the other half was bare concrete. My brother was living with us at the time, and he and Tony smashed out all the tile.

run down bungalow renovation

I don’t have great pictures of the end result, but these give somewhat of an idea.

run down bungalow basement renovation fixer upper basement renovation

Lessons Learned from a run down bungalow renovation

As ugly and rough as the house looked, it was a solid house and the price was one that we could afford at that point in our lives.  This was a great starter home and we learned so much about home renovation. We learned a lot about home renovations and how to do things ourselves. If you are just starting out in real estate investing, a live in flip is a great way to increase your long term equity. Our first house was our best investment – we spent about $10,000 over two and a half years, and when we sold if we profited close to $60k. After living through this run down bungalow renovation for two and a half years, we moved to a brand new raised bungalow on a two acre lot in Winchester, Ontario. 

For more of our house tours check out these links:

  • 2nd house: New raised bungalow
  • Flip house
  • Third House: Outdated slit-level
  • Fourth house: Owner builder bungalow
  • Rental Property
  • Cabin in the woods

 


Previous Post: « Antique Chair Makeover – Restoring a Family Heirloom
Next Post: 2nd House: New raised bungalow »

Primary Sidebar

Welcome! We are Tony and Jessica Vanderveen, and are accidental real estate investors in Ontario. Find out how you too can create long term wealth, while maintaining your work life balance. Find out more...

Looking for something?

Categories

  • Buy and hold real estate investing properties
    • 4th House: Raised Bungalow Build
    • Cabin Vacation Rental
    • Rental House
  • DIY Projects
    • Craft Ideas
    • Furniture Makeovers
    • Gardening
    • Outdoor Ideas
    • Woodworking
  • Fix and Flip Houses
    • First House
    • Flip House
    • Second House
    • Third House
  • Real Estate Investing Tips

Explore the Archives

Footer

You might also like

Chalk paint picture frames

DIY Chalk Paint Picture Frames

how to install an above ground pool yourself

Top tips to install an above ground pool

How to make maple syrup

2017 Year In Review

Melt and pour soap making for beginners

Copyright © 2023 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT