We took possession of a house on November 13. It looked like it needed a lot of work when we bought it and there were a few surprises as we worked on it.
One of the nastiest surprises was when I realized that although there was a modern and fairly new breaker box there was still some ancient electrical wiring in the house. I had to call Rich for help with that problem. It took Dan and Drew a couple of days to figure out how to get the lights to work, once the old wiring was removed.
Wednesday afternoon the 12th of December I walked out of the house and rented it on Thursday. 2 weeks ahead of schedule.
The kitchen was kinda sketchy when we bought the house.
A couple of the drawers were broken
Drawers taken apart, glued and refastened. 3 coats of paint on the doors, rails and drawers and it looked a lot better
There are plenty of cupboards but you either have to be 7 foot tall or have a ladder handy to reach half of them.
When I turned on the water, I found the toilet was broken. That is to be expected in a house bought out of foreclosure. We always put the price of a new toilet in the estimated repair costs.
Lookee there! A new toilet and new flooring underneath it.
I thought the whole bathroom turned out decent. Sharon is not so sure. I think she would have preferred to have the shower tiled. Sure that would have made the whole thing look more upscale, but let's remember, I rented the house in less than a day after it was ready.
Sometimes when walking out of a house it is difficult to remember just how bad it was when we started.
We gave away the old front door. I know there are many who would think that old door with the beveled glass was really great. I like doors that seal and you can not see daylight around them. We throw away a lot of antique doors. If you want one, contact me. I am sure we will be throwing more away in the future. I think they look great in someone else's house.
The ceiling fan in the dining room quit while we were working on the house. Joe and Elise had replaced their ceiling fan and given their old one to us. I have a confession to make. I honestly dropped that thing 3 times while trying to get the screws in to install it. The first time it crashed to the floor. I was on the ladder thinking well that baby is shot now. Then I looked at it and saw that the glass flutes had survived. That thing was so heavy I was not going to put it up and then find out it wouldn't work because some fool dropped it. Now kids don't do this at home. I held onto the fan and pushed the wires into an outlet. There I was holding the light. I pulled the light chain and it lit up. Wow the lights survived the fall. Then I pulled the fan chain. Yes! that baby took off spinning. There is some force when a fan starts to spin. I was desperately trying to pull the wires out of the outlet before I got caught up in the fan. As you can see I succeeded because I am typing this now. Yea me!!
It is amazing how fixing holes in walls and a new coat of paint changes a room.
I did leave the Pepsi motif.
I had to make 2 trips to the landfill to get rid of all the old carpeting.
We always remove carpeting. Who wants to live on someone else's carpet. The mere thought of it makes me a bit queasy.
The 3 seasons room on the back of the house was piled high with old carpet. Looks a lot better emptied and cleaned.
Thursday I loaded up tools and started moving everything to the next house. It was time to start painting again.
Started on the bathroom on this house. I just hated the brown in the bathroom. It had to go first thing.
Much better look.
I had thought we would leave the carpet in the upstairs bedroom. I know I just wrote that we never leave carpet.
Well Micah had some input on the carpet. He tore it out today and threw it in front of the house slated for the landfill.
By this evening most of the interior of the house is painted. Well, except for the kitchen and the hallway. So we have a good start.
So we finished a house and started on another house this week. Just a mundane story, right? Well let me tell you about the couple that rented the house. They are living in a house that the city is about to shut down. The owner is not in compliance with code.
I was sitting at my computer putting the house on-line available for rent when our land line phone rang. They were calling because they needed a house. After we met and they went through the house, I told them they could rent it.
Jared said to me, "You are a God-send"
I said "I take that very seriously. I get a call just as I am about to list the house. That doesn't just happen." I found out they were baptized in March. God was taking care of them. We finished the house 2 weeks early. They called just when it was finished. The rent on this house is even cheaper than where they are living now.
There are many who would say it was just a coincidence. I think we only get to see God at work if we open our eyes and watch for His action. God is caring for His people daily.
We are coming up on Christmas. The day we remember when God came to this world to save His people, and He is still active and working today!
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