Time Frame
It takes an especially dedicated person to live in a house while it is being renovated. If you intend to do this, you must have a minimum set of working facilities such as bathroom and kitchen in order to get an occupancy permit. Since most gut rehabs take between 6-12 months to acquire, finance, design, and construct, people generally prefer to maintain an alternate residence during construction.

Plan out what you will do if the project takes longer than expected, or contractors are difficult to schedule when you need them. The summer months when everyone is working on house projects are the contractors’ busiest.

Your Involvement
You must determine the extent to which you want to be involved in the process. Things to consider while making this decision include:

• How much “sweat equity” can you contribute? You can save money by doing some of the non-structural demolition yourself (plaster, non-structural walls, old wiring, old plumbing, etc). Other things that are relatively easy to learn are painting, tiling, cabinet installation, and hardware installation.
• Can you serve as general contractor? The general contractor gets bids for work, coordinates sub-contractors, verifies workmanship, and makes sure that work is performed per plans.
• You will be expected to make numerous decisions regarding finishes such as counters, cabinets, colors, fixtures, carpet, etc. The more reading and research you do beforehand, the better equipped you will be to make informed decisions.