Taxes=Disappointment

So our plan was to redo a part of our apartment (add a living room that's right outside our apartment door, and with that comes another bathroom). Some background information: Our apartment is in a part of the downstairs of Matt's parents' house. So therefore, they have a "common room" right outside our apartment door. Once we take down the apartment door and put up a wall to block the entry-way from the rest of the house to our new living room, we will gain a whole lot of living space - which is a new living room and bathroom. With that, we will have 2 bedrooms (one of which would be a nursery), 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room (with a closet now!).

However, and a BIG however, this was going to be done with the help of our tax return. And we were expecting a pretty decent return. Otherwise, it would be done with the help of a loan, which I really didn't want to take out. Especially since we don't own the house or apartment, and any work and improvements we do to the apartment will only increase the value of Matt's parents' house. So I wanted to avoid paying a loan on something we wouldn't get anything out of in the long run.

Well, much to our dismay and disappointment, we learned on Tuesday when we got our taxes done, that we would only be getting $20 back. Yes, you read correctly. Twenty-dollars. I don't even think that would buy the paint we would need to paint the bedroom (nursery). So needless to say, I was very upset and hysterical. Matt did his best to console me, and came up with ideas.

The original plan was to have Matt do most of the work on Sundays- which was putting up a wall/sheet rock, replacing the 2 exterior doors, ripping up the old carpet, and laying hardwood down. I didn't think it would be that hard, but since Matt works long days, Monday through Saturday, he would only be able to do the work on Sundays. So in our discussion last night with each other, Matt brought up the idea of having a contractor come in, give us an estimate, and then do the work. He is assuming that we would get a lower price, because Matt knows the contractor. I got really upset about this, because hiring a contractor to do the work would mean we would need to spend more money; money we don't have right now. His solution? Take out a personal loan to pay for the work. And we're right back to where I didn't want to be. But after thinking about it, having a contractor do the work would mean we would be done quickly (or quicker than what Matt would do), and it would be done correctly (not that Matt would do a poor job). But Matt said a contractor would do a better job than him. He makes valid points.

HOWEVER (there are a lot of them in this post), a fear of mine is that by having a contractor come in, it could open up Pandora's Box. Meaning, we would come across problems with mold, rotting floor, etc. Any number of problems that would cost a whole lot more money in repairs than I want to spend. And I have a valid fear of this, because the people who built the house we're in cut corners. They did the cheapest work, the quickest way, and therefore, we may run into problems that need to be fixed. Not to mention that nothing in the house is finished. No molding, electrical wiring exposed, plumbing exposed, etc. You get the drift. Now my stress has moved from "we don't have the money to remodel", to "remodeling may turn into a problem, and then we really won't have the money". I guess we'll figure it all out. All I know is that we need the extra living space because we don't have any more room for anything. Not even a crib.

Oi veh. We will figure this out, I guess. The contractor should be stopping by within the next week or so to give us an estimate. It will all work out.

:::I love you so much, baby:::