Last month we lost our little car-girl, and earlier this week i got hung up on sorting through my photos to see what i needed to catch you up on. Going through the photos was easy; figuring out why they aren't synching across devices and the universe (iCloud) was a rabbit hole Dan finally dug me out of. I haven't solved the problem yet and discovered a new one in the process, but screw it! My fans are dying for news of progress!
When we first got access to the house in January, getting started on renovations was hampered by the "help" we got when we started asking for estimates.
Our original thinking was to get the house habitable and back on the rental market ASAP. We talked to several contractors with the intention of finding out what what possible and not possible in our original designs.
The first contractor basically sneered at our ideas and mocked them rather than explaining why X wasn't a good idea; not suggesting that if we were trying to achieve Y, maybe do Z instead? He flat out said that we should just get an exterminator and slap a coat of paint on the interior and sell or rent. Utterly unprofessional and unhelpful. I was feeling so helpless without some sound, reasoned advice from an expert.
The neighborhood is what might be called working class and expectations seem to be very (very) low for rentals (holes in the walls are ok) and equally low for the types of renters you can expect (trying to light a fire with wood in the furnace). Still, we have pride, and i have a hard time charging rent for a shithole. And, if you read and saw pics in earlier posts, you know our renters left us a shithole. Besides, i am in love with this house!
The second contractor raised more questions than he gave advice and put me in a bit of a tail spin. Why are you keeping the house if you're moving to Central America? If you're keeping it to move back to if things don't pan out as ex pats, why don't you fix it up the way you'd want to live in it. As expensive as the renovation is going to be, go all out. Hmmm.... food for thought.
So why were we keeping the house instead of selling it? If we come back to the US after retiring overseas, we don't have to live here. We can find another place and would have the profits from the sale in the meantime.
If we are keeping it to live here part time and part time elsewhere, who will care for it when we're gone? Maintaining two households? Pets moving back and forth? Does a divided life work for me? I don't think so.
Should we keep it to live here full time? I adore the house, even without remodeling, and the town is very laid-back and friendly as hell. I'd miss the international groceries from the mid-atlantic, but stores 3 1/2 hours away have enough to keep me supplied. Just a monthly trip to see family and friends in San Antonio and restocking. We have some friends, great neighbors, and lakes, state parks, and the AF base.
Still. We have wanted to explore overseas since we got married. We're not too stubborn to admit that might not be the right thing for us anymore, but i don't think that's true. And living here and just traveling a lot precludes getting a dog. My heart breaks at the thought.
Where did all this soul searching take us? We want to keep the house for rental income and because i stinkin' love it. We won't remodel as we would if we were staying or planning on coming back because of, well, expense. So here are the existing layout, fantasy layout, and eventual layout.
Back in January i posted video walk throughs of the house
(http://dandsliving.blogspot.com/2017/01/finally-in-san-angelo.html).
Here is a very-much-not-to-scale sketch of the layout:
(http://dandsliving.blogspot.com/2017/01/finally-in-san-angelo.html).
Here is a very-much-not-to-scale sketch of the layout:
When we thought to make the place awesome for us to return to,
we came up with this design
(remember that it's a pier-and-beam house; moving plumbing is easy as pie):
But when it came down to it, it's a rental house we are keeping for the income. *sigh*
Here is the final design, but you'll need to read on to get an idea of what's changing
(cuz, damn, it's a lot of work!)
You'll notice that the "as is" and "final" aren't all that different. So what have we been working on?
- Stench removal: everything from baking soda, to chlorine, to Nature's Miracle. I still get a whiff occasionally, but it's not a deal breaker.
- The former recreational room is now a bedroom with a closet and door. (Although to get to the back yard from the house, you have to pass through this room)
- The oversized sliding glass door is now a lovely french door with shades in the glass.
- The front door, back door, and garage door are all new and secure!
- Wall paper is either removed or mitigated (a 3 week process) so that most of the interior can be painted "white metal" from Behr. The kitchen and hall will be "upbeat" yellow.
- The kitchen cabinets, stove, and dishwasher are scrubbed within an inch of their lives. With clorox and abrasives. I will need to refinish the kitchen cabinets.
- There will be a new kitchen floor and counter.
- The full bath is all new down to the studs....including some of the studs!
- All of the interior doors have been scrubbed (no small feat!) and will get new knobs (most are missing).
- Most rooms are getting new lighting/ceiling fans.
- Ceilings are being washed and/or painted.
- Hardwood floor is being scrubbed and stained.
- Exterior trim is getting painted (Behr iron mountain)
- There is a new HVAC, heat pump, and water heater.
- All new windows, shades, curtains.
This is the water from cleaning ONE door:
Every square inch of this house must be touched, cleaned, scrubbed, painted, refinished, replaced in some way. My heart really breaks a bit not to honor this house as it should be. The first owner was a carpenter and built several shelf units, paneling, and details that show a lot of love. I feel that love and hate to give this treasure over to someone who just wants a roof.
The Legend!
