We spent $75,000 transforming our basement into an in-law suite for my mom. Living together works for our family, and we all save money.

We bought a house with my mom and spent $75,000 to renovate her in-law suite.

It saves us all money.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider My husband and I bought a house with my mom and renovated the basement as an in-law suite.

The $75,000 project took about two months, and my mom is thrilled with the results.

Living together is easier than expected, and it made buying a house in Connecticut more affordable.

I never thought I'd live with my mom again.

But in 2024 — as my husband and I struggled to find a house in Connecticut that we could afford, and my mom was looking for a way out of Florida — I had an idea: What if the three of us combined our incomes and bought a house together ? Two years later, my husband, our baby, my mom, and I all live under one roof in a 3,000-square-foot house near Danbury, about 60 miles from New York City, where my husband commutes to work .

Connecticut is my husband's home state, and after living there since 2020, we didn't want to leave.

We renovated the 900-square-foot finished basement into an in-law suite for my mom for $75,000, and she pays $1,200 a month toward the mortgage.

It might sound like a recipe for family drama, but we've found living together easy.

It's also made homeownership — and raising a child — significantly easier.

My mom downsized from her 1,600-square-foot house in Florida to an in-law suite.

Me, my mom, and my husband went on a family cruise in September 2024.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider My mom lived in her Tallahassee, Florida, home for about 25 years but wanted to escape the heat and hurricanes and live closer to me.