Thank you... Thank you... Thank you... For all the wonderful well wishes!
(If you are scratching your head at this post, take a look at the previous post.)
Loan approved. Initial offer has been phoned into the Listing Agent. We meet with our wonderful Derrick tomorrow to go over where we go from here... (It is a short sale home... We will have to run our own tests and reports and wait to see if the Seller's bank accepts our tentative offer...)
But so far, so good!
I called my brother (the general contractor, not the farmer) and asked his thoughts on the cost of redoing the sun room. There is some damage that will have to be taken care of, and only the results of the inspector's reports will let us know just how much damage there is. The upside is, that the home is such a good deal, that even if we demo the whole back and buld it from scratch, we can totally do it. (Sigh of relief from The Boyfriend, happy dance from me...)
I spent the better part of last night going over things that we now have on a (pre) list of refurbishing/ improvements to do. Trying to figure out time/ money/ value ratios. (I have said that I am a list maker as well as a lover of research.)
Here is an idea of what we have so far:
Take care of the corner of dry rot, if that is all it is, in the sun room.
OR:
Take care of the repairs of the dry rot, up to and including a total sun room re-do
Take out the glass block window in the bathroom that is partially falling out already.
AND:
Replace glass block window with a clear and frosted leaded and beveled stained glass window.
(Since it can be seen from the bathroom shower/tub and in the sun room, it need to look like it was done on purpose, not an afterthought. Talk about turning a negative into a positive though! I rocked the solution on this one if I do say so myself...)
Replace the windows and doors of the sun room with French doors.
(Rather than redoing the outside of the sun room to match the house, and putting up drywall on the inside, we'll just install the French doors. Less work and money, if you can believe it. And the view of the pool is really great and private. Oh, and it totally fits with the time frame of the house and neighborhood. Yup, it's that simple.)
Add some trellis and vine type plants along the exposed fence line.
(Since the fence and privacy walls are in really good shape, this will add to the view and keep the plants from damaging the walls. And they will be fairly easy to maintain.)
Plant a cherry tree. Somewhere. Location to be determined.
(The Boyfriend LOVES cherries and really wants a tree. Small request, top of the list really.)
Build a pseudo craftsman arbor over the small patch of grass in the back yard.
(It needs to be a slightly later style than craftsman, since the house was built in 1947, as was the neighborhood. And it is very clear that the area the home is in is focused on preservation. Since it is the only patch of grass in the back, it should be emphasized in a way that ties it into the landscaping and existing architecture. And it gives The Boyfriend a place to put up a couple of hanging chairs and/or a hammock. With a few eye bolts they can be easily changed out or completely removed. And lastly, it will help provide a tiny bit more shade. We were thinking the open kind of arbor, so the top slats don't provide much coverage without a canopy... Now there is a thought for later...)
Tile the sun room floor with reclaimed Terra Cotta and stone tiles. Place hand done mosaic in the center between the dining room and the main French doors to the back yard.
(The floor has to be re-done, so it might as well be done in a way to give us the biggest returns. And get this, the cost of the reclaimed tiles and stone pieces are not outrageously priced... Well, they are comparable to any other flooring choice we have to fit in with the house. And since I am very artistic, and will be signing up for a class to learn the specifics of laying a mosaic with The Boyfriend, we are going to do that part ourselves. Hooray for having artistic talents, patience, and an over-dose in perfectionism!)
Have a carpenter come in and match the space in the original hardwood floor where the old heating vent contraption was.
OR:
Purchase a reclaimed 18" ornate grate to place in the floor for decorative bonus while creatively solving the current dilemma.
(There is a new system already installed and now there is a gaping 18" hole in the wall at the floor, and a noticeable lack of hardwood.)
Leave the kitchen alone.
(It is perfect and there is nothing to change/ add/ or re-do. Really. Even down to the mint condition vintage Wedgewood stove and stained glass panel in the door out to the garage.)
Lay tile in the second bathroom to finish the current renovations.
(All we have to do is match the beautifully completed first bathroom.)
Add fresh neutral paint to the walls, freshen up the white of the crown molding and trim.
(Talk about a no brainer spiffer upper.)
Add crown molding to the hallway.
(I know that this may sound a little silly, but I saw it in two other homes in the same neighborhood, and it looks INCREDIBLE! It made such a huge difference that was also tastefully understated. Kind of like changing out the doorknobs. I know! Right?)
This is sort of the sad part. When you look at everything the Sellers have done to the home, and the current state of uncompleted projects, you can see that they were on the right track and just ran out of money. They tackled pretty much all of the expensive projects, the things that The Boyfriend and I are more than happy to not to need to take on, and then just could not afford to continue with the restoration and upgrades. Their sad plight of paying way too much at the height of the market, and taking on costly repairs led to their loss of the home.
I am torn in my jubilation of such a gem to (possibly, keep those fingers crossed and good vibes coming...) call our very own, and sadness at the loss of another family's hard work and dreams. So the emotions keep swinging back and forth, but for the most part, I am doing the happy dance of the century! (Good thing that the century is still young... Though this will really be difficult to top.)
Note:
The photo up at the top is a really bad show and tell of the kitchen. It was used in the listing. I'm sure the second I get a chance, I will be taken far too many photos that would do the little gem we hope to call home justice. Oh... and if the above (partial) list seems a bit daunting, please keep in mind that we are elated to be doing this. And actually are looking forward to weekends at home with our hands getting dirty. well, The Boyfriend's hands, we all know I will be using work gloves as a second skin.) And if it seems like the house is a wreck, please believe that it is far from it. I am just a perfectionist and we are looking forward to getting the biggest return on this (enormous) investment. We're just having fun stacking the deck if you will...
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