Living Practically

Soooooooooo...yeah I bought a house.  Well, I looked online at places and with my Mom's help we agreed on a property and she bought it with my money LOL.  There were many factors that went into this decision, but the biggest thing was affordability in the present and down the line.  The great thing about the Internet is that you can look up almost anything and get an answer.  We looked at properties within a certain price range, but then we also looked at property taxes that were due.  There were comparably priced places that ranged from $1000/year to $4000/year in property taxes...so we were able to weed out the more expensive zip codes quite easily.  I wanted a place for us that would be big enough to give us enough space to live under the same roof and not be up under each other at all times. I also wanted enough space so that my Mom could have her sewing room and I could have a place to practice. Here's a pic of the living room in my house I short sold in Vegas...

We had just moved in and you can see the curtains my Mom was making on the bottom right.  It was small about 1100 Sq. ft., but it was brand new and that was nice.  I picked out everything inside which of course is super FUN!!

I contemplated moving back to Vegas...prices are amazing there. BUT of course the short sale is being reflected as a foreclosure on my credit, the bastards, so I couldn't get a loan.  So anyway, we picked out this one in Cleveland:

It was owned by the bank and was boarded up to prevent (more) vandalism seeing as the property was empty. 4 bedroom with a finished attic...so really 5 bedrooms.  Because the economy took a downturn, people were looking for any way to make a buck...well that meant they were breaking into empty houses and stealing the electrical wiring and plumbing to sell.  We took this as a good thing because that meant we would be able to update everything quite easily.  The house was built in like 1904 or something like that so it definitely would have needed some updating anyway.

Before we bought it we had several contractors take a look at it to give us quotes for renovation and to ensure that it was structurally sound.  The siding had been redone recently, which was a plus because that's a huge expense and also shows that the house was cared for - maybe someone lost their job and couldn't continue with the improvements/house payments.

One of the first things that we did was to close in the back door.  This not only gave us extra wall/counter space in the kitchen, it gave us security of only having 2 instead of 3 doors, and it's one less place for arctic air to come into the house.

We also want to have several of the 1st floor windows closed in as well...BUT baby steps.  Because we had to replace the entire electrical, heating, and plumbing components, permits had to be pulled and the city had to inspect the work (huge plus - this also means that the contractors and subs have to be properly licensed and the work is double checked for quality).  Still the plumbing hasn't been inspected so that's holding up completion of one of the bathrooms and the kitchen.  Can't move in until those are done.

This house is in a mixed neighborhood...there are many new homes, many renovated homes, and many homes that need to be torn down.  This is a great example of what I mean.  The house on the right clearly has been recently renovated and the one on the left has the condemned sign on it.  The other day the house to the left of the one on the left was torn down as well...it was an eyesore!!!

I kinda wish I could buy and renovate the one on the left...it's a two suite house you can see the doors on either side of the property.  But I am sure that would take much more money than I have now...baby steps; maybe one day :)

So far this process is seeming to live up to my dream I had watching those TLC renovation programs.  It's a lot of work and you have to be really patient with everyone involved.  You all know patience is not one of my strong suits, but I am getting better and luckily for me the contractors are lovely people.  It's taken us some time to get on the same page, but we are getting there and I am so excited to see what it will look like in the coming month as they should be finishing soon.

More to come!!!  Wait until you see the inside!! Oh my!

Oh and by the way...the house cost plus the renovation is paid for...the only financial responsibility I will have is property taxes and utilities...YAY for financial freedom!