I’ve renovated a couple of homes before, but always for myself - for a home that I bought to live in. This morning, for the first time, I signed a contract on a house that I bought solely for the purpose of renovating and reselling.

“Flipping” as most people call it, although this project was more of a total renovation than a quick flip, and it was a totally different ballgame than renovating your own house.

Take the budget, for example. When you do a project in your own home, the budget matters. But it doesn’t *really* matter. You can splurge here and there without it being a huge deal - the expense gets spread out over the entire time you live in the house, and it’s OK to spend a little extra just because you enjoy something.

But when you’re going to immediately sell the house the budget is all important. Every dollar you spend has to be held accountable. After all, profit is the name of the game, and if you spend it all before you sell the house then the project isn’t much worth doing.

That can be a delicate balancing act for someone like me who abhors shortcuts. I wanted to turn a profit, but I also wanted to create an outstanding product that a buyer would truly appreciate and enjoy.

So I splurged a little here and there.

I added a pier that was not required by code to make double-sure the living room floor had no bounce.

I spent an extra $1,400 to get really cool quartz countertops rather than run-of-the-mill granite (thanks for pushing me on that, Heather, it was a good idea).

And I spent a few hundred extra dollars for Julian at Simply Sprayfoam to add sound dampening insulation to the bathrooms because, let’s face it, nobody wants to hear their partner fart.

Especially on Taco Tuesday.

I understand from the buyer’s agent that her client is really excited about the house. When we close the sale next month I’ll earn a good profit on the work I've done.

I'm pleased with that, of course.

But, even more, I’m pleased with the idea that another person is thrilled to make their home in a house that I created.