- Tia, a North Dakota woman, was looking to downsize to a smaller home when she came across a house being sold for $1
- The owner told Tia he wasn’t sure anyone was up to the challenge, but once she took a look at the sturdy foundation, she knew she could handle it.
- Tia tells PEOPLE what it’s like documenting her house transformation and sharing it on TikTok
A North Dakota woman has a dollar and a dream — to fix up a house and make it her safe haven.
Tia, who goes by the username @tiatortillaaaa on TikTok, lives in a small town in North Dakota. When she found herself looking for a new house, she didn’t anticipate the adventure ahead.
“Houses here are usually under $100,000 already. I was looking to sell the house that I’m in right now because the mortgage was more than what I needed. Because of the small town, I felt like if I sold my house, I could get something else and be able to have a little bit more financial freedom. That’s kind of the beauty of a small town compared to the city,” Tia tells PEOPLE.
In looking for the next place she’d call home, Tia visited a house she ultimately passed on because of a bad foundation. Tia notes it was the owner of that house who mentioned he had another house he “basically wanted to give away” because he didn’t “know of anybody who would want to fix it up.”
Tia checked out the two-bedroom home and found a solid foundation. Though the work wouldn’t be easy, as the house hadn’t been cleared out yet, it could have a major pay off.
“I was like, ‘I might take on that challenge,’ and then I went through with it,” she shares. “We drew up the sale paperwork for $1.”
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While a lot of people question why Tia would take on such an extensive project, she looks at the bright side and what the project offers her.
“I knew that it would be a lot of work, but my mindset was that houses are so expensive right now. Even if I was to spend like $30,000 on it, which is my goal for it, then I would still be in a significantly better place than if I was to buy just a normal house,” she explains.
“So, my mindset going in has been [to] take it one step at a time. If I can get out of the contractor work for under $20,000, then hopefully I’ll have enough to do the interior. But even with a big house downtown, it would be like $30,000. I felt pretty optimistic about it from the jump because of that.”
Contractors will take care of the work Tia isn’t comfortable doing herself, but she will take a more hands-on approach in other areas.
“I got a contractor for the electrical and for the furnace. The rest, I’m more of a DIY lookup and ask questions to figure it out,” she explains.
“For the roof and the plumbing, I’m going to try to do it myself. This morning, I looked up a YouTube video about how to remove a tub for the bathroom remodel. I will try to do it all myself, but I’ll have help from asking questions. Hopefully, family and friends can also step in a few times and show me some things.”
The roof is currently underway, with Tia noting it’s only “half messed up.”
“I have all the roof materials coming in on Wednesday and I’ll start that project. And then I’m starting on the bathroom, as well. Hopefully, I can move into it within a month or two.”
Tia is excited to see the progress and transform the house into her own. Her biggest challenges will likely be her bathroom and kitchen, but she’s optimistic it can be done.
“In the kitchen, I don’t have a stove, I don’t have a microwave, I don’t have anything but a 1950s Filco fridge. No appliances. Then I’ll have to get all the cabinets. There’s really nothing in the kitchen. It’s just a room that I’ve turned into a kitchen, and then I have electrical. I have to work with them on ways to plug in all the stuff and lay it out,” she says.
“The bathroom will be pretty hard because everything was built in 1924. The tub is extremely heavy. The sink is extremely heavy. It’s just built so much sturdier and stronger to last, so getting everything out to renovate will be hard.”
Thankfully, the house has now been cleaned out, which was no small feat after “it was used for stage for 30 years.” This allows her to do more envisioning with the space.
“I really like how the living room leads into the dining room. When you walk through the front door, you can see all the way through — the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen. I’m really excited to turn the living room into something cool. I really love that the house is so small. It’s perfect for just myself, which is another reason why I took it on.”
Time is somewhat of a factor for the DIYer, who is hoping to be in her $1 home by Sept. 20.
“I have a month to try to make it liveable to move in. It’s a very lofty goal, but that’s when my current house closes. So I’m going to try to make it in the next month. I’ve been doing work daily to try and make that happen. I just need to get my bedroom good and if need be, I can use my parents’ house in town for showers and whatnot. But hopefully, I can get it all done in a month and won’t need to do that.”
Documenting the process has been a no-brainer for Tia, who started making content online in 2017.
“I decided I’m going to stick to a niche and that niche is my $1 house. It’s been insane the amount of support I’ve gotten. And it’s so much fun to make these videos. It actually motivates me a lot to get there every day and work.”
TikTokers are also offering Tia some valuable advice.
“I have learned a lot from them because there are a lot of people who fix up houses for a living. So they’ll leave comments saying, ‘I ran into this too, here’s how you do it.’ A lot of people shared information on what you might run into with an old house. I do try to read everything and take it all in. It’s been a pretty positive experience so far.”
Once the house is in good shape, Tia’s looking forward to taking on the decor.
“I’m excited to be done renovation-wise so I can start decorating. I love interior design. I’ve never had such a small house where I can make every corner something I love. I feel like with this house, I can just take the time to make everything my own. I’m looking forward to it. It’s all been a blessing so far.”
