Finding the House of our dreams

After deciding to search for a house together in January 2009, this was the first one we looked at. We thought we could pick it up for a song since it was in substantial disrepair and had all the modern features of the house on “The Brady Bunch”.
The house was built in 1969 and did not appear to have been updated since. It had a funky smell and the dark cabinets and retro fixtures reminded me of my youth. The bathroom was horrible with tiny ceramic tiles of tan and brown, you'll see them in a later post.
Well, we paid more than we expected, but the house was located in a remote wooded area with two acres of land and a built in pool. One neighbor is visible from the house but the summer foliage will cover that with no problem.
The outside was in desperate need of paint, everything needed work from top to bottom. There was potential here and we were convinced we could do it.
The owner informed us that all the renovations we wanted were cosmetic (HA!) and refused to mitigate the price. "besides," we were informed by the seller's realtor, "there is a buyer who keeps making offers higher than yours." (We suspected later that this was a lie to either hasten dumping the house on us or keeping us from buying it all together). Our Realtor showed us many other houses, but we kept comparing all others to this one. Finally, we decided to stop kidding ourselves and ante up. We made an offer only $10.000 less than the asking price.

Before and After shots

Before: Replacing the furnace was the first thing we addressed and for good reason. This looks like the original that was installed 40 years ago.
On top of being old, it was noisey and very rusted. A new furnace would also qualify for the tax credit offered as part of the 2009 stimualous package.



After: Although we spent too much on a new furnace, this one operated much more efficiently, was quieter and we knew we could trust it over the long haul.

Before: This is the basement as it looked when we first took ownership. besides the furnace, the old galvanized water tank leaked air and pressure was weak.
After: A few months after the furnace was installed, we put in a new water tank. Though smaller, it had a bladder control and we installed a stronger pressure control to improve the waterpressure in the house. Th small tank in the center is a zip pump for the artesian well that we no longer need. We re-routed the pumbing so that the only water supplied by the artesian well is the outside toilet by the pool and the outdoor hose connection. All the other water is now supplied by the drilled well.

Before: We were stunned by the lies we had been told about the condition of the pool. A week before the close, this is what we found when it was uncovered.



After: We had already begun making substaintial investments in the house, we had no choice but to absorb the expense to repair the pool. Only two weeks after closing the deal, the pool was resurfaced, relined and refilled.

BEFORE: Where the refrigerator used to be at the sunroom entrance (note - this is after peninsula was removed)

AFTER: We built a pantry and moved the refridgerator to the other side of the kitchen

Before: Looking from the kitchen to the dining area

After: No more peninsula, new floors, slider with grid

Before: There was nothing about the old Kitchen we liked

What we wanted: This kitchen was what we wanted but would it fit?

After: Even better than we thought. And we added a microwave and new lighting.

Before: Front of house before facelift

After: Front of house after facelift

Before: What the house looked like the first time we saw it

After: New siding, windows but still needs new front door and garage door

After -After once the garage door was installed

More Before and Afters

The back of the house:

The day we closed, April 16, 2009... The pool lining falling in, old siding and windows

After, Spring 2010, new slider, siding and windows, pool liner and painted foundation