The Show Stopper

As you may know, our loan process was derailed for a few weeks because of the appraisal. Long story short, it passed inspection, but not appraisal. So we asked the owners if we could work on the house so that it would pass (there were a few problem areas to fix.) We then had to wait two weeks for the appraiser to come back from vacation and re-appraise it. TORTURE!

So this was our problem child. We knew it was damage that would need fixing, though we didn't quite know how to face it. 

It looked a lot worse than it actually was, once the reinforcement came to our rescue. Who were our reinforcements? My grandma (84 mind you), my Uncle Robb (a retired contractor), and his wife Sharon. 

Uncle Robb worked on the problem child. He scraped everything away, all the plaster that was coming off the walls and ceilings and then he re-plastered it. It probably took him all of 1hr if that.

We had to let it dry the rest of the day, so Dave and Uncle Robb started painting another room. The appraiser had also stated that rooms needed painting. Um, duh. But anyway, we tried to oblige at least on a few rooms to show her we were serious.  

Meanwhile, Sharon, Grandma and I were washing walls. Do you see the difference??? It was hard work, but we got most of the downstairs washed in the few days they were here.

The next day, we put the first coat of paint over the plaster on the wall in the dining and then living room. It is amazing what paint can do!

Sharon and I painted while Uncle Robb and Dave installed a new door at our other house. Seriously, it was great to have them here. We knew nothing about plaster walls and installing new french doors. But we do now!

So here is the problem child, no longer a problem at all. In fact, turned out quite beautiful and it is hard to remember what was once there. A HUGE thanks to the family that was able to come! 

Sharing the snow

Its been the year of the snow so far this winter. We have had a lot, and are expecting more! There are days when I am on the fence about snow, but the reality is I love the seasons and seeing things change. 

Its even more fun exploring the new house and the surrounding area in the snow. We are finding all sorts of animal tracks!

I did not go out during the big freeze we had here in the Midwest (sorry, -20F is a bit too cold for me...and apparently our water pipes since they froze.)

However, there have been lots of warm snowy days too. (Warm, obviously, when you are bundled up and it 20F. 40 degree swing...heat wave!)

When it is snowing these great big snowflakes, everything is so still and reverent. All you can hear is the snow falling and it is one of the most peaceful experiences you can have.

Love to see the snow just coming down. You can't see it well, but there are plenty of flakes to catch in your mouth. 

Supposedly we are getting another few inches before Sunday. Something so cozy about a snowy day when you can stay inside for a bit to enjoy it. Or when you have the time to explore the world around you. 

I'm enchanted now, but in a few days/weeks, I will be awaiting the return of Aslan (and spring!) It will be interesting to see what discoveries we make when the trees and flowers start waking up. 

House Project: the beginging

This house has been work from day 1. We knew it would be, but never quite understood the stress it would cause us early on!

Welcome to our home. :-) Here is a very basic floor plan. (Not to scale, and not totally accurate, but it gives you the gist.)

First floor (you enter through the mudroom/laundry room)

Second floor. (This basically sits on top of the square part. The kitchen/mudroom don't have rooms above them.)

This house was a special situation, we know. You read before about the offer process. Well, with everything we had lined up, we should have been able to close in less than 30 days. Yeah, should have! We got the offers submitted and accepted, did the inspection, and then we had the bank appraisal. Well, what a joy that was. Why? Because the appraisal came back at a C-5, and they would not back a loan under C-3. (The reason for the C-5: some water damage and in need of paint.) Really? What ever happened to sweat equity? And who moves into a house and doesn't plan to paint the walls? Especially when they look like this:

The C-5 rating meant that we had to do work on the house, before we ever owned it. Do you know how difficult this is? It means you have to slap up paint and hope it passes, just to paint it all again when you are actually ready and can do the fixes properly. 

We had to get it to a C-3, and thankfully we had a crew that helped us get there! (Shout out to my Indiana family who came down Labor Day week to help us wash walls, paint two rooms and fix cracks, peeling plaster etc.) Yes, that crew included my 84 yr old granny!

This is the first room you walk into: the mud room/laundry room. Its a lovely room, really. The walls and floor were gross, but again, we knew changes were a-coming!

This is the kitchen of giants (even I need a stool to reach the upper cabinets, and I am 6ft.) I will also note, there is no room to put a refrigerator in here, so it has to go out to the mudroom/laundry room. 

This is the dining room. See that spot on the wall above the window? That was the "water damage". It actually ended up just being plaster and paint that had gotten wet at some point and so was falling off.

Here is the beauty up close. 

This is the archway that leads from the dining room to the living room.

Here is a picture of the formal living room. Behind all that junk is a fireplace. Yes, its been cleaned and it is in working order!

From the dining room, you enter the hallway. My back it to the "front door". Its a very neat stairway, but first, I will take you into the library. 

Well, it will be a library, someday. My husband and I love books, and we have always wanted a library like in those old houses in England. Ours will in no way be that large or grand though!

Next up is the cozy little tv room. The tv goes there in the corner, and the couch where I am standing. From that window grandma and the hubs are looking out: you can look down the hill to the creek. Its also where we often see the deer pass by on the hill. They have a favorite little spot down there that blocks them from the wind. Almost daily we see at least four doe. Twice we have seen a buck. One day I will get a good picture for you.

Bathroom #1 is tucked behind this room and kinda under the stairs. Its functioning, and in pretty good condition. One day, that wallpaper will go!

At the top of the stairs, you have two choices. Lefts go to the right. 

You enter into bedroom #3, which also has a door into the bathroom. This window is also a good vantage point for the deer. 

And then you can enter into bedroom #4. This house has a TON of doors by the way.

Skip across the hall, and you get into the one room that has been painted recently, though even in here the paint is peeling. (And recently is 20 years ago). 

But lots of storage space! (Until you try to put clothes in here...)

Down the hall takes you to bedroom #3. 

Believe it or not, this was the bedroom whose walls were in the worst shape. Cracks everywhere! It looked like quite the patched up patient before we painted it. But, you will see that later. 

And last but not least, bathroom #2. 

:-) 

There are all the "before" pictures. This house is a major work in progress, so even the pictures to come are rooms that are not fully "done". Enjoy the progress! (We are!)

The great project before us!

I am sorry for the months it has been since my last post. I know you may not believe me, but my husband and I have been filling our spare time with our secret project. And yes, it has been over the course of MONTHS! (FYI: we lovingly call it our 30 year project...if that tells you anything.) The process started at the beginning of August.

To find out what it is, you have to go down this long driveway...

Can you see it yet? Then you have to go through this field. In 2013, it was planted in soybeans, but 2014 maybe corn...or maybe feeder calves. We shall see!

Anyway, once you get to the other end of that long driveway, you pass through the trees, and come upon this gem!

That is right ladies and gents, we bought us a house...well really, its like a mini farm. We have almost 11 acres of woods, yard and field. Most of it is woods, and goes down to a lovely creek that lets itself out into the Little Miami River.

The couple we purchased this from own another 200 acres surrounding us. Mostly fields, but over 80 acres of woods as well. 

We had been looking for something in a 60 mile radius with a bit of land since we got married (we realistically thought 1-5 acres with our budget). Its been a slow search, because, well we are rather picky. Thank goodness our Realtor friend was patient with us, and knew it would take us a while.

In three years, we looked at a total of three houses. Yep, three. We wanted an older home with character, and an outbuilding or room to build one. (We need work and storage space for all our projects!) All of them were at least 100 years old. The first two were both on 1 acre lots. And then we stumbled on this one. 

I mean it when I say stumbled. We randomly went for a drive down roads in some of the farm country we had always liked in our area. We didn't go down the road this house was on (in fact, I had never been down this road, ever!) 

I went home, with a few addresses of houses for sale to look up "just for fun" because most of them would be way beyond our price range. All of a sudden, I saw this humble white house as a listing, read the price and the description (almost 11 acres and outbuildings...are you kidding me??) That night we emailed our Realtor, and the next day we had an appointment to go see it. One thing we didn't know until the day we looked at it: that was the first day it had been listed online. 

We looked at the property with eyes of two young goons, who thought we could conquer the world and this could be our castle. One plastered wall at a time, we knew we could make her beautiful again! (Yes, that "summer kitchen" is, well...leaning a bit.)

The house had great structure and bones. It just had not been loved the way it could have been.

Here is a picture of the largest barn. Its still full of stuff, but we will get to it this spring. We had to work on the inside first, and then we will work our way outside. 

After seeing the house, we set up an appointment for the next day to see it again. This time, we asked both sets of parents to come along. Both have lived in older houses and dealt with the world of work that comes with them. We wanted some experienced opinions on if we would be getting in too deeply or not. 

 It helped to have them there. Though we knew we would be biting off a lot, we knew we could ask the right people for insight (even if they were unable to help us with the actual work.) We decided to put in an offer. Did I mention at this point...it had been on the market for 3 DAYS?!?!? (This is 2013, most houses were still taking 100+ days to sell.) With our offer, I submitted a letter to the current owners. I wanted them to know the plans we had to bring it back to a stage of glory, that our future children would enjoy the space it brought with it, and we would work hard to continue the tradition of family that had been ingrained in this place. 

Two days went by where we heard nothing. And then, we were told there were multiple offers on the table. Are you kidding me?? It hadn't been for sale for a week, but we had multiple offers to contend with? We should have known, because most properties with similar sq footage and acreage were going for another $50-100K. (Hence the reason it was actually affordable to us!) We were a bundle of nerves. We knew this was the place we wanted to be. 

We waited out the next weekend. We waited out Monday. Then on Tuesday, we got a counter offer! We found out weeks later after meeting them, that they actually chose us because they liked our letter. We have no idea if we were actually the highest offer, but that really didn't matter to them. Praise the Lord for prompting me to write that letter! 

Did I mention we have an outhouse as well? Conveniently located about 10 yards from the house. So glad its close, considering today its -1 degrees, but feels like -20F. 

Okay, there is an inside toilet too. :-)

Lots more to come...I cant spill all the beans at once.