Today is Jan 13, and work is partially done, but most of the stages are not fully completeStages are:1. deposit2. framing complete3. mechanical roughs complete4. insulation and drywall5. trim and paint6. cabinets and countertops7. mechanical trims8. project doneMoney are evenly spread among them. 

New floor, painting, appliance, new bathtubs, shower tiles, new Ikea cabinets.

For example, she says some shelves in the kitchen are missing in cabinets and in the freezer and a handle is missing on a closet door.

So, if this contractor you're referring to just replaced kitchen cabinets, painted, and sanded and refinished floors, eg, an easy permit would totally have covered all of that work.

Beyond that a kitchen alone: new cabinets, counters, appliances will likely cost you more than $20k.  

If we eliminate the storage space, we could open up the entire wall for cabinets with counter space next to the washer and dryer, and the remainder of the space would be living room. 

Flooring, paint, some cabinet refinishing.

Especially now that the Canadian snowbirds have come and are competing with the others for labor.A lot of the kitchen/bath remodel guys companies will be able to get your counters/cabinets/sink/small plumbing done at a reasonable price -- depending on what you consider reasonable! 

For instance, my partner and I spent 5k on new countertops and cabinets.

As they proceeded to do some demolition, they stacked the flooring in house in a pile, stored cabinets we planned to salvage for the kitchen outside in the elements, and left a leaky faucet running in the kitchen held up by a garbage bag that broke onto the floor.