On March 31, we closed on our new home. When we began our home search we did not set out looking for a fixer upper and before Covid-19, we were in a sellers market. Many houses we found were priced out of our comfortable investment range. Meaning that we would most likely not be able to sell the house (5-10 years down the road) for a profit. It’s an unfortunate side effect of a seller’s market. So, we began warming up to another fixer upper and at the beginning of March, our offer was finally accepted for our new home on Bethany Lane. My husband renovated two houses before we were married, so he’s familiar with the process. Never owning a home myself, this will be my first renovation. I’d like to believe I’m not unfamiliar with the adventure as I grew up with parents who have been renovating their home for over 30 years. I watched my parents paint countless walls, rip up carpet, and put down floors. I listened and looked on as they fixed the surprises of water in the basement, trees falling on fences, and projects not going quite as they thought. I’d like to think I’m prepared for the adventure, so it’s time to get to work.
Working on a house during a quarantine has its challenges, but elated doesn’t even describe how happy we are to have a project to keep our minds occupied and not to mention a healthy dose of demo keeps us active during this time. We are ordering a lot online and doing our best to limit trips to Lowe’s and Home Depot, we have masks when necessary and go as early as possible to avoid being around too many people.
Before we stepped foot into our house, it had been sitting vacant for about four years. We were lucky not to have animal visitors but the house has some side effects of sitting empty so long. It’s sad to think why someone (the bank) would let a property fall into such disrepair. Therefore, we see this as not only an opportunity to build a wonderful home for ourselves but to give this particular house some TLC it desperately needs.
It’s demo day! We wasted no time getting started on demo and the first order of business was to remove the wall separating the dining room from the kitchen. We needed to get an accurate measurement for the peninsula cabinets we have planned to separate the kitchen and the dining room. The cabinets we are ordering are going to take 4-8 weeks to come in and we needed to get them ordered asap.
By the end of the first day, the kitchen cabinets were demoed and we had the measurements we needed. Satisfied with our work, and very tired we said good night to our new home.