A couple who bought a house for less than $13,000 shares the reality of rehabilitating a home in downtown Detroit

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Securing the home was the easy part. In need of significant repairs, their fixer upper had been in an unlivable condition for about a year and a half. And while Craig and Polsgrove moved in the summer of 2014, they still don't have a kitchen.

"It's a unique living situation for the moment," Craig admits. "But it'll be worth it when it's all said and done."

So far, they've put about $65,000 toward renovations. They expect the finished product — including landscaping and the garage — to cost a total of $120,000.

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"When we bought the house it had been empty for seven years," Craig explains. "And it had changed hands many times before we purchased it, so there was a lot of work that had been started and a lot work that was quite questionable. We basically started from scratch for everything. We had a blank canvas to really make it our own."

Originally, it was completely unlivable, with missing windows and no real door handle. "We had to use a screwdriver every time we came in and out of the house just to get the door open," Craig says.

They stayed with Polsgrove's parents in Monroe, Michigan — about 50 miles from downtown Detroit — for a year, which was nice from a money-saving standpoint, but made for a long commute to work. After a year of 60-minute commutes, they decided to rent a more conveniently located place, one block from their Foursquare.

"After six months of renting we had mostly finished up the second floor to a point where we could move in and be fairly comfortable," Craig says. "That was June of 2014."

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They've been doing almost all the renovations on their own, save for a few projects that they had to contract out.

"We've saved a lot of money by being so hands-on, which is really important" Craig explains. "The goal of buying an inexpensive home is to be in the situation that we are in now — in our 30s and without a mortgage, which takes away a lot of financial stress. If you have somebody come in and do all of the renovating, you can get underwater really quickly."

While it's a big money saver — he estimates they're saving about $66,000 by handling the majority of the renovations — it's also a big time suck, Craig notes.

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Opening the doors of RUNdetroit at the same time hasn't helped free up time: "It's a double-edged sword," Craig says. "Business is going so well that it requires a lot of time. Because I'm spending so much time on the business, I'm spending less time on the house — so I can either make money, or I can spend it. Oftentimes, I default to making it."

"It's hard to really say how much time we've put into it," Craig continues. "But I wouldn't be surprised if we had a combined 2,000 to 3,000 hours."

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As for an estimate of when it will be complete, that's also hard to say. Their strategy is to save up for one project at a time: "We use one credit card for repairs," Craig tells Credit Sesame. "We put a new roof on, that gets paid off, then we get cabinets."

At this rate, they expect to have a kitchen by the spring of 2016.

"It's a big kitchen, and we want to be historically accurate, or at least give a nod to the history of the home when renovating it and installing the cabinets," Craig says. "To have the cabinets made would run between $18,000 and $22,000. It's very expensive. However, if I do most of the prep work — build the boxes and all the frames — we could have our kitchen complete for $7,500. It's going to take more time, but it will save a lot of money."

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Craig and Polsgrove are in it for the long run. When the renovations are all said and done, they plan on staying.

"I'm really happy to be 35 and mortgage-free," Craig says. "We've put so many personal touches on it — real plaster, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, custom kitchen cabinets (pending), and custom walk-in closets (pending) — that I don't think I could handle the stress of doing this, to this level, again."

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At the end of the day, if you're willing to roll up your sleeves and put the time and effort into making an unlivable space your own, it can be worth it.

Home prices are steadily on the rise in Detroit, Craig tells Business Insider, and it's only becoming more and more evident that they made a good investment.

"The market has changed radically here, and that's an understatement," he explains. "There's definitely been a big spike in home prices in our neighborhood — a couple of houses on the block are being listed for $170,000 to $215,000 — and I wouldn't be surprised if homes start selling for $300,000 in another three years. If at the end of the day, I'm in it for $120,000, that's a nice profit margin to be sitting on."