Just pick a color already!

With the guys squaring out and finishing off that TV cabinet space came a very interesting phone call one night. Matt, our family contractor (who is AMAZING!) called one afternoon about that. He told me he put new drywall in to even that space out, and had the guys tape and finish it all off. I was thinking, "great so why are you calling me?" He asked me what i wanted to do about painting that area. I laughed. The downstairs to our house doesn't have a single stopping point when it comes to painting. You are doing the entire office, dining room, fireplace room, 2 story living room, up the stairs and down the upstairs hallway. I was like, "fine let's just paint it all...clearly it needs to be done." Matt said, "Great! Pick out a color tonight and I will have the guys start tomorrow!" What? It's 4 o'clock and I'm still at work.

I drove over to Home Depot and picked up what must have been 100 paint chips. I brought them all home and told Jay we had 20 minutes to pick a color and get over to Home Depot while there was still someone in the paint department. I found the perfect color. It was perfect. So great in fact, that my mother-in-law used it as the main color in their new house, and my mom is using it in hers as well. We get there and I hand the chip to the paint guy and tell him I need 2 gallons to get the painters started in the morning. They could figure out how much more they were going to need when they got there.

The older gentleman behind the counter kept fidgeting with the paint machine and trying to put my color in. All of a sudden the unthinkable happened! He dropped my only paint chip behind the giant mixing machine. It was a Martha Stewart color, but I couldn't remember what shade of gray it was. What's worse? This Home Depot was different than the one I picked the paint chips up at. They were out of all of the gray and white toned paint chips by Martha Stewart. He looked at me like he didn't know what to do. He even suggested that I just walk around and pick a new color! You don't just pick a new color! It took me 100 paint chips to get to that one.

He suggested all sorts of ridiculous ways of getting my chip out from under the machine. It's back was right to the counter I was standing in front of. I could see my little chip down there just waiting to be turned into paint. He was going to try to get a leaf blower and blow it out of there. He thought about trying to get 4 or 5 guys to move the machine.

All while he is attempting to rig a way out of this situation I grabbed a pole that you typically put a roller onto when painting high ceilings. I attached some duct tape to one in, and stuck it down behind the machine while he wasn't watching. Of course, I suggested this to him twice and he thought I was crazy. Dude! A leaf blower is crazy, this is southern ingenuity!

Needless to say, with Jay's help, we got that little chip out there with our ingenious idea. The paint guy was flabbergasted that it actually worked. Too bad we got stuck at Home Depot for an hour over a couple of gallons of paint though! Jay clearly thought I had lost it. And I probably did a little bit. But, I was tired of my house being in shambles, and tired of having dust everywhere, and the only thing I could control in my life was the color of the walls in my house. And dang it if the guy at Home Depot was going to stand between Martha's perfect color and I!

I still have my little paint chip. I keep it in my make up drawer so I always know where it is. I can see it every morning, and have given the color to several people.

All I can say is women are crazy! I know it and admit it daily. But, my husband, like every other good one out there, knows if momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy!

The During...

Once we talked to our contractor about start dates and what we were really trying to do, we had to start making some actual decisions. I usually spend a lot of time on Pinterest anyway, but I was pretty much on overload at this point. There wasn't a kitchen that got uploaded to that website that I didn't know about. You would think there would be too much to choose from. Not true. We are pretty good about knowing what is our style and what isn't. We both really like dark colors. Dark rooms, dark furniture, anything that comes in black. However, we don't have any natural light in our kitchen, and it's long and narrow, making it not very open. We knew that dark cabinets would make our kitchen look even smaller, and probably hurt us when it came to resale. With that thought in mind, we were looking at really light cabinets, and adding dark elements when and where we could. Here is part of our color palette.

I think our biggest struggle was the floor. I am just not good with flooring that isn't wood. We went to Floor & Decor in Roswell (also one in Atlanta and Kennesaw) to get ideas. They had these travertine tiles we just fell in love with. We didn't want anything too close to white since our cabinets were going to be true white, but didn't want anything too close to brown since we wanted to add elements of gray and black in the backsplash. Jay actually picked out the backsplash at Floor & Decor on the same day. They had 6 sheets left, and that is exactly how many we needed. I feel like it was design fate! I had to go to a tile and granite store in Suwanee in order to find the subway tiles that went with it. Another design fate was waiting for me there. They actually didn't have anymore of the sheets of tile, but had the dark grey glass tile in a subway tile. They matched perfectly. Clearly meant to be. They also had the right color grout that Floor & Decor didn't have. I would suggest if you are looking for flooring or bathroom tiles, check them out. Their inventory is constantly changing, but they have some great deals. We got the flooring at a third of the price that we would have paid for the same thing anywhere else. Floor tiles and backsplash can really eat a hole through your budget if you aren't careful, and this is a great way to save.

I also wanted to add some construction pictures. I clearly am my father's daughter about this. I think there is nothing better than taking a sledgehammer to a wall and starting over. I feel like it is a bit of a rebirth for the space, and definitely makes life less stressful. When designing for a new space, my dad and I have never let a wall stand in our way. Everything can be moved for a price! The top left is a picture of where the sink and bar top will eventually move into place. The top right is a picture of the cabinet we picked to fill that weird tv cabinet space in the bottom left. We also got rid of that awful curve in the top of that wall. EWW! We found this great granite at a local granite warehouse. Cheaper than Home Depot or most advertised granite retailers. The middle right is a picture of the new laundry room cabinets. Such a nice day when one day you come home to the bottom right, and two days later you see top left. 

What's next? Paint dilemmas!

Before...

Before I get into the details of our major remodel of the kitchen, laundry room, and downstairs floors, I thought it was important for you to get a background, the history if you will. Our house was built in 1989. Our kitchen was probably cool in '89.  But then again, so were side ponytails, teased bangs, and scrunchies. One who was cool in '89 would probably continue to change with the times. Not our kitchen. It was like a fanny pack at Six Flags. Cool in the 80's, but laugh-worthy now. Thank God that is a style that hasn't come back. I would officially give up on all things fashion.

But on the important things. The kitchen....

We had this white kitchen. The walls were white-ish, the cabinets were white (painted by hand as a DIY job at some point to cover the brown you can see in the bottom right corner), the counters were 4"x4" white-ish tiles, and I am fairly certain the floor was white at some point in it's lifetime. When we moved in it was a cream color and the grout was black. At least it wasn't that fancy checkerboard tile you see in the bottom left that graced our mud room. EWW! I am pretty sure the counters were a DIY job too, because they weren't laid straight and weren't evenly spaced. We also had those weird square lights in the ceiling. The face plates were on a spring, so when the light bulbs were changed, you had to pry the face off with one hand while unscrewing the bulb with the other. 

The brown cabinets were from the laundry room. They don't look so bad on the outside, but I felt bad for leaving my poor cleaning products inside there. They were probably quivering at the sight of the disgusting stains in there. Another big EWWW! 

At the top, center picture you can see the china cabinet/tv cabinet. I am not sure what it's intended purpose was. There was a cable jack inside the cabinet, but not sure if it was supposed to be there or not. No real complaints on that thing, but just didn't go very well in the space. 

Now, some of you may be sitting there judging me for judging this kitchen so harshly. "You should have seen the kitchen in our first house when we were newlyweds!" I get it. My parents walked uphill to school both ways too! The real problem with the kitchen was the cabinets and the electrical work. The cabinets were made of MDF. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, that is the "wood" that Ikea furniture is made of. It's great when you need an economical furniture option for a room in your home. Not great for cabinets that have been hanging there for 23 years. We couldn't really put our plates in most of the cabinets because they were bowed so bad. The other problem was the electrical. The woman who lived here before us had a "contractor" (and yes I am using that job description loosely) rig some lights above the cabinets to give the kitchen some more light. Great idea! However, he stripped the wires, and rigged them all together, and then stripped the microwave plug so he could tie the lights into that and they would light up whenever the microwave was plugged in. It was a fire just waiting to happen. 

Aesthetically, I just hated looking at this space that had so much potential. It was functional the way it should have been, and it really just needed a face lift. 

Next up...the design elements we picked out to really pull our new kitchen together!

A Bright Idea

Last weekend, I ran into a little DIY project I didn't know was coming. This wasn't exactly the kind of DIY I  enjoy doing, but I was pretty proud when we were done. To give you a little background, our A/C wasn't working downstairs. We have a warranty on our home, so we called them to come take a look at it. Apparently, our A/C hadn't been working since we moved into the house. The upstairs unit was working over time (this we knew after we saw the electric bill), and the crawl space seemed to keep the downstairs cool until the humidity set in this summer. The A/C repair man crawled into the crawl space under the house to check the pump. Apparently there is a pump that pumps out all of the condensation from the unit and away from the house. Who knew? Well, when the pump was put in, someone decided to strip the three-prong plug off the end, and rig the wiring into the furnace wiring to make it work. There isn't a plug in the crawl space, so why not? Oh, I don't know, it could burn the house down for one. Well apparently when Fannie Mae sent someone out to fix the unit, which wasn't even turning on before we moved in, the replaced some of the parts on the outside unit, and un-rigged the wires in the crawl space. The thing about that is, when the wires weren't connected, there was no power to the pump, and no cold air for the house.

So, we are told you can buy a new base for the lightbulb that is in the crawl space, one that has a three prong plug on it to plug the pump in. How hard could it be? We get down there, and it all of a sudden looks a little more terrifying. I don't want to get electrocuted, but I am also sick of sweating in the house. So, Jay comes down with me. I don't like tight spaces, or creepy crawlies.

This is the base that you can buy at Home Depot to fix this little problem. They sell them in the electrical thingamajig aisle, and they are only about $5.

After taking the base off, this is what I'm looking at. I knew the black wire went to the brass screw on the back of the base, and the white wire went to the silver screw. Thank God for instruction manuals. Then, I couldn't tell what the ground wire was, there wasn't a ground wire connected to the old base. Finally, after a little digging, I find that copper wire that is also a base. I have to saw, having an iPhone, and a father that is waiting at home for a picture in his text is pretty helpful. Jay and I were looking at each other dumbfounded! Texting from a crawlspace saved our project.

After putting everything together, and screwing the new base on, and the new light bulb in, I was a little nervous to flip the switch. Jay was hoping it didn't blow up, ye of little faith. I flipped the switch. pulled the cord, and "LET THERE BE LIGHT"!! I am so proud of myself!! We have cool air, a light that works in the crawl space, sore legs from sitting on my knees down there too long, a much needed glass of wine, and a little extra self-esteem. 

If Jay and I can fix something like this, you definitely can too. Electrical is something I never messed with just because it's intimidating. But, now I feel like I can do small projects like this one without calling someone (mainly my dad) to fix the problem. Ceiling fans beware, I am officially out for you now!!

When One Door Closes...

It's been a while. Yikes! Jay and I finally finished our front door. We spent most of last Sunday painting this door, and sitting in our over-heated living room for 8 hours waiting for it to dry. I have to say though, I really LOVE how it turned out. The door that was here in it's place before this little remodel was impossible. If you set your purse down, and water and did a little stretching before hand, you might be able to push it into submission so it would lock. Jay was better at this than I was, I typically just refused to use it unless absolutely necessary. So, being able to turn the lock on this one with one hand and a million things in the other is AMAZING! Besides the fact that it looks quite a bit nicer. The other door also had a huge small gap underneath of it. After a long Saturday for Big Gus changing the threshold to fill the 2" gap, it was fixed, for about 2 weeks. The neighbors cat could crawl through that hole. All in all, this door is a huge improvement when it comes to functionality, and it's also a huge improvement aesthetically. YAY!

This was right after the door was put in. We eventually had to paint everything that was white. And, can I tell you how funny it must have been to watch us get this thing out of the truck and into the garage. I'm not even sure how our contractor got it in there. They whole thing comes together in one piece.

This was Haley's idea of helpful. I'm pretty surprised she didn't get any paint on her. Although, I would probably never know!

Right after the paint was put on.

It's Georgia...it's hot...there are mosquitos. Sorry to my neighbors for having to look at this all day, but I was being eaten alive by those dang bugs all day. This had to happen!

Finally, the finished product. I just love how much it pops against the color of the house. 

If you are thinking about starting a project like this, whether you are getting a new front door, or painting the one you have, I have a couple of tips for you.

1) Paint is everything. We bought this Trim and Door Paint from Home Depot that worked like a charm. The guy in the paint department talked me into when I was painting the quarter round trim in our bathroom, and so I stuck with it again. On the front door, we only did one coat. One coat with black paint is virtually unheard of. It's made to be outside, and it is a gel consistency instead of a thin latex paint consistency. I thought it was a little expensive at $20 for a quart, but in the end it was worth every penny. You could see some of the brush strokes when I first put it on, but they evened out as it dried and now you can't see any of them. 

2) The brush is the second most important part of this project. Buy a good brush. It seems like a waste of money, but totally worth it. It will make sure the project looks professional.

3) When they say 8 hours on the can, they really mean it. Make sure you don't have anywhere to go that day, and get some plastic sheeting in case it starts to rain or the bugs are invading.

All in all, this was a fairly easy project. It wasn't the cheapest since there was a brand new door involved. But, if you are just looking for a new color on the door you already have this is a very cheap fix.

The Big Reveal

I am so excited to finally reveal my new master bathroom! It has been a few long months, and several snags along the way, but it is finally finished!

I know it is a little difficult to tell height, but this vanity was right above Jay's knee. He is 6'2", so it was a long reach to brush his teeth. Beyond that, the home had been sitting empty for so long since it was a foreclosure, and the sink was leaking the entire time. The bottom of the vanity was rotting through. Not was I was looking for in a master bathroom. 

The lighting is bad here, but you can see the fabulous carpet that was in front of the vanity. The 80's are calling and they want their look back! I wasn't having any of it. I asked Jay if I could rip it out and start over, the next day, this was all gone!!

My dad found a guy in Atlanta (real sketchy side of town) who builds custom vanities for very little money. We had odd sizes in our master and guest room so thought it would be worth a shot. Home Depot was going to run about $1200 for just the vanity in our room, and about $850 for the guest room. On top of that, they would need filler strips to fill in the extra space on either side. We were able to have these custom made to size, no fillers, for about $900 for both. Definitely money saved. I just had to prime and paint them. If you are thinking that bead board is a look you like, rethink before you paint them yourself! Love the look, almost threw my paint brush at it in the process!

I hate to even mention my flooring, because Lowe's almost died over this. I bought Armstrong laminate, yes I said laminate, flooring from them. The guy in the flooring department guaranteed they would be there in 5 days, it ended up taking 13 days. The only reason I was upset is because I wast trying to finish this project before Jay's parents came into town. Also, the store manager couldn't have cared less after I called him. That's right, I am one of those people. I feel like after working so many years of retail you should do whatever it takes to take care of the customer. I still think I could have walked them from their distribution center in Valdosta quicker than that, but enough with my rant. After they went in I was so happy! I love them! But, in the guest room I am going to find and Armstrong distributor instead of going to Lowe's. I think it will be money well spent!

See what I mean about the floor? It's fabulous! I had already painted the walls by the time Stuart came to put the floors in. If you are in the Atlanta metro area and need a handyman who can do everything, email me I will give you Stuart's number. There is no one else I would trust to be in my home all day other than him, and he is so reasonable. He can seriously do anything!!! His wife came with him the day he had to put the vanity in because he couldn't move that beast by himself. She played with Haley all day, and Haley was a very satisfied customer as well!

Once the granite went in it seemed like this project was almost over! Love it! I also have a granite guy I could recommend. He is fairly priced and it seems like he can get to you and work around your schedule whenever you need to. 

TA DA!!! The finished project. I am in love. I know it looks like my mirrors are way off balance, but the light above my mirror is out. Even though I put a new bulb in...another project for another day I guess! All in all we did the entire project, including materials and labor for less than Home Depot was going to sell us just the vanities for. I am pretty impressed with myself. It looks great and I found bargains all along the way! Now this is the bathroom I was always hoping for!!

What can I tear out next? Jay...keep breathing, I'll wait until after Christmas ; )

Moving Day

Jay and I finally moved into our new house! YAY! I really thought this day would never come. If you have ever moved before, you know it can be a painful process. We are used to having to move in August when we go back to school, in the scorching heat. We were so lucky to have amazing weather in the 60's and 70's. All was going well until we moved the fridge and the stove in. Apparently the woman who lived in the house before us decided to put hardwood on top of laminate and tile on top of that, and tiling straight into the cabinets. This, of course, added 2" of height to the floors in the kitchen. When we moved the old stove out, we found out it was sitting in a whole that our new stove wouldn't fit into. Apparently, they tiled up to the stove as well. Ok, we will keep the new one in storage until we re-do the kitchen. No big deal. It was out of my parent's old house, and we weren't out any cash because of it. The fridge was an even bigger mess. Most refrigerators are standard height. We didn't think about measuring the space's height, because they are standard. Well, when there was a laminate floor in there, it was a standard height. On top of that, the fridge was too wide for the interior doors, and only one of the doors would come off. After a little redneck creativity, and a little touch-up paint, we had it in the kitchen! Even with all of the crazy appliances we had a pretty easy move. Everything is unpacked in the kitchen, we have a new king bed (thanks to Beth and Gary!!) in our master bedroom, and a list of projects I want to start around the house! Life is good!

Haley was so excited to go for a car ride to the new house! She was so nervous all morning when we were packing the UHaul. She wouldn't leave the side of the truck, keeping and eye to make sure she was coming with us!

I thought this was hysterical. Mom was one step up on the step ladder and could barely reach the light, Jay didn't even have to get on his tip toes!

Finally relaxing and watching the Auburn game! War Damn! Haley was exhausted after all of that heavy lifting! She had to carry two whole toys inside the house!

Stay tuned for more projects! I'm in the process of ripping out the vanity in our bathroom...should be fun!

House Mania

You may or may not have read that Jay and I finally closed on our house!!! YAY!! We closed on Sept 9th, and couldn't wait to get started on all of our DIY projects. We need to put new carpet in upstairs, so we thought it would be beneficial to paint the bedrooms up there before we put new carpet down. No drop cloth needed! The vanity in our master bathroom is 2 feet tall, and Jay is way too tall to brush his teeth at that vanity. We found a place online that you can buy refurbished vanities, so that is on the to-do list as well. We thought it would be wise to do all of this stuff before we move furniture into the house. So, those projects are starting this weekend! But, I had to share pictures from closing, and my new toy for the house.

They finally handed over the key at the attorney's office. Jay, of course, decided since he's the man of the house he should take responsibility of the key! Ok...I'll give you that one!

Standing outside with the key to our home!

For those of you that don't know, Jay is a graphic designer for a tool company! That career comes in extremely handy when you are a DIY fanatic! Jay bought me a brand new Hitachi cordless drill, with a light so you can see what you are drilling in all of those dark corners! For those of you that know Jay, you know this has no relevance to him whatsoever, but I couldn't be more excited. Before you know it, this boy will be DIY.

I love my new B.A. drill!

Stay tuned for all of our projects that we will be starting over the next couple of months. I'll make sure I add plenty of before and after pictures!

Bump in the road

Well I jinxed myself today. I was telling someone at work that everything seemed to be moving along too smoothly. Well, a half hour later we found out that they are moving back our closing until next week. We couldn't have been any more excited about buying a home this week, officially buying a home. Then, we felt crushed. All because our insurance agent took too much time to get our homeowner's binder over to the lending company. With the long weekend, it gave us less time to make sure all of our ducks were in a row this week. Oh well, God has perfect timing.

We've got progress!

I know I posted about Fannie Mae actually paying to fix HVAC and the hot water heater! Who's excited!!! But, we got confirmation yesterday that the work on the AC unit, the condenser, has actually been replaced. They are supposed the be fixing/replacing the hot water heater this week as well. I can't believe all of this is actually happening for us. We can't wait to be in that area, have our own home, and start decorating. Ok, well Jay could care less about the decor...he is just ready for a master bedroom with a view of the 4th tee box! I'll keep yall updated, please keep us in your prayers!

It's all about the benjamins....

We had to fill out all of our loan documents today in order to get our loan started. They need everything except your blood type and a hair sample. Goodness! I had to call down to Auburn and beg some sweet woman to send me an enrollment verification form to prove there was a reason for my unemployment in 2009...I was in school. We had to sign all of these forms proving that we lived in my parent's house rent free, one stating which addresses we have ever lived in, how long, and who owned them. We also sent over a letter explaining why AT&T checked my credit in May, proving that I didn't incur any long term debt becasue of that inquiry. I feel like if I sneeze I will need to sign a document stating why and prove that it didn't cost me any money. Yikes! However, even with all of the signing, Jay and I couldn't be happier that we are finally getting all of this started and are getting closer and closer to moving into our very first home!!! YAY!!

Finally Some Good News

Jay and I just found out that we are all set with our house!!! Fannie Mae is going to replace the hot water heater, and fix the hot water heater....without taking any of our closing cost money!!! I can't say it enough that God is so good. He has watched out for us along this entire journey, and all has worked out. We are still set to close on Sept 9th, and can't wait to officially be homeowners. We also found out that interest rates are even lower than when this whole process started. Saving us just a little more each month. Thanks so much for all of your support, we couldn't have done it without your prayers. We will keep you updated on any new developments along the road!

Nightmare on Camden Glen

So....buying a foreclosure is a NIGHTMARE!!! If you read my last sporadically written post you would know that the seller's agent told us that Fannie Mae was planning on making some repairs to the home that made the home habitable. We just needed to write a formal request to go in the paperwork. Then, the seller's agent we had been dealing with left town for the weekend last Thursday. Some new chicky poo then told us that if we wanted those repairs then we would have to forego the closing costs they were giving us, our agent's bonus for closing before Oct 31st, and possibly pay more for the house. Well hello...for all that you can have your house back. Then today, our original contact at REO was back in the office. After 3 emails and several more attempted calls we had not heard back as of 3 pm. Today is our last day in due diligence, and we don't want to risk our earnest money to wait for her to email back. So, we went ahead and wrote up our termination paperwork, knowing their office closes at 5 everyday. As soon as we signed, Kay emailed it over. She then attempted the woman at REO one last time just to let her know that the termination of contract was in her inbox. She freaked out saying she had been working all day getting estimates for the things we were asking (that they told us) to be repaired. She said the HVAC system had already been approved for repair/replacement, and she was waiting to hear about the hot water heaters. She said she was simply waiting on a couple of signatures and we couldn't walk away now. She sent over the extension of due diligence paperwork, and we went from there.

So, Jay and I spoke 1000 times on the phone today going back and forth on whether or not to just walk. Buying a foreclosure is a headache. They want a response in 20 minutes and then leave you hanging for 5 days. Our agent asked us to trust her, saying she will get the answers to all of the things we had been asking, and then we would be able to make an informed decision on whether or not we want to walk. Not just a worn out decision.

I'm not going to lie, Jay has more faith in Fannie Mae than I ever could. I know that God has a plan for our home, I just don't know what it is at the moment. He has kept this alive the whole time, so hopefully we will have some answers this week. It's hard for me to put any trust in Fannie Mae....look who they are run by! Please just keep praying that God speaks to us this week and gives us some definite answers about what to do. All in all, it's a faith and patience game, we just need to sit tight and let both of those things go to work.

Nightmare on Camden Glen

So....buying a foreclosure is a NIGHTMARE!!! If you read my last sporadically written post you would know that the seller's agent told us that Fannie Mae was planning on making some repairs to the home that made the home habitable. We just needed to write a formal request to go in the paperwork. Then, the seller's agent we had been dealing with left town for the weekend last Thursday. Some new chicky poo then told us that if we wanted those repairs then we would have to forego the closing costs they were giving us, our agent's bonus for closing before Oct 31st, and possibly pay more for the house. Well hello...for all that you can have your house back. Then today, our original contact at REO was back in the office. After 3 emails and several more attempted calls we had not heard back as of 3 pm. Today is our last day in due diligence, and we don't want to risk our earnest money to wait for her to email back. So, we went ahead and wrote up our termination paperwork, knowing their office closes at 5 everyday. As soon as we signed, Kay emailed it over. She then attempted the woman at REO one last time just to let her know that the termination of contract was in her inbox. She freaked out saying she had been working all day getting estimates for the things we were asking (that they told us) to be repaired. She said the HVAC system had already been approved for repair/replacement, and she was waiting to hear about the hot water heaters. She said she was simply waiting on a couple of signatures and we couldn't walk away now. She sent over the extension of due diligence paperwork, and we went from there.

So, Jay and I spoke 1000 times on the phone today going back and forth on whether or not to just walk. Buying a foreclosure is a headache. They want a response in 20 minutes and then leave you hanging for 5 days. Our agent asked us to trust her, saying she will get the answers to all of the things we had been asking, and then we would be able to make an informed decision on whether or not we want to walk. Not just a worn out decision.

I'm not going to lie, Jay has more faith in Fannie Mae than I ever could. I know that God has a plan for our home, I just don't know what it is at the moment. He has kept this alive the whole time, so hopefully we will have some answers this week. It's hard for me to put any trust in Fannie Mae....look who they are run by! Please just keep praying that God speaks to us this week and gives us some definite answers about what to do. All in all, it's a faith and patience game, we just need to sit tight and let both of those things go to work.

Inspection

First, thank you to everyone who has been sending prayers our way regarding our inspection. They were definitely heard! As you know, we had the house inspected on Monday, and were hoping that nothing major showed up on it. It has been sitting empty for a while, and things tend to malfunction after sitting empty that long. The inspector was amazing, and if you are ever in need you have to call HomeSafe. I will put the number at the bottom. They are very knowledgeable, and they come through the house with an infrared camera to make sure there aren't any leaks, and to show any potential areas where a leak has a higher probability of happening. But anyway, back to the actual inspection. They found that the heating and air don't work. Heat upstairs and AC downstairs. I guess we could always live upstairs during the summer and down during the winter...but really! The hot water heater also doesn't work. There are a couple of foundation cracks, which is normal for a house of this age, and no one seems to think this is a major issue. All in all, we are waiting to hear if Fannie Mae will pay for any of these repairs. The realty company representing them claims they had already planned to make some of them. However, they want us to issue an amendment asking for the things we think need to be fixed. They aren't going to fix anything we don't ask for...jokes on them cause we asked for everything and they can let us know what is on their list! So again, we are waiting to hear back from them. Keep praying...due diligence is up on Monday and we need them to make a decision by then. We also need to make a decision whether or not we should still pursue this house, because there are quite a few big items that need fixing! Come on Fannie Mae!!!!

It's a waiting game...

So we have our offer that has been accepted, and the listing agent has set up all of our paperwork. We have the inspection scheduled, and we are just waiting to go. Now, if Fannie Mae would just sign the contract they have had sitting on their desk for 3 days I would TRULY appreciate it!!!

The Pictures You Have All Been Waiting For!!!

View from the street

Our little front yard!

Foyer

Living Room

View from living room

View from upstairs

Dining room...that Jay is planning on putting a pool table in

Kitchen...I have big plans for this space!

Kitchen again

Breakfast nook

Sitting room

Sunroom

Laundry Room

Not sure what to do with this room...office?

Upstairs

Master bath

His and hers

Guest room

2nd Guest Room

Guest Bath

View from Backyard

Our little backyard...and it's hard to see in this pic...but that is a tee box on the other side of that tree. Easier to see out of the window in the master bedroom!!

So excited! Please keep your prayers coming, our inspection is on Monday and we are hoping that all is well!

ACCEPTED!!!!

Jay and I, as you know, have been battling back and forth over a foreclosure with the bank. If not, see my blog about corporate America! We have finally found a number that we can both agree on and have decided to buy this house!! Who's exicted?? We sent in our earnest money today and have scheduled to have it inspected. Can't wait! Anything can happen at this point, you never know what an inspection will uncover, but we are obviously staying optimistic that this is the house we will be moving into! Keep your prayers coming, and we will get some pics updated soon!

Bidding Wars

As you all know, Jay and I have spent most of our free time trying to find a place to call home. We found what we have been looking for. Great house, great neighborhood, amazing amenities, etc. We are now in a bidding war with the bank, since it is foreclosed and the bank now owns it. We send in an offer, they counter at list, we send another, they come 1000 off of list. I mean it has been sitting there since early April without any offers, and here we are trying to get it off their books. It is seriously amazing to me how someone can sit at their computer all day, not make any decisions on their own, and just recite what the computer says. Do you realize you would make quite a bit of money on each offer we have made? Instead of sitting down and strategically thinking through it, they do what the computer tells them to do. Banks could make quite a bit more money if they trained and allowed their employees to act on their behalf with the best of their ability. That is my rant on corporate America today! GIVE ME MY HOUSE!!

Location, Location, Location

After our depressing house hunt a couple of weeks ago Jay and I sat down with my parents and spoke to his parents and decided a new direction may be in order. We are now thinking of looking for a fixer-upper in Brookhaven, Ashford Park or parts of Chamblee. We are excited about possibly finding something and turning it into a home that is uniquely ours. It has potential to be our next fun project. Please keep praying that on our hunt this weekend we find some places that have potential, are in good neighborhoods, and just all around feel right. Our hope is to be in something by football season this year, with the intent on being able to enjoy the fall with our friends in our new home. There is alot for sale inside Atlanta, and even more on the market that needs a little bit of work. We will keep you updated on our hunt.