May
12
Finish Line is Inching Closer and Closer
May 12, 2007 |
Took it realtively easy this week on the house fixin’ front, but that’s become an, err, relative term. I got all the ceilings painted at the Main St. house, all the plaster repaired and sanded and ready to paint, and baseboards and moldings caulked where they needed it. Tub surround is also now ready for tiling, and I finished up the slate backsplash in the kitchen. I also got all of the landscaping done (sans mulch) at the Austin house, as well as most of the trim painting. Today I’m going to knock out mowing and weed eating at both places, hang closet doors at the Austin house (which I keep managing to forget), and slap a fresh coat of paint on all interior doors at the Austin house.
I got a little depressed there towards the end working on the Austin house, but I’m experiencing the flip side of the coin, now that I’m mainly focusing on the Main St. house. Given what I ended up doing at the Austin house (pretty much new paint throughout the entire interior/exterior, complete kitchen remodel, replacing both bath vanities and fixtures, patio stone on the front walkway, assorted swapping out of old outlets), it’s not so surprising it drug on so long, as far as getting everything done.
The Main St. house should be a comparative piece of cake (knock on wood), as most of the interior work is simply painting, painting, and more painting. Tiling the front porch and putting in a stone walkway in the front and back is going to be the killer, but I knock most of that out in a weekend. Or, you know, that’s the plan at least.
Was a little relieved/sad to see the foreclosure duplex I’d been eyeing finally go under contract. It probably would have been a pretty profitable rental, but would also have been a prettymassive rehab, so it’s likely not the worst thing in the world that I didn’t end up making an offer on it. There’s not a lot available now that looks all that promising, so I’m not sure what the next step is, once I finish up the work I’m planning on the Main St. house. I’ll likely have a bit of downtime regardless as we wait to sell both houses, unless the Austin one moves pretty quickly.
There’s always work to do on our home, though, as we bought a fixer for that very reason, and I need to get out of the mindset that it’s somehow not as profitable as working on an investment property instead. Granted, it might be five years before that profit ever shows up, but it eventually should, whenever we sell this place and move on to whatever is next.
