Man Purchases Dilapidated Tiny Home For Just $12,000 — He Then Spends Two Years Remodeling It To Perfection

Jan 02, 2021 by apost team

You would think, upon first looking at this house, that it is a newly-built family dwelling. But this lovely, grey building actually has a surprising story behind it. 

It was once nothing but an old, run-down piece of property. That is until a man, who soon became known as The Homestead Craftsman, bought it for just under $12,000 in 2017. Onlookers, including his friends, likely thought he had gone crazy for buying it. But no one could have known the rewarding transformation that awaited the building, nor did anyone predict how much of an internet sensation this man and the house would become.

When The Homestead Crafstman first bought it, the house looked tiny. It was around 570 square feet in size, according to The Homestead Craftstman's video. The house was essentially a cinder block structure with a small wooden front porch. It also had a few replacement windows, so it needed a lot of work to get in shape.

As it may have seemed, The Craftsman did not buy the house without a plan. He had a few secret ideas to turn it into an amazing home and immediately swung into action alone and began transforming the house. What's more, The Crafstman planned to make money off of the $12,000 purchase by renting it in the future. In fact, that's largely what the Craftsman does for a living — he purchases houses, fixes them up, and then either sells or rents them out.

For this project, the first thing he got rid of was the carpets. Predictably, he did not like the drywalls much either. After knocking them down and removing the dull wallpaper and other items from the frame, he headed to the kitchen.

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The kitchen was not easy to work on, but The Craftsman singlehandedly tore up every bit of it that he felt was not good enough. After he finished, he went to the roof and brought down the small chimney. Although it was not difficult to imagine where he was heading with all the breaking and tearing, it was not so easy to figure out how the house would end up after the renovation.

The flooring was the final place that his sledgehammer struck. He tore it all up, and when he finished, the journey to recreate the whole house started. 

After that, he had to get rid of the old wooden porch. When he was through, he covered up the ugly cinderblocks completely, which made up all the facades of the house. And just like that, he was ready to build a bigger and better front porch. The Craftsman then renovated the timeworn roof and walked over to the backyard where he crafted a nice, modest back porch.

Though the interior of the house was an even bigger mess than on the outside, The Craftsman was determined to transform every inch of it. It took a while, but he managed to install vinyl plank flooring throughout the home, and the results were incredible.

He then went into the bathroom and installed a bathtub and shower. The Craftsman also remodeled the kitchen to include a dishwasher, black granite countertops and a lot of storage space. He made sure to fit cordless blinds on to the windows so that they would not pose any choking hazards.

Altogether, the renovations took two years, but by the time The Craftsman was done, the property was more than ready for a small family. None of the man’s friends likely believed what they saw. We were completely stunned by what he had singlehandedly achieved. It was not easy to grasp that an ordinary man could create such a remarkable home all by himself!

Luckily, The Homestead Craftsman had recorded the entire process on video. Homemade Home uploaded the footage to YouTube, and before long, it went viral. The video now has over 11 million views and almost 300,000 likes and 20,000 comments! Many people in the comments were moved by the simplicity of the house, its renovations, and the hard work The Craftsman put in to transform it.

Some commenters even made humorous quips, poking fun at themselves for barely keeping their own houses up to par. One person wrote of The Craftsman's epic renovation: "That reminds me... I must tighten that leg chair. Soon." 

Surprisingly, the newly renovated house failed its first inspection. It was heartbreaking for his internet fans to hear the news, but The Craftsman himself was not disheartened at all. The issues that led to the flop were easy to fix. According to the inspector, The Craftsman had to replace all electric receptacles with the tamper-proof models. To pass the inspection, the man also needed to remove a light in the bedroom closet. Once he implemented the changes, the house passed the subsequent inspection.

The Craftsman went on to list the house for rent in 2019. Potential tenants would have to pay $600 each month to stay in the lovely abode, and within just two days of listing, someone already jumped on the opportunity, according to this video. The Craftsmen claims that the entire amount he spent to buy and renovate the house was $30,000. Many people still can’t believe how little that was when seeing just how much renovation was needed, and, more importantly, how great it ended up looking.

Although he now has a tenant, it will take a while for The Craftsman to start making a profit from renting due to unavoidable costs such as insurance and tax. The house is quite small, but you cannot deny that it is powerfully lovely for its size. To many people, especially minimalists, the size may actually be perfect. Interestingly enough, the bedroom of the house is quite large compared to its overall size. At 11 by 13 feet, it's is bigger than The Craftsmans own bedroom!

The Homestead Craftsman, as this innovative renovator and internet sensation, came to be known, pulled off something that most people can only dream of: spending as little as $12,000 on a run-down house and turning it into an attractive and lucrative piece of real estate. Although it took him two years to complete, everyone was amazed by what he had done with the property and the fact that he did it by himself.

In May of 2020, The Crafstman posted a video update of the house in which he tours the house after having rented it.

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