The House

So I finally did it, I bought a house!!  For those of you that know me, you know I have been looking at houses for a while.  For those of you that know me or my parents really well, you know I have been looking at houses online for years, waiting for the right combination of job status, income and location to finally buy.  That time has finally come!  Here it is:

Pretty not bad, right?  I would have to agree, from this picture it looks like a cute little 750 square ft two bed, one bath.  And it is... or it will be.  As we get closer, you can start to see where work needs to be done.

Ok, so there's no front door hardware.  Different, but an easy fix, right? (turns out not so easy, but more on that later)  At least the door is decent, if not entirely my style.  Inside you can start to see more projects.  The living room.

The built in needs to go, the wall has holes, the outlets are uncovered and the trim around the skylight needs to be finished.  The dining area.

There is a hole in the corner that exposes the back of the bathroom plumbing (that will need work) and the window has to be replaced.  The wall on the left has moisture damage that needs to be addressed and likely that whole wall will go to open up the kitchen...

 Well, there's really no saving the kitchen.  Fortunately it is a tiny kitchen, so I may be able to make it fairly nice without completely breaking my budget.  Note the wire running along the outside of the wall and behind the cabinets.  This is only one of many, many problems with the electrical.  The house must be completely rewired.  The bathroom has all the right places for the pieces I'll need...

 

but doesn't actually have a toilet, sink or any sort of water hookup to the shower.  Also, the window that was once here was covered over (proof later) and the bathroom fan is not only useless--in the wrong place and the wrong size--but also vents to the attic and not outside the house.  I may not know a lot about home construction or renovation, but I know that you're not supposed to add moisture to your attic.  The bedrooms have small closets, but are workable.

The walls in the master are dirty, the paint on the door is pealing, and the floors are damage and unfinished, 

 but the size is ok.  The biggest issue in the extra room

well, besides paint and the fact that the ceiling fan is threatening to come down, is that there is actually a hole behind the outlet leading directly into the garage.  Definitely need to seal that up.  I don't really need my guests asphyxiating on my car exhaust when they stay the night.

If all of this doesn't seem too bad, I would have to agree.  So far you've seen that the floors need to be redone, a bit of work in the bathroom to get it working, a new kitchen, and I've told you about the need 

for new electrical.  Oh, but wait until you get outside.

The yard is a great size, and the fence is new, but the back of the house...

total disaster.  From here you can see the spot where the bathroom window was, since it was filled in but never finished.  You can see the dining room window that has to be replaced and the extra bedroom window that was replaced but the stucco never finished around it.  The double glass doors on the far left lead to the garage (and have to be replaced).  But hey, I have satellite!

So that's my house.  It needs termite fumigation, stucco work, new windows and doors, new electrical, plumbing work, a kitchen, new heating and ac, the floors need to be refinished and the walls need to be patched and painted.  Oh, and there is crap all over the yard--scraps of wood and metal, small tools, kid's toys, all sorts of stuff.  That's a lot of stuff to do before I move in, so naturally I'm dragging my feet getting started.  I'm currently spending each day off planning how I will look for contractors on my next day off.