We had a soggy week in Louisville and ended up with water in the basement. With all the snow from a couple weeks ago melting and lots of rain coming in, the ground was just too wet. We had water coming up through the floor (this happened occasionally at the old house, too). Adam was on shop-vac duty for several hours on Wednesday. Luckily, it was sunny and fairly warm yesterday, so things had a chance to dry out. And don’t worry, we moved the poker table to higher ground before it got wet!
Ah, the glories of home ownership! It’s quite glamorous…
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Realtor...to have or have not?
We were blessed to stumble upon a great realtor. We accidentally met Candace Bornstein Byrne (of Keller-Williams) when I called her about another house we’d driven by. Within a week, she was representing us as we made the offer on this house.
I think it’s really important to:
A. Have a realtor…especially for your first home purchase
B. Get along with and trust your realtor.
Candace was adorable. I feel like she should totally be a cartoon character. She is cute and animated and funny, full of charisma. But we always felt like she knew her stuff and was being honest with us, and if we needed something or had a question, she was on the phone taking care of it immediately. Candace is also close to our own age, so we felt like we had some things in common. And we got to work with her husband (of Old Town Mortgage) and father (the closing attorney). They were all really great.
Some people may try to do real estate transactions without a realtor in order to save some money, but I felt much more comfortable having one and think the right realtor will actually save you money, even if you’re selling and have to pay their fees.
Three reasons to have a realtor:
1. They know the process and do the hard work for you.
Even though we actually found the house we ended up buying, Candace made the calls, set up appointments, researched the comps, knew the area, walked us through the steps, advised us on the offer, outlined the contract, etc. Yes, it was our first experience with all that, but simply having her expertise was a big comfort, not to mention timesaver. Having her handle the details helped me keep some sanity and probably my job.
2. They can make recommendations and referrals.
Candace was not only related to several of the other pros we used, but she’s got lots of experience in the industry and was able to give us great recommendations on things like insurance and inspectors as well (Yay, BrickKickers!). They work with these people all the time, so they know which companies and people are good to deal with. Much easier and more reliable than if we had to find out all these things on our own.
3. They are problem solvers. I think most of the time in real estate, something with the deal doesn’t go the way it’s supposed to. Realtors have seen tons of various situations, plus they have resources to figure out what to do in every situation. And they can make the uncomfortable phone calls. Candace was the one dealing with the selling realtor, so we didn’t have to. Had we not had her representation on that one, Adam may be living in jail instead of our great new house!
And that’s my final point: Not all realtors are as great as ours. There are definitely some out there that don’t know what they’re doing and have no integrity. We got lucky with Candace and her peeps, who all treated us really well.
Now, more pics of our worker bees:
I think it’s really important to:
A. Have a realtor…especially for your first home purchase
B. Get along with and trust your realtor.
Candace was adorable. I feel like she should totally be a cartoon character. She is cute and animated and funny, full of charisma. But we always felt like she knew her stuff and was being honest with us, and if we needed something or had a question, she was on the phone taking care of it immediately. Candace is also close to our own age, so we felt like we had some things in common. And we got to work with her husband (of Old Town Mortgage) and father (the closing attorney). They were all really great.
Some people may try to do real estate transactions without a realtor in order to save some money, but I felt much more comfortable having one and think the right realtor will actually save you money, even if you’re selling and have to pay their fees.
Three reasons to have a realtor:
1. They know the process and do the hard work for you.
Even though we actually found the house we ended up buying, Candace made the calls, set up appointments, researched the comps, knew the area, walked us through the steps, advised us on the offer, outlined the contract, etc. Yes, it was our first experience with all that, but simply having her expertise was a big comfort, not to mention timesaver. Having her handle the details helped me keep some sanity and probably my job.
2. They can make recommendations and referrals.
Candace was not only related to several of the other pros we used, but she’s got lots of experience in the industry and was able to give us great recommendations on things like insurance and inspectors as well (Yay, BrickKickers!). They work with these people all the time, so they know which companies and people are good to deal with. Much easier and more reliable than if we had to find out all these things on our own.
3. They are problem solvers. I think most of the time in real estate, something with the deal doesn’t go the way it’s supposed to. Realtors have seen tons of various situations, plus they have resources to figure out what to do in every situation. And they can make the uncomfortable phone calls. Candace was the one dealing with the selling realtor, so we didn’t have to. Had we not had her representation on that one, Adam may be living in jail instead of our great new house!
And that’s my final point: Not all realtors are as great as ours. There are definitely some out there that don’t know what they’re doing and have no integrity. We got lucky with Candace and her peeps, who all treated us really well.
Now, more pics of our worker bees:
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Amphibian Invasion
Our house has been overrun by frogs. Of course, since they were there first, I guess we’re technically the invaders. Either way, the giant blue frogs on my bathroom wall are not going to be our housemates for long.
Their tiny plastic compatriot I found on the floor already bit it. These two are next!
But it makes me wonder: Why?
I mean, I like frogs as much as the next person, but who in their right mind would paint giant blue ones on a diarrhea-colored bathroom wall? Especially a bathroom most recently belonging to adults, senior citizens even. I have discovered that examining retrospectively the decorating choices of people you’ve never meant leaves much in question. Geez. My wildest imagination cannot fathom some of the choices. There are the obvious dated light fixtures, ugly wallpaper, and of course the old-person’s obligatory carpet in the kitchen. And I guess the primary-colored fan blades IN TWO ROOMS might just have been on sale or something. But these frogs took effort. They weren’t stenciled, and there are two. Enh?
Their tiny plastic compatriot I found on the floor already bit it. These two are next!
But it makes me wonder: Why?
I mean, I like frogs as much as the next person, but who in their right mind would paint giant blue ones on a diarrhea-colored bathroom wall? Especially a bathroom most recently belonging to adults, senior citizens even. I have discovered that examining retrospectively the decorating choices of people you’ve never meant leaves much in question. Geez. My wildest imagination cannot fathom some of the choices. There are the obvious dated light fixtures, ugly wallpaper, and of course the old-person’s obligatory carpet in the kitchen. And I guess the primary-colored fan blades IN TWO ROOMS might just have been on sale or something. But these frogs took effort. They weren’t stenciled, and there are two. Enh?
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sorry for the delay...
Apparently renovating a house leaves no time for blogging about renovating a house. We started the day we closed and were still working on the house as we were moving in. Here is a quick list of the things we have done so far:
Painted 4 rooms, a hallway and a foyer including ceilings, trim and closets (used over 14 gallons of paint so far.). Pulled all the carpet, padding, tack-strip and staples from every room on the main floor. Changed out almost every electrical outlet and several light switches. Re-caulked the shower. Fixed a gas leak and a sink leak. Installed 7 sets of blinds. Replaced 2 light fixtures/ceiling fans. Put down quarter-round trim in 2 rooms so far. Installed cable jacks and phone jack. Changed out door knobs and dead bolts. Installed all new smoke detectors. Removed several shelves, hooks and other random junk from the walls and patched roughly 984,776,239,901,226 screw, nail and anchor holes in the walls. And of course cleaned the place from top to bottom.
We didn't do all this alone, we have to thank lots of family and friends who spent nights and weekend time helping us get all this done. And if that weren't enough they came out and helped us move all of our junk too.
Here are a few work pictures and a couple of before and after shots. Enjoy!
Master Bedroom Before:
Master Bedroom After:
Living Room Before:
Living Room After:
We still have lots of unpacking and work to do but the place looks much better and we are glad to be moved in. Thanks again to all those who helped. More to come.
Painted 4 rooms, a hallway and a foyer including ceilings, trim and closets (used over 14 gallons of paint so far.). Pulled all the carpet, padding, tack-strip and staples from every room on the main floor. Changed out almost every electrical outlet and several light switches. Re-caulked the shower. Fixed a gas leak and a sink leak. Installed 7 sets of blinds. Replaced 2 light fixtures/ceiling fans. Put down quarter-round trim in 2 rooms so far. Installed cable jacks and phone jack. Changed out door knobs and dead bolts. Installed all new smoke detectors. Removed several shelves, hooks and other random junk from the walls and patched roughly 984,776,239,901,226 screw, nail and anchor holes in the walls. And of course cleaned the place from top to bottom.
We didn't do all this alone, we have to thank lots of family and friends who spent nights and weekend time helping us get all this done. And if that weren't enough they came out and helped us move all of our junk too.
Here are a few work pictures and a couple of before and after shots. Enjoy!
Master Bedroom Before:
Master Bedroom After:
Living Room Before:
Living Room After:
We still have lots of unpacking and work to do but the place looks much better and we are glad to be moved in. Thanks again to all those who helped. More to come.