Renovation Begins!

Have owned the house for 7 days now, and the second floor is being torn to bits.  I love it! This project would take 100 times longer without my friends helping.  

See the album to the right for some "before" pics.

 The bathroom with old mistmatched beige/brown tile and medicine cabinet removed. Popping tile off the wall didn't take that long, seeing as they had just been glued onto the previous wall treatment.  New smaller toilet, and sink/vanity  plus beadboard paneling are being planned.  Also awful peel and stick tile covering original tile will get ripped up.  Hopefully the tile is in ok shape!

Upper kitchen cabinets gone, base cabinets will follow soon.  Have to fix all the windows and slowly replace the ropes with chains.  Mostly removing tons of old paint and re-glazing a couple windows. 

Pantry shelves gone, after a good ole fashioned smashing by bff Kyle.  Wall to the left is going to be taken down to create a bigger kitchen.  Beautiful (Ha!) vinyl flooring to be destroyed as well!

Sun porch with carpet and pad removed by my mother.  Floors will need to be refinished throughout, but will be awesome when they are done.

Passed Inspection!

So the last hurdles have been cleared in the past couple weeks - both the inspection and appraisal went well.  Apparently all that crossing of fingers actually worked, woohoo!  Loan approval documents should be on their way in a couple days.  Can't wait to sign away my life.  Closing in 3 weeks, and then, let the renovations begin! Beige carpet, your days are numbered...

And I'm Back

So it's been a couple months since the last deal fell through during which I've been traipsing around Albany looking at houses and putting in offers.  Well, one of them was finally accepted yesterday!  It's on Mercer St, around the block from the house I lost.  Everyone said things happened for a reason, blah, blah, blah - but impatient ole me was not hearing it. At all.  So it makes me almost reluctant to say that I like this house so much better.  It's twice the size and not much more money.  Big enough so now I'll have a guest room that you all can stay in.  No promises on actually having a bed in there for a while, so don't throw away the air mattress just yet.  


Inspection is next week and hopefully if all goes well (not a guarantee!) I should be closing late September.

Blogged too soon

Update: Lost the house due to a low bank appraisal. Back to looking...

Holy Moly! I'm buying a house!

Here's the set-up. 
  
Three weeks before the homebuyer credit ran out, I was convinced to look into buying/investing, seeing as my lease would soon be up and mortgage rates were low. What the hell, I thought.  I guess you're supposed to plan and save for this sort of thing, but flying by the seat of your pants is so much more fun! 


Fast forward through 2 hectic weeks of looking at a dozen multi-family properties with my awesome realtor, Heather Hansen of Prudential Manor Homes, and I see the listing for this property.  I viewed it a day later and I put an offer on it that afternoon. With the house under contract, I set about getting it inspected, but not before I had surgery to remove my pesky gallbladder. (Fabulous timing, as usual) Five days after surgery, I followed around my inspector as he pointed out everything wrong with the house (alot!) as my mom followed me around, furiously scribbling notes and trying to make sure I didn't pass out.  I took pictures and tried to look alert. After three more weeks and much back and forth, the sellers actually fixed all the major items noted on the inspection.  Memorial Day was the bank inspection and it seems that we are on target for a mid June closing.


The property is in the St. Rose area of Albany.  Built as a one family in 1890, it's an (almost) American Foursquare style.  Converted in the 1950s to a 3 unit, it has 2 studio apartments downstairs and a two bedroom apartment upstairs, where I intend to live.  Besides appliances, nothing has been updated since the conversion, which would scare a normal person, but makes me excited, and a bit touched in the head.  I love redesigning spaces to be the most efficient possible, all while spending as little as possible, because frankly, that's all I have!


This blog is my attempt to catalog all those efforts for my friends to laugh over.  Sketches, pictures, and stories to follow in the coming months!