A little sweat equity...

I have heard the term many times "sweat equity" and it always sounded like a good idea, but after 3 weeks of literally sweating and working nonstop on this house, I am not sure I am sold on the concept. I will give you a little update and then it is back to work again (we have to move into the new place by January 1). We tore down the lathe and plaster, ripped down some walls, revamped the electrical system, reenforced the upstairs room, installed new windows and doors (compliments of Tormino's Sash and Glasss), sheetrocked everything and cleaned a lot. Needless to say it has been a long couple weeks. It was awesome to have so many people step up and help as I know Whit and I could not have done it ourselves.

I am always fascinated by the process of renovating a home. I always underestimtate the time it takes to complete a project and the overall cost of a particular item. The biggest fear most of the time is the unknown. What is going to be behind that wall? In this project we found a 2x4 signed by the owner dated 9/30/1931 and some newspaper insulation with an aritcle talking about the Jim Braddock (Cinderella Man, Russell Crowe, boxing...you know the movie) vs Joe Louis. We had to go watch the movie again after seeing the article. It's one of Whit's favorites.

It has been a balancing of schedules but in the end this project is coming along as scheduled and with all of the grunt work out of the way, it is time to add our finishing touches. We have a few surprises with some modern touches that fit in this 1907 craftsman.

Below are some pictures from the renovation. I will have more to post when I collect all of the iphone photos from Whit, Josiah and Joseph.

I will keep you more updated as I coulndt really think straight the last two weeks. We definitely want to have people over when we are completed or if you happen to be a handy painter, let me know as we are recruiting all painters with a promised pay of food and drinks.

If you are interested in your own fixer or just want to upgrade to a completely finished home let me know and I can be searching for you.

Diamond in the Rough!

Not long after I got my realtor's license, I stumbled across a fixer with great potential. I had seen enough houses at this price to know what a great deal it was the moment I walked in the door. It had a ton of space, tall ceilings, new kitchen, nice hardwoods, room to grow...basically what our current house doesn't have. Normally, I would have just emailed it on to an investor, but for some reason this one stuck with me. I wasn't sure why with its faded yellow exterior and 2 inch texture on the living room walls. Nonetheless, I decided to show Whitney (I must preface with the fact that she was going to her MIT classes, student teaching, coaching , and still doing photography so she might have been a little delirious and tired of seeing houses with me). But, surprisingly, she loved it as well and we put an offer in the next morning. The house definitely needs some work, but what a "fun" project it will be.

My favorite part of this old house is the 500 square foot attic space with 10 foot ceilings. It will be quite the transformation, but in the end it should be an awesome master suite with walk-in closets and large master bathroom. I know it doesn't look like much now but when we are done it might even be good enough to show on Pinterest ;)

Stay tuned for more pictures and renovation updates. I post before and after photos. Also, I will provide tips and renovation techniques for these older homes and what to look for when buying an older home. We are supposed to close on the house 12/2/11 signaling the start of the renovations. I will update the blog as we complete projects and get advice from the followers on how we should renovate parts of the home.

If you are looking for an investment property, first time home, or just want to get into something a little bigger, let me know and I will keep an eye for the perfect property to fit your needs.