I want to share a major accomplishment today.  The washer and dryer are moved UPSTAIRS.  Yes today after 18 months, the laundry room we started is working and functioning.  But I'm jumping ahead of myself let me go back.

In late 2004, home prices were jumping up and we didn't know when they would stop.  Our home appreciated 20,000 in three months and we were worried we wouldn't be able to afford a larger home if we didn't buy one RIGHT then.  After searching on the internet for months, I found this modified A-frame.  The entire description,"40+ Pecan Trees, and lots of room to roam."

You guessed it, the 40+ pecan trees sucked me in.  The home was 2500 square feet, needed a "little work" but LOOK at the orchard! On two acres for the same price as our cookie-cutter home we were going to sell (before inflation).  We couldn't believe our luck.  

So we drug our Realtor to the suburbs and checked it out.  Again, needs work, but nothing we can't handle right?  So, we put our home on the market, sold our home in ONE day, before it was on the MLS. Started the process of buying this property.  Problems left and right, perhaps it was a sign for what was to come.  Home inspection showed a few problems, but nothing we couldn't handle.  We were going to be rural warriors!  Chickens, Pecans, and plenty of room for the kids!  (I was expecting number four, I think the hormones got in the way of reality.)  

So fast forward 6 months, the house is just NOT big enough.  Even though it stated 2500 sq ft, it actually reappraises at 2100.  And the halls and walls make maneuvering a pain.  It was living smaller than our 1600 sq ft home did.   5 bedrooms, with 4 of them measuring 8x8 or less, two without windows.  We're getting a little bit of buyer's remorse, but we just need to do some work.  So, with a 6 month old baby we are off to conquer the world of remodeling.  A small 700 sq ft addition, formal living and an addition to the two small bedrooms without windows to make a new Master Bedroom.  

You see the picture above?  Looks a little bigger than 700 sq. ft, I bet you're saying.  Yes, the "Monster House" had snags left and right that made us come out and above the  new addition.  On an A-frame, that meant coming out an additional 12 feet on the Master Bedroom.  It is huge, but not done.  We didn't budget enough to build 1300 sq ft.  

We started calling it the "Extreme Fake-Over" because we had to show progress where the bank loaned us money.  So even though we weren't through taping and texturing, we had to show Carpet installed.  Shower pans had to be installed before plumbing and electricity was done.  We had pushed the deadline off as far as possible, and the loan had to be rolled to permanent.  

We made it to our goal, of being 95% done to bank standards.  There is still a long way to go, but the pace is slower now.  Living in a remodel has been a total nightmare.  But the experiences I have had make me a better real estate agent.  I know how much work and money it REALLY takes to remodel.  We were under the impression that we could fix this house for a couple of grand.  Running new electrical and plumbing costs a bit more than that.  

So today's accomplishment was HUGE for me.  The one thing I wanted most of all was to move a laundry room upstairs.  If we are all bathing, and sleeping up there, why drag the laundry up and down?  I must say, it is working beautifully, and it is a beautiful thing. :)