Renovation Motivation

Before we started looking for houses I warned Jordan that if he wanted us to get a house that needed renovations and if we were going to be spending all of our free time tearing things down, being covered in dry wall dust, and living a life where relaxation was nothing but an unattainable day dream then I was going to be grumpy. I warned him that I was probably going to cry. I warned him that he wouldn't be allowed to get mad at me, that he would have to tell me to work anyways and ignore my whining.

I was pretty spot on with my prediction.

Initially we had been renovating at a really great pace. We were spending every single night in the basement tearing things down and making a huge mess. Things have started to get a little slower at this point. There's a lot more technical stuff to do, I'm usually pretty lost when I go down there, and workers have started to come in and take over. At this point we're right in the middle of it and I am getting burnt out but this is the stuff we trained for. This is the stuff I warned about.

I'm definitely a bit of a grumpy gus and I will offer to do anything else helpful to avoid more renovating. I mow the lawn, I clean the house from top to bottom, I go grocery shopping. Anything to avoid it but also get other important things done.

Luckily I have an amazing person to do this with. Seriously, Jordan never stops. This is definitely his rodeo, I am just one of the clowns. He has set up everything, booked every inspection, met with every plumber, drywaller, and HVAC technician. And he has pushed me through all of this and been totally patient at the same time. This thing would be no where without him.

But honestly, you need to know what you're getting yourself into when you start a reno. I'm talking about how much time, energy and $money$. Like a lot, of money. Take how much you think it will be and then times that by 3. OYE!.

The great thing about it? We're working toward something together that is completely for us. We're doing it all ourselves and it will pay off in the future. I can't wait for it to be over, I'm not going to lie, but I can't wait to see how amazing everything is when we've finished.

Thank you for listening to my mid-renovation ramblings while we're right in the thick of things. Ask me how I feel in two months.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Construction Cry Baby

What Life Looks Like Now

Moving in with Jordan has been one of the biggest changes I've ever made in my life. Sure, I've lived out of my parents house before but it's been nothing like owning my own home. I went from letting my parents completely take care of me to having to work with Jordan so we could take care of each other. I'm so glad that we did it and life, it's looking pretty good now.

Here's what I've been seeing lately:

 << Bills, Bills, Bills! >>

 << Saturday morning breakfasts featuring a few too many chocolate chip pancakes. (We've had to put a stop to this ritual seeing as our chocolate chip bag was getting used way too frequently)>>

 << Nesting >>

<< Learning the fine art of cooking >>

 << Dancing and cleaning every weekend >>

 << Market dates with my parents >>

 << Walks downtown to explore our new city >>

<< The fridge says it so we don't have to >>

 

Not pictured: a wonderful evening where we warmed the house with our friends, renovations upon renovations, many Netflix documentaries over glasses of wine when we just couldn't work any longer.

Life is looking pretty great. I can't wait to see what there is to take a look at next.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Mover and Shaker and a Novice Dinner Maker

What They Don't Tell You: About House Shopping

House shopping looks SO fun on t.v. Seriously, who wouldn't want to meet up with their hot realtor- or hot duo of realtor's, tell them a wish lists and then have that realtor show them three houses and in a week, bing, bang, boom, you gotta house!

Well, that is not what happens okay, not even close!

First things first, find a realtor. Jordan's brother had bought a house the previous year so we went with his realtor. Done.

So we made an appointment, brought a list of or wants and needs and sat down with our realtor. It was a LONG appointment. 3 hours! We listened a lot and Jordan asked way too many questions and we talked about commissions and contracts and it was a.lot. Period.

After that we received a login to a database and we would get notifications of houses for sale and ask our realtor to set up appointment for us. That's one thing you don't hear about: you do a lot of the work too. They don't generally just start showing you houses. You pick the ones you want to see and your realtor is the one who sets it up.

House hunting is not glamorous my friends, there, I said it. It was months of searching with no bites, awkwardly walking into strangers homes and having to walk around while they sat in their living rooms, standing in the freezing cold while talking to our realtor...it was a lot of things. Disclaimer: winter is apparently a slower market for real estate which means less sellers and buyers. Therefore if you find a house you like in the winter you could probably get it for cheaper and have some bargaining room since there is less interest at that time and it's likely that it has been on the market for longer.

Side note; humans are a scary breed. During our house hunting we encountered one hoarder, one person who had more animals than I could count including a turtle, a hamster, two dogs, a cat, a snake and a bunch of animals we probably didn't see, one curious looking blood-like stain, and one man who had no furniture but did have about 25 mattresses stacked in different rooms of his house.

House hunting was exciting, and it was disheartening. I have zero interest in going back to house hunting any time soon, which I think is something people should know.

There is A LOT that goes into buying a house. We sat for hours writing offers that were rejected and that is nothing compared to the hours we spent at banks, with mortgage brokers, and with lawyers.

Near the end I said "I can't believe everyone who has ever bought a house has gone through this."

Honestly, you need to be ready for all this because it is no joke. Once you own the house...well that's where the real work starts.

But more on that later.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
HGTV Whistle Blower

*If you have any questions about house hunting contact me using the information here*

Cant' Stop. Won't Stop.

YOU GUYS.

I'm back.

And I have so much to tell you.

Since we last talked my life's been turned upside down. Now I know how the Fresh Prince of Bel Air felt...minus the mansion, and the aunt and uncle to take care of me, or the butler.

It's only been a month since Jordan and I moved into our house but SO much has happened. It feels like a lifetime.

I've been busier than ever before. I work all week, have a part-time job serving on the weekends, and spend every moment in between that helping Jordan renovate. We are so busy! But it's been wonderful!

I can update you on everything when I get more time but for now I'm here to stop by and say hi. (HI!). And let you know I'm still alive but just very, very, busy!

I'll update more soon!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Jack of Every Trade