STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

We are in much the same situation, though instead of an old house with character, we have a 1969 ranch sans any character at all .

My words of advice, is that every project you do is going to end up costing you more than you think because of unforseen issues, problems, extra supplies, etc.  We had a bathroom to redo, and ended up having to tear the entire side of the house off to deal with water damage (we knew it was there in the floor, but didn't anticipate having to buy siding, etc).  It's going to look awesome when it's done, but still it's alot more money than we anticipated.

Another thing is that if you're planning to sell within 5-7 years, keep that in mind when you're fixing things.  Kitchens and baths make back the most amount of money, but just paint and cleaning can bring in the bucks too.  Since your home is older, I'd also try to keep any renovations in line with the style and era of the house.

Oh, and it doesn't have to all get done at once.  That is my mantra!

If you have specific projects you'll be tackling, I'd be happy to help with suggestions on those, too .

When doing projects yourself, plan on double the money and triple the amount of time.

Also, remember to do things one at a time. I got overzealous the first week we moved inand tore out ALL of the molding and trimwork. It may have been icky, but at least we had it. Now a lot of the rooms don't have any trim because we haven't gotten that far - and it's almost 3 years later. Other projects have come first.

So, don't bite off more than you can chew, know what to hire and what to do yourself, and pace yourself!

-gd

There's a ton of good advice here already, but that doesn't stop me from chiming in.

1. Your future plans for the house matter a LOT. Elle is absolutely right about concentrating on profitable improvements if this isn't your 'forever home.'

2. That said, keeping the vintage style of the home can fetch a premium - you can get as much as 20 to 30% over comparable homes if you do. So don't do silly things like replace original light fixtures with Home Depot specials or install stainless steel appliances.  

3. Regarding specific projects, I found that if a project didn't result in immediate, noticeable improvement, it was better to pay someone else to do it. It's too frustrating and draining to your soul to spend six weekends working on something and have seemingly NOTHING to show for it. If it happens inside the walls or under the house or on top of the roof, hire a pro. If you want to paint walls or pull up carpet or plant a grove of lemon trees in the side yard, it's worth doing it yourself. The accomplishment will spur you on to the next project and the next. But doing too many chores that don't give you a sense of completion will not motivate you to keep at it.

4. When you're on a budget the tendency is to try to do it all yourself. But don't, even if you have to save for months to afford a pro. As others have said, it costs more than you think and takes more time - time you could spend on those visible improvements instead, or time you could spend studying for your MBA so you can get a job that pays six figures. Yes, you will be eating Mac'n'cheese and cutting your own hair for the next five years, but the payoff is all there.  

5. On that note, don't even think about tinkering with systems yourself that will cause major damage. Water floods. Electricity starts fires. Gas leaks. When I had to rewire my whole house, it was more important to be able to sleep at night than to save a few bucks. Yes, it was hugely expensive for us at the time, but it truly was a matter of life and death to have it done right.

6. This is a tip courtesy of our real estate broker. If you had a home inspection during escrow, and the inspector missed something he or she should have caught, call them (but be nice about it). Often they will make good on it by doing the repair or compensating you to protect their reputation. It's worth a shot. The first week we moved in, we had to call a plumber because the pilot light in our water heater kept going out, and the plumber who was sent by the home protection plan told us it wasn't installed to code so he couldn't do any work on it under the terms of our plan. Our inspector, who was otherwise very thorough, admitted he made a mistake and he showed up the next day to reinstall it for us according to local building codes - all for free.