As of 1/18/12, Scotty and I are official homeowners in Colorado! Now, I would have announced this sooner but we ran into a few hiccups with the previous owner. We were sitting at closing just about done and it was time for him to sign the bill of sale. The bill of sale mentioned all the included appliances. Dude looked at us and said, “I got rid of all of those. They weren’t in the contract.” While Scotty and I mentally freaked out at each other, we decided to not react to that statement until our real estate agent was in the room. Luckily, she happened to walk in about 30 seconds after he said this. I quickly caught her up. His real estate agent verified it was in the contract and the agents discussed. We weren’t quite sure what was going to happen but decided to wait and see what the previous owner did.
Closing concluded after that. The agents asked for the keys so we could take possession. The seller said no. He had for some reason decided not to vacate his property. Uh… what?! Can you do that?! Turns out legally, no. We talked to the agents and the police department. We could not legally have him removed until 24 hours after closing. So we waited. Scott drove by multiple times during that 24 hour process (probably close to 10) to make sure that he appeared to be leaving.
4:30 PM on January 19th rolled around – and the house had a new door lock. I love having a handy husband. Last night we brought the dogs over. They ran like crazy animals through the whole house up and down 2 flights of stairs and around and around. They were super funny. We also put up some paint swatches and started pulling down the kitchen desk. Kitchen desks drive me NUTS. Talk about dating a house.
We also unfortunately (at least unfortunate for our budget) decided we will have to rip the carpet out. It really is just unsavable. In a few months, my husband will hopefully be laying beautiful new hardwoods throughout the whole downstairs. It will look so much better. I’ve decided I can probably wait on a fridge to get those new and much more sanitary and clean floors. Right now, we are starting our research on hardwoods versus bamboo. I’m leaning towards bamboo even though supposedly all hardwood is produced in an eco-friendly way these days. I just don’t believe it. Especially since I’m a penny pincher and will be ordering from the cheapest wholesale place I can find.
We officially have a house! As I told my husband, we now have a 3,618 square feet project!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Ugh!
Well, after waiting and waiting and waiting some more, we were almost ready to close this last Friday. We have been through a whirlwind of back and forth, delays, and more delays with this loan.
Both our loan officer and real estate agent said they have never seen so many hurdles come up for such well qualified buyers. I guess that’s life eh?
Cherry on top of the whole situation – the house will go to auction on Wednesday if we don’t close. We are in a waiting game waiting for a condition to clear with the IRS. Either we get the house VERY soon, or this whole process was waiting and fighting for nothing. Hopefully Wednesday will be a GOOD news update!
On a brighter note, Scott and I discovered the neatest store today! It’s called a Sears Outlet. They essentially sell floor models and scratched and dented appliances. We looked around today through there and realized we will be able to save a BOATLOAD if we are able to deal with a few cosmetic flaws. To give you an idea, I fell in love with a $3,000 stove today. It was KitchenAid, dual fuel, convection, and double oven. There was a TINY dent on the bottom the second oven. And I mean TINY. It was most visible from the side view. The sales person had to show it to me since I couldn’t find the blemish. Price tag on this bad boy? $1,500. Now, I don’t want to run out and spend $1,500 on a stove but there are some great deals to be found in there. The same fridges we’ve been eyeballing for nearly $3,000 were $1,300 and came with all the bells and whistles. We decided we could probably live with some minor flaws as long as our eyes weren’t drawn to them, they were coverable (aka fridge art) and they didn’t affect the performance of the machine. What’s even better is they are still completely covered under normal manufacturer’s warranties and you can purchase an extended protection plan. We were stoked to find such a place as we have 6 appliances to replace. 6!
Both our loan officer and real estate agent said they have never seen so many hurdles come up for such well qualified buyers. I guess that’s life eh?
Cherry on top of the whole situation – the house will go to auction on Wednesday if we don’t close. We are in a waiting game waiting for a condition to clear with the IRS. Either we get the house VERY soon, or this whole process was waiting and fighting for nothing. Hopefully Wednesday will be a GOOD news update!
On a brighter note, Scott and I discovered the neatest store today! It’s called a Sears Outlet. They essentially sell floor models and scratched and dented appliances. We looked around today through there and realized we will be able to save a BOATLOAD if we are able to deal with a few cosmetic flaws. To give you an idea, I fell in love with a $3,000 stove today. It was KitchenAid, dual fuel, convection, and double oven. There was a TINY dent on the bottom the second oven. And I mean TINY. It was most visible from the side view. The sales person had to show it to me since I couldn’t find the blemish. Price tag on this bad boy? $1,500. Now, I don’t want to run out and spend $1,500 on a stove but there are some great deals to be found in there. The same fridges we’ve been eyeballing for nearly $3,000 were $1,300 and came with all the bells and whistles. We decided we could probably live with some minor flaws as long as our eyes weren’t drawn to them, they were coverable (aka fridge art) and they didn’t affect the performance of the machine. What’s even better is they are still completely covered under normal manufacturer’s warranties and you can purchase an extended protection plan. We were stoked to find such a place as we have 6 appliances to replace. 6!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Boy how time has flown!
I haven’t been able to update much due to a large remodel project I’m in the middle of…. 
Here’s a quick run down of what my first weekend looked like:
We still have quite a bit to finish, but it is nice to see some progress!
Our new dishwasher: KitchenAid Superba Series
Our new stove: KitchenAid Dual Fuel Double Oven Range
The second weekend my mom and her boyfriend were in town visiting. It was nice to have a break from the house. All I feel like I do is work and come straight home and paint walls or cabinets. I’ll be glad when my kitchen is back together!
This past weekend (our third weekend in the house) we again didn’t get anything done to house guests. I LOVE have house guests since I get a break from the house. Though it sure does drag our projects out farther and farther.
On a plus side, the cabinets are 85% done. The bottom ones are 100% done and we only have 3 cabinets left to paint. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! We also were able to put together our guest bedroom this weekend. We ordered a nice memory foam mattress and frame so when our guests come over they aren’t stuck on the floor (or bringing their own bed like my mom did!)
On the projects for this week/weekend is to make an uphoulstered headboard for the guest room. We bought some plywood and are going to mess around with fabric and foam for an economical headboard option.
After about 3 weeks in the house I can say we fall in love with it more everyday!
Here’s a quick run down of what my first weekend looked like:
- Saturday - taped/repainted all the molding on the bottom level (except the tops of door frames), raked leaves up
- Sunday – started painting actual walls on the main level (Scott even was able to do the 30 foot walls in the family room most of the way!), picked up our new stove and new dishwasher
- Monday – our personal belongings were dropped off! I started unpacking and painting the kitchen cabinets white
- Tuesday – unpacked and worked on the cabinets
We still have quite a bit to finish, but it is nice to see some progress!
Our new dishwasher: KitchenAid Superba Series
Our new stove: KitchenAid Dual Fuel Double Oven Range
The second weekend my mom and her boyfriend were in town visiting. It was nice to have a break from the house. All I feel like I do is work and come straight home and paint walls or cabinets. I’ll be glad when my kitchen is back together!
This past weekend (our third weekend in the house) we again didn’t get anything done to house guests. I LOVE have house guests since I get a break from the house. Though it sure does drag our projects out farther and farther.
On a plus side, the cabinets are 85% done. The bottom ones are 100% done and we only have 3 cabinets left to paint. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! We also were able to put together our guest bedroom this weekend. We ordered a nice memory foam mattress and frame so when our guests come over they aren’t stuck on the floor (or bringing their own bed like my mom did!)
On the projects for this week/weekend is to make an uphoulstered headboard for the guest room. We bought some plywood and are going to mess around with fabric and foam for an economical headboard option.
After about 3 weeks in the house I can say we fall in love with it more everyday!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Let the Renovation Begin
Well, almost!
Thanks to an overactive imagination, my brain has officially become overloaded with a large quantity of DIY projects and ideas to turn our disaster-house into a home.
One of the first things we are doing is a good cleaning. And when I say we I mean the well priced cleaning service that I hired. After a good scrub down, the carpets will be cleaned so we can at least move our stuff in.
After that, the FUN part begins. Due to my husband’s inheritance of a large quantity of carpentry tools and saws and other dangerous machinery, my imagination is the only thing that limits what this house can have in it. Truth be told, we even discussed a slide downstairs or a fire pole (though chances of either of those are slim to none-just wishful thinking).
So on to the “real” ideas. One of the first projects we are going to do is paint. I’m hoping that not only will a fresh coat of paint refresh the disgusting, dog hair covered walls, it will make the place smell a whole lot better (especially the master closest!) Then it is on to refinishing the hardwood floors. I unfortunately am a wood snob, and not in the sense of quality. I HATE most colors of wood. My husband has learned that this is just one of my charming quirks that makes me who I am. I hate blonde wood, beech wood, pink wood, whitewashed wood and most other woods in between. I have preference for dark wood floors, but not too dark, and not too much red. Can you imagine how fun I was picking out hardwoods for our last house? And imagine my horror when not only did our last house have mint green carpet, the wood was stained a nearly pink color.
So for our refinishing, I’m thinking a color like this:
And to match our new refreshed kitchen, we will most certainly need some new appliances. Since the dishwasher is unusable, this may jump to the top of our list as I don’t think I’ll last long cooking if I’m washing dishes by hand.
If I still have some sanity left after all that painting, I’m going to tackle the banister. What use is it having shiny, pretty colored floors if your banister is the old color making the rest of the house ugly?
Now, I don’t think I will be able to get the dark wood on the stairs, but I at least want to update the railing to be bright, molding white with the floor stain to contrast on the handrail. Oh how I would love to walk into a foyer like this! This is another one of those projects that won’t take much as far as money, but is going to be hours of labor.
Phew. Well I’m exhausted just thinking about all of my future projects. That should keep me occupied for January at least. More project wishes to come.
Thanks to an overactive imagination, my brain has officially become overloaded with a large quantity of DIY projects and ideas to turn our disaster-house into a home.
One of the first things we are doing is a good cleaning. And when I say we I mean the well priced cleaning service that I hired. After a good scrub down, the carpets will be cleaned so we can at least move our stuff in.
After that, the FUN part begins. Due to my husband’s inheritance of a large quantity of carpentry tools and saws and other dangerous machinery, my imagination is the only thing that limits what this house can have in it. Truth be told, we even discussed a slide downstairs or a fire pole (though chances of either of those are slim to none-just wishful thinking).
So on to the “real” ideas. One of the first projects we are going to do is paint. I’m hoping that not only will a fresh coat of paint refresh the disgusting, dog hair covered walls, it will make the place smell a whole lot better (especially the master closest!) Then it is on to refinishing the hardwood floors. I unfortunately am a wood snob, and not in the sense of quality. I HATE most colors of wood. My husband has learned that this is just one of my charming quirks that makes me who I am. I hate blonde wood, beech wood, pink wood, whitewashed wood and most other woods in between. I have preference for dark wood floors, but not too dark, and not too much red. Can you imagine how fun I was picking out hardwoods for our last house? And imagine my horror when not only did our last house have mint green carpet, the wood was stained a nearly pink color.
So for our refinishing, I’m thinking a color like this:
To refresh your memory our current color is this:
To match my shiny (newish) floors, I have every intention to replace the cabinetry in the same delightful blonde shade to 42″ white cabinets. Since I’m a girl dreaming of steak on a hamburger budget, there is a better change I’ll paint the cabinets white. Scott and I did this in our last home and were quite pleased with the how economical and well this option came out. One day I’ll replace the cabinets with 42″ uppers since the wasted space where the bulk head is drives me nuts. I also want to rip out the kitchen desk (who ever thought it was a good idea to put a junk catcher in the kitchen) and turn that into a wall pantry.
For some reference:
If I still have some sanity left after all that painting, I’m going to tackle the banister. What use is it having shiny, pretty colored floors if your banister is the old color making the rest of the house ugly?
Now, I don’t think I will be able to get the dark wood on the stairs, but I at least want to update the railing to be bright, molding white with the floor stain to contrast on the handrail. Oh how I would love to walk into a foyer like this! This is another one of those projects that won’t take much as far as money, but is going to be hours of labor.
Phew. Well I’m exhausted just thinking about all of my future projects. That should keep me occupied for January at least. More project wishes to come.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Inspection Day
Today we had our inspection. Overall, the inspection went well and didn’t have too many surprises.
Problems:
My honey-do list is growing by the minute! Pinterest really isn’t helping with making this remodel reasonable either.
Luckily, our real estate agent is going to try to get some concessions with the roof/gutters/trim. Since it’s a short sale, we can’t be too hopeful, but it can’t hurt to ask for some money off or credits at closing.
Oh the changes we will be making! One major change is that we need some new appliances! JEESH! I don’t even think we’ll be able to put food in the fridge or dishes in the dishwasher — they are THAT bad.
Here’s to keeping our fingers crossed that this keeps working out!
Problems:
- Roof needs replacing ASAP (we knew this — old cedar shake roof)
- Gutters need replacing (not too bad…we can do this with the roof)
- Window outside trim needs replacing on quite a few windows due to rotting
- Inside tracks need replacing on windows (due to humidity in house)
My honey-do list is growing by the minute! Pinterest really isn’t helping with making this remodel reasonable either.
Luckily, our real estate agent is going to try to get some concessions with the roof/gutters/trim. Since it’s a short sale, we can’t be too hopeful, but it can’t hurt to ask for some money off or credits at closing.
Here’s to keeping our fingers crossed that this keeps working out!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
We got the house!
My realtor gave me the best news possible yesterday-we got the house!! Originally, the house started out with a less than 1 in 10 chance of actually ever being ours. As time went on, those odds became better and better as we found out more and more about the property.
Since it was a short sale, it had to first be accepted by the seller, then by the bank. We we warned after the seller very quickly accepted the offer that we would be waiting weeks until we heard back from the bank.
Luck was apparently going our way (or it was just meant to be) because we heard back from the bank after only 5 business days. The offer was presented to the bank Monday, and they accepted it on Friday. Ever since hearing the news, Scott and I have been so excited and mentally gutting and remodeling the house in our head.
Some people look at my like I’m crazy when I explain that the house has great street appeal, but is disgusting inside. And I say all of this with a smile on my face. There is nothing more rewarding than turning a house you purchase into a home. And while most people say remodels can tear couples and families apart (decisions, the mess, the finances), Scott and I seem to have this weird ability to get closer and closer. The more time we spend discussing ideas and what work we want to do when (most of it is financially decided), we realize how much we both want the same thing in our home.
In Seatlle we owned a condo that gave us less than 700 square feet to make our own. This time we have 3,618 — and we couldn’t be more excited!
Since it was a short sale, it had to first be accepted by the seller, then by the bank. We we warned after the seller very quickly accepted the offer that we would be waiting weeks until we heard back from the bank.
Luck was apparently going our way (or it was just meant to be) because we heard back from the bank after only 5 business days. The offer was presented to the bank Monday, and they accepted it on Friday. Ever since hearing the news, Scott and I have been so excited and mentally gutting and remodeling the house in our head.
Some people look at my like I’m crazy when I explain that the house has great street appeal, but is disgusting inside. And I say all of this with a smile on my face. There is nothing more rewarding than turning a house you purchase into a home. And while most people say remodels can tear couples and families apart (decisions, the mess, the finances), Scott and I seem to have this weird ability to get closer and closer. The more time we spend discussing ideas and what work we want to do when (most of it is financially decided), we realize how much we both want the same thing in our home.
In Seatlle we owned a condo that gave us less than 700 square feet to make our own. This time we have 3,618 — and we couldn’t be more excited!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Welcome!
I have an obsession about blogging. I’ve just never had the motivation to actually have my own blog. Now that life is getting a bit more interesting for my husband and I, I thought this would be as good of time as any to start a blog.
Here’s our story:
Scott and I have been married almost a year. We both grew up and lived our entire lives in the Seattle area. And up until about 3 weeks ago, Seattle was our home. Recently, I was given an opportunity with my job to transfer from the Seattle area to Denver, Colorado–and we decided to take it. So here we are. A brand new city where we know where nothing is and don’t know anyone. And despite that, we are loving the city and enjoying our version of a life adventure.
So far we have snowboarded a few mountains (Keystone and A-Basin) and taken many trips to the dog park. AND we just put an offer on a home. It’s a short sale, but if things go as we hope they do, our blog will turn into a DIY, remodel, GUT THE UGLY blog. We are crossing our fingers!
Here is the front view. Looks can be deceiving. It’s not a bad looking house, but needs some serious help inside. I’ll post more pictures after we know more if this home will actually be ours. Here’s to hoping!
Here’s our story:
Scott and I have been married almost a year. We both grew up and lived our entire lives in the Seattle area. And up until about 3 weeks ago, Seattle was our home. Recently, I was given an opportunity with my job to transfer from the Seattle area to Denver, Colorado–and we decided to take it. So here we are. A brand new city where we know where nothing is and don’t know anyone. And despite that, we are loving the city and enjoying our version of a life adventure.
So far we have snowboarded a few mountains (Keystone and A-Basin) and taken many trips to the dog park. AND we just put an offer on a home. It’s a short sale, but if things go as we hope they do, our blog will turn into a DIY, remodel, GUT THE UGLY blog. We are crossing our fingers!
Here is the front view. Looks can be deceiving. It’s not a bad looking house, but needs some serious help inside. I’ll post more pictures after we know more if this home will actually be ours. Here’s to hoping!
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