Monday, December 10, 2007

Shoulda Coulda Woulda

I suppose if I were going to blog about this experience it would have made sense to start from the beginning. Instead we're about six months down the road of this remodeling/repairing adventure and although far from over we have managed to overcome some of the biggest hurdles to making this a proper home.

Not the least of which was purchasing it in the first place. It was a bank foreclosed REO, transferred to HUD, who was more than a little difficult to deal with. Aside from obvious charm and sturdy bones this home failed every other possible aspect of it's home inspection.

A failed roof, an active termite infestation, lead paint, bad plumbing, faulty wiring, an ancient furnace, pilfered trim, missing light fixtures, missing doors, damaged walls, stinky carpeting, cracked windows and mold is only a partial list of what we faced when we signed onto this project. But, we loved it then and we love it now.

So, welcome to the blog that I hope will document our trials and accomplishments as we continue to pour heart and soul - oh, and money - bags and bags of money! - into our darling little money pit.

3 comments:

deaduser539539 said...

Hi! Congratulations on the beginnings of your home adventure! :) I have been working on our home since I bought it back in 2002. When I married Jenny, she joined right in.

I noticed a referral from your site, and wanted to say thank you for the link! I'll be adding a reciprocal link to our site today.

jonathan

We are in said...

Thanks, Jonathan! I appreciate the encouragement and the link. Love your blog!

Amalie said...

I've been meaning to visit your blog since I saw your post on mine. I got a little choked up reading this entry, I have to admit-- it's so similar to our experience (Even the name of my first blog post was "Shoulda started from the beginning..."

We bought our bungalow 5 months ago as a HUD foreclosure, with active termites that we addressed immediately and roof problems that have yet to be dealt with, wiring concerns, floor furnaces that the inspector wouldn't even turn on, carpet that was so stinky HUD included an escrow for its replacement (they said the house wasn't habitable with that stuff on the floor!), damaged walls hidden by wood paneling, cracked windows. So much was hidden, that we had no idea what we were getting into. And we started the blog after we'd begun to remedy a lot of this stuff, too.

Luckily, we got it for a steal at significantly less than it appraised for. We, too, have DIY Daydreams, and these houses become such love affairs that it's hard to come back to reality sometimes. I'm happy to commiserate anytime!