Then and now pictures show progress

stripping wallpaper and foundation work can lead to an overwhelming desire to stick with the desk job

 

What Have I Gotten Myself Into

I was always very cordial to the elderly lady that lived across the street from us in the small 1920's bungalow, but one day a few years ago as I was taking out the trash she approached me on the sidewalk and accused me of trying to steal her house. This accusation was a shock because the thought had never entered my mind and I have absolutely no similarities to Donald Trump that would make her suspect that.

Fast forward to 6 months ago an auction sign went up in front of that house. That day I was in a rush to get my 4 year old to school and then to work and I was still a little drowsy from helping take care of our 6 month old during the night. The sign obviously caught my interest and I knew that it was a matter of time before something would happen to the dilapidated bungalow after the elderly owner moved to assisted living, but no way I'd have time to consider it and I'm no Donald Trump.

Fast forward to a few months ago and I'm the highest bidder for a house that needs LOTS of work and immediately I'm second-guessing why I would try to tackle something that I don't have the time or money to accomplish.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago and after pulling all the equity out of our house the bank will allow, I've gone up the chain of command at our local bank and somehow persuaded them to do an in-house loan on a major fixer-upper in a down market. Now I'm starting to feel like Donald Trump, but not really. I've worked in a lot of dirty old houses but that was before I had a wife and 2 kids. We close on the house and my beautiful wife says she trusts me, and no way she's setting foot in that filthy house.

Fast forward to now and, after several weeks of wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into, the first payment came due and I finally got motivated to start cleaning out the mess. In this post are only the before pictures for shock value. I'll be posting updates as I go along . . .