A couple who turned a Home Depot shed into a profit and then bought their dream home is inspiring others to get out of debt. It’s an excellent debt management pathway to financial freedom.
In 2019, Nick and Meghan Lucido purchased the shed for $27,000. After renovating the shed and living there for approximately a year, they sold the shed to a buyer who offered them much more than they could have ever imagined.
The couple regularly post photos of their home on social media and their story was shared on TikTok. They were amazed at how they transformed a shed into a home that was functional and made a profit.
A few years ago, Nick and Meghan were just young professionals in Georgia who were “keeping up with the Joneses,” as Nick described it.
Their journey began when they racked up some debt that they didn’t mean to get into.
After their son was born, they decided to manage their debt and save money by selling their home of 2,000 square feet and moving into a campervan.
It was a smart decision that allowed them to pay $82,000 in debt. They were able to purchase a new property and begin building their dream home, in the mountains of Georgia.
Nick and Meghan eventually became tired of living in the camper and decided to purchase and renovate a shed at Home Depot.
They added it to the eight acres of property that they had purchased for their new home.
Although it was a shell at first, the couple made it a home.
“We bought our code book, we met with the local code enforcement, we did everything that needed to be done to convert that into a home,” Nick said.
Nick was the general contractor during the renovation. The couple relied mainly on YouTube videos to transform the shed into a two-story, 860-square-foot home. It has a bedroom, a deck and working plumbing.
“It was very radical and extreme but we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Nick said.
The Lucidos spent approximately $60,000 to transform the shed into a livable house.
“A home is really just a place for you to lay your head down at night and just recover and replenish yourself. We didn’t spend a lot of time inside. When you have eight acres in the middle of the woods, you have some freedom to do what you want,” Nick said.
Initial plans were for the couple to live in the shed until they built their new home.
They saw an opportunity to sell when the pandemic struck and home prices rose across the country.
“We had a lot of people tell us we should Airbnb it out. It was kind of like, ‘Let’s just list it and see what happens.’ And we got a lot of hits on it. It was like, ‘Oh, maybe people do like this,’” Meghan said.
Many Americans moved to rural and suburban areas after the pandemic.
“I think it was an ideal space and with the market the way it was at the time, people were escaping Atlanta and the metro area and people wanted a little privacy and seclusion and I think that property delivered a lot,” Nick said.
Nick and Meghan sold their renovated home for $312,000 in 2021. They made approximately $225,000 profit which they used to build a new home on a different plot of land.
They moved in to an apartment while it was being built.
“There’s so much to unpack in this story, and I think our story is not unique in the sense that people are hurting,” Nick said.
“People are burdened by debt and the everyday weight of life. So, I think our debt story, how we were probably one of the very, very few to sell pretty much everything we own – including the furniture, I mean, we sold everything – I think there’s a little inspiration there that there’s light at the end of the path.”
Nick and Meghan’s only regret is not having it done sooner.
“The ability to pay off everything, move into a camper, and literally be debt-free was most the freeing experience that I think anyone can ever experience,” Nick told the New York Post.
While they are happily moved into their new fully-custom-built two-story home with an open porch, the couple isn’t closing their doors on flipping a home again. What do you think this debt management strategy is? Video below.
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