WOW. Like, wow wow WOW! Today is demo day! This is a big deal. This is a BIG, BIG DEAL. We made an offer on this property the week of New Years Eve, 2014. We officially closed on the property February 20, 2015. The timeframe in between those two dates might as well have been 6 months! It truly seems like I’ve been waiting on this day to arrive for half my life! I’m exaggerating a smidge, but for a while there I thought this day might never come. But, here it is. The morning we’ve all been anxiously awaiting. The day our house gets shredded! Wahoo! Our amazing, patient, intelligent, ray of sunshine realtor Chanda (did I mention she’s awesome?) has assured us multiple times that we totally lucked out with the condition of this foreclosure. The HUD inspector – not what I would consider a man of many words AT ALL – even assured us that this place is vastly different from the typical foreclosure. Apparently folks tend to get a little destructive once they get word that the bank is taking possession of their home. From what I understand, it’s not uncommon for disgruntled homeowners to take to urinating in heating vents, flush multiple items of clothing down toilets, smash mirrors & gut out dry wall. I guess ripping out plumbing & even electrical is a popular trend among the pissed off. Although I could never imagine myself purposefully destroying perfectly good property – my own or anyone else’s, I can sympathize with the former owner’s hostility. After all, it’s hard to wrap my brain around how most of the banks who own these mortgages are the very culprit as to why these folks can no longer afford their homes, yet the banks get bailed out & the homeowners get a kick in the keister & thrown out on their ears? Just doesn’t seem right, but that’s an entirely different blog all to it’s own. Although the work that needs to be done on this place comes with a bit of sticker shock & is quite overwhelming to me, I trust them when they tell us it apparently could have been much worse. So for that, I am beyond grateful. Let the renovations commence!
BELOW: Added some before & after demolition photos. I guess they probably don’t look too in impressive if you aren’t sure what’s going on or know the future reno plans. But they do show some glorious progress. THANK YOU REGAL RENOVATIONS!
ABOVE: Before photo of hallway floor. Unfortunately all the hardwood in a lot of the living spaces will be removed as it was improperly installed by the previous owner. Although it’s hard to see in the pictures, all of the flooring buckled & cannot be salvaged.
ABOVE: After photo. Flooring gone!
ABOVE: Before photo of cabinets above kitchen bar area. I’ve wanted nothing more than to rip these suckers down from the very first day I walked through this house! Removing these cabinets will open this space up into the den area, make the kitchen feel so much more spacious & ultimately preserve my psychological well-being. A MUST.
ABOVE: Another before photo of cabinets in kitch.
ABOVE: Another AFTER photo of the kitch. This angle is looking into den area from kitchen. So much more open & allows for communication with the rest of the family while cooking or washing dishes! YES. YES. YESSSS.
ABOVE: Before photo of girl’s UGLY FUGLY bathroom.
ABOVE: And again… Before photo of girl’s UGLY FUGLY bathroom.
ABOVE: After demolition in girl’s UGLY FUGLY bathroom. We will paint the cabinets, walls, replace some tile, add new sink, countertops, lighting fixture & mirror, refinish tub/shower & make this place shine like the top of the Chrysler building! (Credit to Miss Hannigan)
ABOVE: Before demo photo of master bath. It seems like an appropriate place to hang out if you want to smoke crack. Maybe someone did. I don’t know. Our goal is to make it the kind of place where you walk in & feel the exact opposite of a crack head.
ABOVE: Before photo of master bath. Look at that shower! How’d ya like to get all steamy in that special spot? I’ll pass.
ABOVE: After demo photo of sink vicinity. Disguisting mirror & medicine chests will go out next.
ABOVE: After demo photo of disguisting shower.
ABOVE: Bye Bye horridly sickening sink.
ABOVE: Before photo of den, prior to removing flooring.
ABOVE: After photo, flooring removed in den. Hate to see it get ripped up, but unfortunately it was not installed properly & was too damaged. It could not be salvaged.
ABOVE: After photo of the den area. New flooring going in! Love it!
ABOVE: Before photo of addition flooring. I dig the slate. The makeshift painted football flooring? I’ll pass on that feature. Look at our adorable realtor, Chanda! Ain’t she a cutie pie honey heart?
ABOVE: A few PRE demo photos of the mancave football flooring. I was happy to see this masterpiece get destroyed.
ABOVE: After photo. Mancave football flooring is officially GONE. SchwiiiiiiNG! 🙂
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