Two sisters buy a house together — save $10,210 by using ChatGPT

AI technologies like ChatGPT have changed the way people acquire information in quite a few ways. No more poring over tens of books, scourging the net for info — now, anything you need is at your fingertips. Two sisters seemed to have gotten the best use out of the new technology after they bought a new house together and saved thousands of dollars in renovations by doing all of it themselves with the help of ChatGPT, per the New York Post. The sisters, Heather Roberts and Anya Hughes, saved around $10,210 after buying their apartment for $178,686 in May 2024.

The inside of the apartment had to be completely ripped out, so the women taught themselves how to do that with the help of YouTube, TikTok and ChatGPT. "Out of necessity, we decided to do it ourselves," Roberts, a barista and an HR Admin worker, told the outlet. "I was president of the feminist society at university and Anya is the womans' champion at her university, as well as starting and running the feminist society there. Since we knew what the word meant, we were strong feminists. We just rolled up our sleeves and got to it," she added. The woman mentioned that she isn't very sporty and wanted to show people that anyone can do it if she can. "There are options if you can't get on the property ladder."

The sisters hope to inspire other women to pursue DIY projects, per the outlet. They bought the property in the same month they saw it — the house didn't really receive much attention at the auction. They had decided to simply put paint on the walls and carpets on the floors. Roberts shared that they are not "fussy people" and were not bothered by the state of the house, but when they started working on the place, it started falling apart and the women realized that it was going to be a "huge project." They got the apartment's keys in August of 2024 and brought in builders to get quotes for the work that needed to be done.

"On the first day, the builders had quoted us for taking out the fireplace with an electric fire. They said it would cost $255 to take out," Roberts recounted. However, she hoped that they would be able to do these things by themselves, until Hughes pulled the fireplace and it fell to the floor. The duo managed to rip the whole place in a matter of just two days. They had help for plumbing, rewiring, setting up the kitchen and extensions and decided to do the rest of the things by themselves. The older sister spent 30 hours every week aside from her three jobs to work at the house, while the younger sister spent 10 hours every week in between juggling university and exams.

"Painting the apartment took three weeks — I have no idea how much it would have cost me to hire a painter. We’d have needed a carpenter for the skirting and again, I have no idea how much that would have been," the older sister went on. The two of them don't have a builder in the family, so they turned to the internet for help. At times, they would get too much information, so they would type up prompts in ChatGPT for things like "how to cure wood." Roberts is very happy with her project and grateful for all the support she has received. The outpouring of appreciation and support has her wondering if she could be flipping houses for a living. As soon as they are done with the current house, the sisters plan to sell it, hopefully continuing on their DIY journey like trailblazers.