How did we get here?
This is our dream. It happened by accident really. We decided to sell our previous house, or rather see if we could sell it almost one year ago. It was under contract fairly quickly and we started to look around our favorite parts of town for our next home.
In this business, I'm looking for a few things, but mostly just a good lot or house to start with. In real estate "Buyers are liars" and I wasn't different... The options in areas I really wanted quickly dissolved and we were stuck needing a place to live. We considered rentals when I saw this home. The one pictured on this post....it had been reduced a bit and was on a nice piece of property, and most importantly very close to our children's school. Although, not where we thought we'd end up, I thought, why not look?
At first sight, I knew this home had possibilities. Here's a few:
1. It's a ranch Ranches are awesome because they have a good footprint, usually a rectangle-good for adding on and also if you have the room, to go up over the entire footprint, or a portion of it.
2. The house was situated on the lot well. It has a presence just on it's own.
3. It is a masonry structure. We love brick and better yet, painted brick here in Atlanta.
4. It was built in the 50's and hasn't really been modified. I like this because nothing is going to be wasted in demo--we aren't trying to keep a kitchen or a bathroom-there's nothing inside to work around.
5. We could move in and not be too uncomfortable while we plan. Probably the biggest plus for our family. Yes, this house has laundry in the basement (gasp!) and a kitchen that really was in it's prime in the 50s, but we have been able to unpack, move in and be comfy. We know how long it is going to take to plan this renovation. More on how to plan and the time it takes in another post. I will tell you again and again, construction is all in the planning details. Norm says measure twice, cut once...I say, over-plan and over-plan again, then execute once. Easier said than done. Especially when America's favorite home channel is telling us it can be done in a week, or while we go out of town for a vacation. Completely untrue. If you've been involved in a contractor-gone-wrong relationship; the problem is most likely poor planning. And homeowner, it starts with YOU. To get things right, or on time, your contractor is going to need all your ideas on a piece of paper, hopefully to scale and with lots of detail- to communicate to everyone succinctly and accurately. This takes time from many professionals. Again, I"ll tell you more later. PROMISE.
6. IT's a huge project. Yes, this is a huge plus for me--a project to really sink your teeth into.
7. Proximity. This house is close to our school. Life changing to be close to work and school. I recommend to try it out if you can.
So, we made an offer and closed on this property mid April 2016. This liar had to be in a completely different area and the buyer came out and made this house home sweet home!