Author Topic: Landor n Stella Bought a House for $7,000. Follow our adventures here!  (Read 29880 times)

Landor n Stella

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Last Friday, we bought a house for $7,000 (actually, it was $7,200).

We'll be spending the summer renovating and working on it, and the goal is to have it move-in ready by Thanksgiving.

It's in rough shape, it's been badly mistreated and "remuddled" instead of remodeled. Our goal is to have a total investment of $20-25,000, including the purchase price.

I'll be tracking expenses and progress here, so you can keep us on track with spending, and also follow the adventures as we renovate.




carolinakaren

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I love stuff like this!   I've always liked buying a handyman special and I'm excited to see what it looks like when finished.  Happy renovations you guys!

Karen

James

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Looks like a cute little house!  Love the trim details outside and the arched door inside!  Looking forward to seeing the changes and hearing how it goes.

arebelspy

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Awesome, looks like lots of potential and lots of fun.

Any way to take out the walls on that "mud room" and make bedroom two much bigger (and then the de-facto master)?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Matt K

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You may have posted this in the previous thread on contemplating the purchase, but how large is the plot of land?

I am utterly amazed that you could buy a house, in any condition, for $7000 (less than many people spend on a used car, let a lone a new one). Looking the floor plan over, it certainly isn't a large house, but it seems to be comparable to a smaller/cheaper three bedroom high-rise apartment. When I, and most people I know, think of houses, we think of a basement, and storage area, and maybe a garage... But thinking of this, and living here, as a small three bedroom apartment (that just happens to nor share a wall with anyone) seems very doable.

I'm going to be watching this thread eagerly. Best of luck you two!

Landor n Stella

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Thanks for all the enthusiasm! We are very excited about it. The lot is a regular midwest city lot, 44' wide by 120' deep. There is an extra-large 1 car detached garage off the alley in the back, also standard for this area. We actually spent less on this house (and lot and garage and patio and privacy fence) than we did on our car. And we have multiple student loans that have a higher balance than this house too. It's just the town we are in, the area, and the fact that the house was badly treated by previous owners.

The lot is valued at $6,800 without any improvements taken into consideration by the city for tax purposes. :-) The house was assessed about 5 years ago, before the previous owners got a hold of it, for $38,000.

A little known secret is that housing stock is plentiful and cheap in smaller-to-midsize Midwest towns. Indiana and Michigan are particularly gems for this kind of thing. You won't find the amenities of a bigger city, but the housing prices are incredible here. If you have a job you can do anywhere, remotely or whatever, you can save a huge amount of money by living in the Midwest-rust belt area.

Arebelspy: That whole 3rd bedroom and mud room needs to be redone, so your suggestion is one that we have on the list. That corner will be the only room(s) that we fully gut down to the studs and floor joists. So we can do whatever we want with that back area. A master suite with another bathroom is definitely on the list.

(Also, can anyone explain how to properly attach/insert pictures on this forum?!? I lack skills in this area...)

Here's a few more pictures, of that 3rd bedroom and "mud room":

~Stella

Ipodius

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Exciting project :) I wish such a property existed where I live, would buy it (and a few more!) in a heartbeat.

One thing I'd advice when doing the alterations - remember that your status as a Mustachian tendencies are not the norm. What do I mean by this? Well, what you would put in the house (and value) is not necessarily what others will want and be willing to pay a higher rent for. I've got a rental property, and when I look at it I think "wow, this is really expensive for the size" - but whenever I show it to potential tenants, they go ga-ga for the fancy kitchen counters and design of the complex. So keep that in mind when doing improvements - the most un-Mustachian thing you can think of might be the exact thing to do in a rental.

spider1204

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The house looks awesome, much better shape than I expected based on the previous thread.  Would you mind sharing some more details about the purchase?  Did you pay cash, use realtors?  How did you find the deal?

Secondly, definitely agree with Ipodius about keeping in mind what other people consider valuable in a rental unit, as most of the time it will probably go against your instincts.

reverend

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Any way to take out the walls on that "mud room" and make bedroom two much bigger (and then the de-facto master)?

This!  And make the mud room the en-suite master bathroom. If you ever resell the house, you have a TWO bathroom house to sell. More attractive to buyers.  I hate sharing a bathroom with anyone who visits my house etc.

Tear down all the drywall from the exterior walls and sprayfoam insulate that bad-boy. Make the house airtight and use a sweet little heat-exchanger for fresh air. High efficiency A/C and furnace, energy star fridge etc, and that thing won't cost you a dime in energy either.

I'm looking forward to reading/seeing more of this project.

arebelspy

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And make the mud room the en-suite master bathroom. If you ever resell the house, you have a TWO bathroom house to sell. More attractive to buyers.  I hate sharing a bathroom with anyone who visits my house etc.

Absolutely.

I personally know rehabbers whose bread and butter is taking 3/1s and turning them into 3/2s for mega profit.  It lists for so much more.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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trammatic

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Yeah, the rust belt sure is cheap to live...

Good luck, that looks like a perfectly adequate house!

strider3700

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Great looking house for $7k.     when cleaned up what would something like that rent for where it is?    You could easily get $1000+ a month here for that.   of course it would sell in the mid $200k range here. 

sol

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I'm pretty sure each of my bathrooms cost more than $7000.

Landor n Stella

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Whew, I can breathe now and answer a few of these great questions! First, the details of the house and sale:
1. We paid cash.
2. I found the house on Realtor.com a few days after it was listed, contacted a favored realtor, and had a signed purchase agreement and completed inspection less than 2 weeks after it was listed on the market.
3. The house is in overall sound shape structurally, but it has some major work that needs to be done before it can be move-in ready. On that list is: electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and gutting the 3rd bedroom/mud room area. Everything else is cosmetic or replacing missing fixtures like the current lack of a kitchen sink, toilet, or lav in the bathroom. :-)
4. I've already sourced an architectural salvage store, and I plan to follow a theme of upgrading to modern amenities but trying to enhance/keep the charm of an older house. I think that as long as people do not have to sacrifice the nice things about a modern house, the older fixtures (think claw-foot tub paired with separate shower) will be a selling point.
5. Rent for a three bedroom, one or two bath house with garage will go from $550-$700 around here.
6. I anticipate being able to easily sell it for $40,000, and probably sell it higher if the work is done well and we work it to get a better sale price. Maybe it could sell for as high as $60,000 fully renovated, esp. if it has two full baths when we are done with it.
7. Location is one of the best things going for it. With the university I work at being a short walk away, it's got high rental possibility and also it will be attractive for employees, because the university gives an interest-free $5,000 loan to employees who buy houses in the immediate blocks around the campus. The loan is forgiven at 20% per year for each year the employee works for the university. So 5 years of work and it is 100% forgiven.

I've got lots of ideas and work to do on the house.... in the meantime, though, we are considering applying for a HELOC to help us get the renovations done faster. We will be held up by needing to wait to have the funds to purchase the materials, since we just paid off a $13k student loan a few months back and then this house purchase wiped out 75% of what we had left. So, the HELOC would be a short-term thing until we can pay it off, which would be accelerated by not paying rent like we currently are. So does anyone have advice on applying for HELOC, especially for a house that might not appraise for very much? What would matter the most to appraisers as they are setting the value, so we know what to get fixed first with the funds we have to increase the appraised value of the house to finish the rest of the repairs?

keith

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Just wanted to chime in and say this is an awesome project, you guys got a great deal. Really looking forward to you posting more pictures as you work through the remodel.

ErikZ

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Get rid of the mud room? I wouldn't do that, it a fantastic place to set up a washer and dryer of any size and capacity.

A friend of mine is having a rough time with this because he has a washer/dryer closet.

Arbor33

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So does anyone have advice on applying for HELOC, especially for a house that might not appraise for very much? What would matter the most to appraisers as they are setting the value, so we know what to get fixed first with the funds we have to increase the appraised value of the house to finish the rest of the repairs?

Having only applied for one HELOC, I don't know much, but this is what I learned.

Have the house in at least a livable state. If you fail to pay, they get the house. If the house isn't marketable, they don't get their money back as easily. I made this mistake and suffered about 15k loss on the assessment when I gutted a bathroom to the studs. Still was functional, working toilet, tub, and vanity but it's all about resale value to them.

Call up the aforementioned favored real estate agent and see if he or she can provide you with some comps in the surrounding neighborhood. The assessors will need to pull that information to get an accurate estimate and will likely welcome your input so long as you don't force feed it to them. If you use the agent you purchased the property with, odds are they already have them accessible.

The assessor is your friend. If they can relate/sympathize with your needs, you've got a better chance of hitting a figure you'd like to see. It's a great opportunity to use the N-word. Network! Get to know him/her and when and if your paths cross again, it'll be a more pleasant experience.

What matters most to appraisers is what matters most in any real estate transaction. How desirable is your property should it be placed on the market in its current condition?

I'm a real estate noob, but that's my fairly obvious advice!

Good luck! It looks like a wonderful project!

(We should have a category here for projects like this!)

jwystup

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This house is so cute! I would love to do something like this once we get our house the way we'd like. We bought a well-maintained house with very dated finishes last year and we're slowly working on repainting and updating fixtures and everything.  I plan on fixing up houses when we "retire" back to our hometown, possibly with apartments. hopefully the expected extra income will allow us to do  that sooner than if we just planned on quitting our jobs entirely.

Landor n Stella

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The house is already 100% better after cleaning out all of the trash lying around, removing the carpet from the 2nd bedroom, and in general sweeping up to start with a true "blank slate". Here are a list of the other things we have done so far:

1. We have totally cleaned out the standing/decomposing sewage from the basement (gross). According to the neighbors, the sewer line was backed up or otherwise disconnected for 6-7 months. The residents of the house KNEW this, and continued to use the facilities, with all of the waste emptying directly into the basement for that amount of time. In the corners of the basement, there were piles of sewage about knee high. The rest of the basement was flooded with about 1-2" of waste, decomposing and attracting flies. Luckily there was a break in the hot weather, and with coveralls, rainboots, plastic gloves, a shovel, and 4 5-gallon buckets it only took 2 days of work to empty the basement. (The basement is only below the bathroom and kitchen, so it is a small space compared to the rest of the house.) This was a huge deal, because without cleaning out the basement we can't work on the plumbing or electrical.
2. New electrical panels and circuit breakers are purchased, ready to install. The utility company disconnected the main power on Friday, so now the panel can be replaced. Before this happens, we have to secure the basement- it currently has an access from the outside via an opening in the basement wall. Since the copper wiring has already been stripped once by someone, we need to secure this so we don't run the risk of losing all of our new copper.
3. Trash has all been removed. It took 2 loads that filled a double car-hauler flat bed trailer (about 20' long). We lost track of counting, but there were well over 60 styrofoam cups from the gas station down the road that used to hold 30 oz sodas. The former owners loved their Polar Pops!
4. Cleaned and swept out all of the rooms, and we have started on demolition. This part is fun!
5. Secured the garage. We will probably use the garage for staging and storing materials, as we buy them and bring them to the house. Since we are using as many found, recycled, craigslist, and salvage materials as possible, this will be key! Having a place to store doors until we get to the point of actually using them means we can shop ahead and shop around to get the lowest price for the best quality we can. The garage was missing windows, so we re-purposed old single-pane storm windows by nailing them over the openings on the inside. With some curtains to conceal the materials we are storing inside, this should be OK for security. Also a combination lock for the hasp on the  regular door, until we get a new exterior door that includes a lockset and/or deadbolt. The garage door has a new lock from the inside, preventing anyone from opening it.
6. Tested the sewer line. The former owners did go to all the trouble to dig (by hand) a ditch for the sewer line, and install new PVC pipe. The neighbors confirmed the installation was finished, but the trench never filled in again. I guess they ran out of steam. So, before we fill in the holes (which I've already tripped over several times) we wanted to make sure everything was in good working order. It is. :-) So tomorrow a friend with a big yard tractor is coming over to use the loader to fill in the trench, and he'll use the tiller attachment to smooth out the rest of the yard, too. It's not the best time of year to be growing new grass, but we'll probably throw down some seed and spread out some straw in the attempt to keep the weeds at bay during the summer. We also don't have water, so watering the lawn to make the grass grow is not an option right now.
7. The neighbors have confirmed seeing a massive raccoon who is apparently making his home in the crawlspace/basement of the house. We have rigged up a live trap, and hopefully we will catch him or he will move on before we get to doing any wiring down there. :-/ I would hate to meet a raccoon face-to-face while on my belly in the dirt under the house.

Next steps:
A. Install the new electrical panel, crawl into the crawl spaces and attic to check out the wiring that is left after the copper miners came through. Determine the full extent of the re-wire (planning on all new wiring as the worst-case scenario, and this is probably the course we are going to take)
B. Finish demo of the areas we know will be completely redone. Demo the existing trim, some to salvage, and the rest for replacement. Remove extra electrical boxes (in the middle of the walls instead of down by the floor?? Don't know why they would be in those locations.)   
C. Walk through each room, and list the scope of all the work that has to be completed in the room. Determine a plan for the 3rd bedroom/Mud room area, how to maintain access to the basement but seal the exterior entrance (might mean rebuilding new cellar stairs).
D. Change all the deadbolts/locks. We only have one key, for the front door, and who knows how many keys still exist out there that still have access to the house. This will happen tomorrow.


arebelspy

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Wow that basement sounds gross.  Way to go tackling that.  Definitely change the front door lock right away.  Make sure you get some good pictures of it all demo'd.  Good luck on the raccoon.

Really enjoying hearing about the progress/status.   Thanks for updating us.  :D

Also, does anyone else see the title of this post and/or the username and think "Landor's not a system, he's a man!"

..just me?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

HeidiO

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So impressed with your work in the basement!  I bet that added $10,000 in value .
Heidi

poko

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The former owners loved their Polar Pops!

Ah! I grew up in Indiana, I remember those!!

Sounds like a really fun project, except for all that sewage (GROSS!) -- loving the updates.

Landor n Stella

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http://photobucket.com/7000DollarHouseProject

Here is a link to my PhotoBucket album on this house project. There are two sub-albums, which you can find links to on the right hand side of the main album. The sub-albums show the condition of the house when we bought it, and the second one shows what it looks like after we cleaned it out.

I'll be posting more pictures to this album as we go along, so check back for new pictures! I'll try to remember to notify everyone here when I add more.

We had a setback this week. I took Tuesday off work to work on the house, and upon my arrival there in the morning discovered that someone had broken in through a window and stolen the generator we were using. It was a $2,000 Honda 3000 generator that a friend had lent us, and it was the only item of significant value on the property. I spent most of Tuesday talking with the police, filing a report, and talking with the neighbors (the only good thing about this was I got to meet all of them). So now we are stalking the pawn shops and craigslist in the area, trying to find it to return it to our friend. I feel awful for borrowing something so expensive and then not being able to keep it safe. So we will have to replace it for him at some point soon if it doesn't show up in the pawn shops/craigslist. I really hope it does, so we can catch the perpetrator.

Anyway, it was a disappointing day off work since I didn't really get much done on the house since I was dealing with the theft, changing locks, boarding up windows, etc.

We are also working on figuring out funding, so we can keep working at a faster pace. That will be key soon.

~Stella

arebelspy

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Yuck, that sucks.  Sorry for the misfortune.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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strider3700

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I've worked on many construction sites.  You either need someone in the place full time or anything of value and I mean ANYTHING has to leave with you nightly or be locked up tighter then fort knox.   I've seen locked shipping containers cut into through the sides and everything stolen out of them.  I've also seen boxes of inexpensive tiles stolen from the middle of the house.

Landor n Stella

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I've worked on many construction sites.  You either need someone in the place full time or anything of value and I mean ANYTHING has to leave with you nightly or be locked up tighter then fort knox.   I've seen locked shipping containers cut into through the sides and everything stolen out of them.  I've also seen boxes of inexpensive tiles stolen from the middle of the house.

Someone suggested looking into renting a Jobox (Jobbox? Job Box?) for the duration of our project, so that we could lock up our tools and other things. I am reconsidering what to store on the site, too. Originally we were going to use the garage to store materials that we had purchased but were not ready to install yet. Now I think all of these materials will come to our rental house garage, where we live, and we will just have to shuttle things over to the job house. We're renting only about 8 blocks from the job house, but it's still a pain to move all our supplies over in small batches like that.   

arebelspy

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Or look into some cheap security cameras and posting signs about the premises being video recorded.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Arbor33

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Someone suggested looking into renting a Jobox (Jobbox? Job Box?) for the duration of our project, so that we could lock up our tools and other things.

They can work well or they can be a container used to transport all of your stuff out the door in one trip. I've rarely seen one that can't be carried by two guys. If you do go this route, get some chains and an extra padlock and lock that baby to something solid within the house/garage/whathaveyou. When we can't lock them to anything, we lock two of them together.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune!

CptPoo

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Is this in Muncie? If you guys are looking for some additional labor at some point, I might be able to help out. I have been wanting to learn some renovation stuff anyways.

I have seen numerous houses in this area that are priced under $20K, it amazes me sometimes how cheap housing is in this area, and of course, Ball State tends to make it on just about every list of cheapest colleges to attend.

Landor n Stella

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Thanks for the advice about securing the site! We'll look into all that.

Regarding the basement, I just took a leaf out of MMM's book- Value can come from good old fashioned hard work (and in my case, work that no one else wants to do or would be $$$ to hire done because it was gross, not because it was hard).

Cpt Poo- love the name and the avatar! We are not in Muncie, but we are only a few exits north of Muncie in Marion. Landor and I met at Ball State, actually, since we were both students there. Are you a student at BSU or just currently living there? You're welcome to come help and learn anytime you want. This whole project is about learning. I wanted to actually *do* the things I learned in how to do theoretically in school at BSU's architecture program (I have a B. Arch from there). PM me for details if you are serious about wanting to come help/learn.

James

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Someone suggested looking into renting a Jobox (Jobbox? Job Box?) for the duration of our project, so that we could lock up our tools and other things. I am reconsidering what to store on the site, too. Originally we were going to use the garage to store materials that we had purchased but were not ready to install yet. Now I think all of these materials will come to our rental house garage, where we live, and we will just have to shuttle things over to the job house. We're renting only about 8 blocks from the job house, but it's still a pain to move all our supplies over in small batches like that.


I would shuttle from your rental for anything expensive until you can move in.  One option would be to camp out at the new house once it's partially completed in order to give people the idea it's lived in and not a good target.  Getting lights hooked up and on timers might help also once you have power, as well as very bright exterior lights on motion detectors.  Something like a job box might work well, but you might spend as much time loading them up before you leave as just putting things back in your vehicle.  Depends a lot on how much you need to have on the site from day to day.


Sorry about the setback, that's a large expense to take.  Any option for homeowners insurance to cover it?

sol

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Sorry about the setback, that's a large expense to take. 

Yea no kidding.  $2000?  They stole almost 30% of the house!

Will

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I wanted to actually *do* the things I learned in how to do theoretically in school at BSU's architecture program (I have a B. Arch from there).

I have one of those from there too!  I was there 1983-88.  And I was out of architorture by 1991.  Oh well! 

I might have missed it, but are you planning on changing the layout at all?  Looking at those floorplans, that bathroom in-between the kitchen and dining room just seems odd.

trammatic

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You could also use a utility trailer.  I'm doing some minor renovations to our house, yet we don't have a garage and the garden shed is small and mostly full.  So I found a used enclosed cargo trailer (6x10 for about $1800) that is helpful for getting stuff at the suppliers as well as storing it securely.  Just keep your tools and supplies in it and ferry it back and forth each day.

Sparky

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That's terriable to hear about the generator theft,  but welcome to the construction industry. My old company use to get broken into all the time in town, trucks stolen and all the big copper wire out of our recycling bins removed rather regularly. Mostly the Meth heads trying to get another hit. I had my work truck stolen twice in one week!

Once people know that there are tools and materials in a building, they will come back over and over again. I watched my neighbours go through 3 generators in about a months time.

Try boarding up the windows and doors. Make the house look like more of a trouble to break into than it's worth.

Job boxes: They make some giant stand up almost closet sized ones that require a bobcat or forklift to move around. Pain in the ass to move, unbelievably heavy and can hold loads of materials and tools. Look into them.  If you buy one think of it as an investment and build it into you home.

Sparky

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Also, with a bit of humour, don't but nails or screws in your mouth. People think it's funny to piss on them... Don't reinstall the toilet bowls before you have running water again. Again, think about it.

JJ

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Or look into some cheap security cameras and posting signs about the premises being video recorded.

Then make sure you have another security camera set up so you can catch whoever steals the cameras protecting the tools...

Landor n Stella

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Update time!

For a while we will be working on projects that don't have much visual interest to them (think wiring and plumbing). So I probably will not be taking many pictures. But I'll try to keep everyone updated with milestone progress.

We've made arrangements to be working with a local non-profit, they will be providing us with the funding that we need to get through the major renovations quicker than what we could do going paycheck to paycheck. Part of the goal here is to not be paying rent, so the faster we get it livable the better. And it gives us a chance to build back up our emergency fund.

The electrical panel is now installed! Wiring the basement with a few circuits and lights is next on the list. This weekend will be about running a subpanel out to the garage and wiring it up with lights and power for a workspace. After those things are complete, I'll call the city inspector, and get the power company to reconnect the main. Then we will have power!! I made the decision to turn the power on before completely wiring the house because I think it is important to make sure we have lights and other things. I'm also new to wiring, so I wanted the practice in two areas where I have easy access to open studs before I tackle wiring in the existing walls.

We also have an agreement with the salvage place, and will be choosing out our doors and trim and other miscellaneous stuff soon, including siding for our garage, which is currently naked to the sheathing and needs some clothes! :-)




James

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Sounds good, I agree about getting power on site, it's no fun working on a place without power.  Once you have power I'd also set up lights on timers, you can get timers for a couple bucks and then have lights go on at night for a few hours and then off again.


Glad you are getting some help with funding!


So no word on the generator?

plantingourpennies

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I love houses that you can add value to via your own skills and labor!

RebelSpy is probably on to something with his thoughts about that mudroom...it looks to be near the plumbing hookups from the other bathroom and kitchen.

Maybe time to start looking for toilets and bathtubs on freecycle or similar?

Mr. Pop

Landor n Stella

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http://heartlandhouse.wordpress.com/

So I got all crafty and made a blog for our house project. Today there is a post about exterior colors- which everyone should go look at and vote on- we have to make a decision soon because we are putting up the garage siding! There are more pictures on the blog and I'll be doing some more involved posts soon about all the issues in detail and how we plan to address them. Feedback there is welcome, as well as here. :-)

fidgiegirl

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Love the blog!  I put in my vote for the colors!

One favor?  Can you pop an RSS widget on to the sidebar of your blog?  I like to follow all my blogs in an RSS feed reader.  I did subscribe manually but it is easier with a widget.  RSS icon = More readers!  Yippee!!  (http://www.commoncraft.com/video/rss just in case you are not sure what RSS is - ok hope that works, I got confused on doing a link in this forum!  Doh!)

Keeping a blog of your progress can be very, very rewarding.  We did one recently of our own remodel (still ongoing) and although we are not nearly as bare-bones as you or having to do fundamentals like power (and certainly no sewage involved! kudos on that one), we found that doing the blog gave us a great way to look back on our progress, as well as provided a great connection to family and friends who were interested in our progress.

We got the most readers by connecting our blog to my FB account via Networked Blogs.  I remember it being kind of a PITA to set up, but most of our readers and comments came from that audience.  Frankly it's a lot more rewarding to blog when you know you are getting hits and comments.  Hubby likes to check the stats quite often and is amazed at how many hits we get even on days when no posts are made.

Enjoy the blogging journey and the house journey!  We are following eagerly.  Just about to get my hubby to read your whole thread.

ETA:  Our blog is http://ourfairabode.wordpress.com if you are interested.  :)
« Last Edit: July 25, 2012, 03:16:20 PM by fidgiegirl »

kisserofsinners

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Thanks so much for keeping us in the loop of your adventure!!!

Landor n Stella

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RSS feed added!

Internet has been down at my house for two days now, because of some bad storms we have had. So I have not had any posts up for two days. :-(
But I have one ready to go, and I will post it on my lunch hour. :-) It's another voting post, so check it out and submit your vote when it is up! (12:30 EST)

heartlandhouse.wordpress.com

Landor n Stella

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Re: Landor n Stella Bought a House for $7,000. Follow our adventures here!
« Reply #44 on: August 03, 2012, 07:03:25 AM »
http://heartlandhouse.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/let-there-be-power-and-lights/

Major milestone! The power is back on at our house! (I'm trying to control my use of exclamation points, but I'm too excited!) I can use ALL of my power tools now- including the chop saw and circular saw that would have been very helpful earlier!  :-)

deciduous

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Re: Landor n Stella Bought a House for $7,000. Follow our adventures here!
« Reply #45 on: August 03, 2012, 09:29:40 AM »
This is a truly badass effort. good work. I hope your husband keeps tolerating your craziness!

fidgiegirl

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Re: Landor n Stella Bought a House for $7,000. Follow our adventures here!
« Reply #46 on: August 03, 2012, 01:21:24 PM »
I'm really enjoying your blog.  Thanks for taking time to do it.  If you haven't had a chance to visit, it's worth it.  Chock full of pics!!

James

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Re: Landor n Stella Bought a House for $7,000. Follow our adventures here!
« Reply #47 on: August 03, 2012, 03:25:12 PM »
That is a big landmark in your progress, glad to hear it!

Landor n Stella

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Re: Landor n Stella Bought a House for $7,000. Follow our adventures here!
« Reply #48 on: August 06, 2012, 07:26:51 AM »
http://heartlandhouse.wordpress.com/master-project-list-for-hh/

I've included a list of all the tasks that I can see that need to be completed at our house. I know there are more than what I've listed here, but this is at least a starting point. Any of you experienced DIY'ers or flippers- I would appreciate your feedback on this list. What am I missing? Do I have anything out of order?

Also, if you have any recommendations for websites or other resources for information on the things I'll be doing, I am always looking for that.

Landor n Stella

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Re: Landor n Stella Bought a House for $7,000. Follow our adventures here!
« Reply #49 on: October 04, 2012, 08:46:18 PM »
Lots of new action and progress over at our project house. Demolition has begun, and we're about *this close* to finalizing the floor plan. Check it out here:
www.heartlandhouse.wordpress.com
« Last Edit: January 17, 2013, 10:49:46 PM by Landor n Stella »