I didn't mean to pull a disappearing act. I really didn't. I just thought we'd look at this pretty little farmhouse out in the country for something fun to do. And in the two weeks since, this is what has happened:
- We looked at the farmhouse a second time and decided we really did love it - it wasn't just a whim.
- We made the decision to move (by spring at the latest).
- We also looked at 10 other houses and found a second one that we love just as much.
- We cleaned out our basement, all kitchen cabinets, every single closet in the house, touched-up paint in 3 rooms, painted the kitchen cabinets, painted the exteriors of almost all of the windows, fixed a couple of broken closet doors, and thoroughly cleaned everything.
- We secured financing and spoke with the superintendents of different school systems.
And we thought all of that was enough. However, we underestimated the "bouncing back" of this housing market. After having a realtor walk through the house, we realized that there are a ton of houses just like ours in this price range. We have a lot of competition. So, in order to make any money on the house, we have to do more work. In the next 10 days, we hope to do the following:
- replace the carpeting in the living room and dining room
- rip up the carpet that covers the hardwood floors on the stairs and hall (done yesterday)
- refinish hardwood floors
- strip wallpaper in the kitchen
- paint kitchen, living room & dining room
- add new cabinet hardware
- paint a couple of ceilings
- install new kitchen countertops
- build and install new hardwood handrail on stairs
- paint the porch
- refinish the upstairs tub
- stain bathroom cabinet
- replace trim on exterior windows
- install new water softener
- re-stage the entire downstairs
So, if I'm not around much, you'll know what I'm doing. :)
If there's ONE thing I need huge improvment on right now for my three kids, it is this. My baby is already one and a half and I'm missing the opportunities to get those shots while she's itty bitty!
Would love love love to win this.