Over Budget and not completed...now what?

[Stacy E.]

Hi Everyone,

I will post longer once it is all finished (if that day ever comes) but just wanted to get some advice from you all.  I decided to buy a freeze up foreclosure last year as my primary residence with the idea of house hacking and then an eventual rental.  The house has great bones and lots of special character features like a stained glass entryway, large stone fireplace and large bbq pit.  The house is about 2100 sq ft on the main living area and 1100 for the basement (which I am converting into a rental).  I made lots of mistakes with the rehab and chalked it up to a learning experience i.e. paying for pipes to be fixed that I decided to scrap after plans changed, following a relators recommendation for contractors without seeking out multiple bids + many more.  Unfortunately, I did not read J Scott's books until deep in my rehab...  I should have already completed the rehab and have the lower unit rented but that is not the case and my holding costs continue to rise.  I suppose I didn't take into account the larger the house the more EVERYTHING costs.

So my question is now what do you do when you know you are going to go over budget? Do I just stick to the basics now or do I continue with the level of the rest of the house? At the end of the rehab I have to have an appraisal from the bank so I want to make sure that I am doing everything to raise/keep the value of the house.  I am making progress but certainly feeling a bit overwhelmed.  

Advice/encouragement appreciated-- This is my first large rehab project...