The Story of The Fixer Upper - Part One

Sunday, June 24, 2012

A few days ago I shared the wild news that we purchased a second home which from now on we'll call "The Fixer Upper". I explained why we bought the house, and in this post I'll share how we bought the house. It's kind of a weird story.

As you already know, I realllllly wanted to find a house in our little town. We looked at other locations in the city but the homes just didn't have that small-town charm and feel to them. Alex showed me a few bungalows and other styles of homes but I just couldn't do it. None of them had the cute factor. (Alex really hates my totally unpractical house-shopping criteria btw.) 

After months and months of stalking MLS, a house showed up that was in our town, AND one street over to boot. We got excited. Really excited. Especially since it was the same style of house that our friend's live in and we knew right away it would have potential.

Then we went to look at it.

I cringed. I held my nose. I tiptoed over the grimy floor. I let the real estate guy open all the doors so I wouldn't have to touch the door handles. It was that.gross.

Would you like to see just how gross? You asked for it.

{Keep in mind these photos were all taken on our second viewing, after the real estate agent asked the owners to clean up. It was way worse the first time. Shudder.}

Side Entry / Mudroom / Laundry Room

Side Door

Mudroom / Laundry Room / Door to Basement

Mudroom / Laundry Room

Main Floor Bathroom

Dining Room

Kitchen

Dining Room / Living Room

Living Room

Staircase

Upstairs Hallway

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Second Bedroom

Third Bedroom

Second Floor Bathroom

Basement

Basement

Basement Stairs

After walking through the house the first time, we were so grossed out that we unanimously said, "No freakin' way". Not only did it need a total cosmetic gut job inside and out and all new electrical, it had structural issues all over the place. At the price they were asking, there was no possible way we could have done the amount of work that needed to be done without going way over budget and without investing too much money into the property that we wouldn't be able to get back resale-wise.

So, we walked away. It was pretty disappointing but we decided that the right house (at the right price) would come along eventually.

A few weeks later, we got a call from the real estate agent that had shown us the house the first time. He told us that even though we hated the house the first time (at the original asking price), the sellers had just dropped the price drastically. They dropped the price so much that if we were to buy it, we would be able to hire out some of the major renovations.

We went and had a second look, this time ignoring the dirt, the furnishings, the junk, and the overall ugliness. We brought some family members through to give their honest opinions.

They all told us to go for it.

So, we worked until midnight getting an offer put together, held our breaths and waited, as there was already a conditional offer on the house. The agent told us we had a good chance of getting it seeing that the buyers who already had an offer in were getting cold feet about the knob-and-tube wiring. 

The next day we found out that the sellers accepted the other buyer's offer and we lost out. Wah wah wah.

To be continued............. :)

32 comments:

  1. That house has so much potential! Some of the doors are beautiful, and I'm totally jealous of that since our vintage home has newer, cheaper, yucky doors.

    Totally OT: Is that Barbra Streisand on the TV?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Starr. I'm glad someone else sees it, too. The doors are one of my favourite things about the house... especially because we have plain ugly doors at our house too.

      :)

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  2. Want me to make you feel better? There is WAY more potential in that home now than there ever was in my current home that we renovated. I have posted a few of the rooms on my blog, and it was beyond disgusting. The thing about our house is that by the time I got to it, the yucky, smoke-infested carpet had already been torn out. It can be done! That house has some great bones!

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    1. Thanks Brenna!

      I tried to link over to your blog to see some photos but the link didn't work. Is your blog private?

      Just being snoopy.... hahaha. :)

      Delete
  3. When you look past all the dirt and grime (how do people live like this?!?!), there really is lots of potential and I can just see you turning this into something awesome.

    Good cliffhanger!

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    Replies
    1. Heh heh heh.... I was going for the whole cliffhanger thing....

      I have to agree that it's shocking how some people can live. The worst part was that they were home when we walked through the house and I'm pretty sure they thought their house was normal.

      Ugh.

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  4. Ah, this makes me want to pull out our original house photos and reminisce a little about the grimy industrial carpet spread right over the cold air return, the green and yellow sponge painted walls, the retro-fit cabinets overhanging the doorway to the laundry room and sitting in front of the kitchen window, the oddly rust-colour spotted spare room ceiling, the unfinished hot tub nook in the master bedroom, the paint job in the master bedroom that had clearly been completed AROUND the headboard, the broken-window lined lean-to/mud room, the partly un-sided garage, the mouldy wallboard in the bathroom, the hole where another bathroom used to be...thanks for the walk down memory lane. Can't wait to see your transformation take place!

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    1. Thanks Joy!

      And it sounds like you're a renovation pro yourself!!! :)

      Delete
  5. Love the 5 panel doors and trim (Okay they will be great with scrubbing and fresh paint.) I'm sure it will look much better once it is emptied out too.

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    Replies
    1. I know!!! The 5 panel doors are my absolute favourite. I have bad news about the trim though that I'll share in a separate post....

      :)

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  6. I can see that it does have a lot of charm but it is oh so gross. I was sad when I got to the kids room pictures that children have to live there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was awful to walk through there and see the kids room looking all horrible like that.

      The worst part is that we walked past that house almost every day. You just never know what goes on behind closed doors.

      On a positive note, I hope we can fix it up and get some of that old charm back!!!

      :)

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  7. You made your point, very icky... but so much better now :)

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    1. Thanks neighbour. And thanks for letting me use your house as inspiration!!!

      :)

      Delete
  8. Oh, come on. You're gonna just leave us hanging like that? lol
    GROSS house, but could be totally cute with some fixing up.
    Cant' wait to see what you do with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's all about a good cliffhanger, right?

      Heh heh heh....

      I hope we can make it cute again.... we'll see in a few weeks/months/maybe years!

      :)

      Delete
  9. Can't wait to see what you do with the place. Old houses have so much potential.

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  10. It is hard to believe that people live like that. I can hardly wait for the continuation and to see over time how you transform it. Best of luck to you and your beautiful family.

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  11. Wow. Please tell me you paid very little for that house. And just a guess - are there humidity problems in there by chance? (judging by what looked like humidifiers or dehumidifers in every room?)
    Yowza. you are braver than I! :)

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  12. great doors, stairway and floors. TONS of potential Congratulations!

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  13. What an emotional roller coaster. But I can see the potential. Old house charm. Even though it needs lots of elbow grease!

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  14. I felt very sad when I saw that little pink bed on the floor with everything stuffed around it with no care. It's one thing not be able to afford much, it's another to be unclean :(

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    Replies
    1. Isn't that I awfull! I thought the same thing...

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  15. You know what, I totally love it. Yeah, it's hideous right now, but all that can be changed. There is MAJOR coolness factor in that house!

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  16. WOW! that house is so sad :( can't wait to see how you guys bring it to life!

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  17. Can't wait to see the end result!! Congratulations!

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  18. I can totally see the potential with the floors, the doors/woodwork, the staircase, and the unspoiled archway b/w living & dining room. (Although "second floor bathroom" made me laugh out loud. Oh, remuddlers.) Do you think bedroom 2 and bedroom 3 were one room at some point? It actually looks a lot like the layout/style of my first house, which had 2 bedrooms upstairs. Same archway, staircase, doors, everything.

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  19. Oh goodness....you guys are brave!!! I can see potential tho, and can't wait to follow along!!

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  20. Oh my....how do people live like that....im pretty grossed out as im reading and seeing the pictures. But I definitely see why you guys purchased the home.....there is definitely a lot of potential. Is Alex's parent's home going to have the same kind of design/look in this house or will that be totally up to them to decide? Excited to see more photos :)

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  21. Oh my...it looks like squatters lived there. Knob and tube is messy to remove due to all the walls and ceiling you need to bust up(get your vacuum out) but it's totally worth it. I spent endless hours in tears on my stairs after realizing I had to vacuum yet again. However, the increased safety, value of the home and better insurance rates are generous rewards for the mess.

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  22. I love that the girl is sleeping on the floor! Reminds me of my high school years.

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  23. AnonymousJuly 10, 2012

    Wow, yikes, you weren't kidding.. your improvements seem so easy but have such an impact on the house, great work. Love your blog :-)

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