wanted big house, got big house
I've probably got a years worth of live journal entries in me at this point, so I'll stick with the latest and go from there.
Getting established in a new home involves a lot more than I remember, plus this one is huge so there are whole rooms and projects that I can already tell are months away based on our current velocity - which isn't slow!
What we've done already:
1) installed a new fence - every bit of old fence for our whole yard is gone, and we have spiffy new side gates that are really well made.
2) replaced the dishwasher
3) replaced three hideous fixtures
4) arranged the furniture downstairs in an acceptable fashion for now
5) Set up our master bedroom, mostly
6) removed all but two window screens from the entire front of the house, which was an adventure that involved a 24 foot lander and a whole of "not going to fall, not going to fall" from yours truly. This significantly improved the light and the curb appeal.
7) Had out trees trimmed, and a tree removed in the back yard.
8) replaced all three of our 5 GPL toilets with 1.3 GPL low flow 5 star flush rated toilets - and applied for the $200/toilet rebate
Already, the house looks a ton better.
On the "figuring out how to actually live here front"
1) Figured out that my mornigs must start with yoga or a run - or it is possible that won't happen at all. That happens around 6:00 AM.
2) The kiddos morning schedule pretty much guarantees I'm on the road by no later than 8:15, and on MWF probably closer to 8:00.
3) Monday and Wednesday nights are gym nights.
4) We seriously upgraded our retail from our old house. There are more restaurants I'm excited about up here than I expected.
Things that we've got to do that I wish we didn't have to:
1) Replacing our water heater - what we have is 20 years old, and I shudder to think how much energy we are wasting.
2) Having the entire HVAC system and duct work cleaned, and fixing the air return so that it is properly filtered and ducted. Why I have to fix this in every house we own I'll never guess.
3) Replacing the roof. I wish we could file a retroactive insurance claim. At least we had them knock $6k off the sales price to account for this, but still.
Things I've decided not to do even though I'm not totally happy about it:
1) I keep looking at the windows, but every time I start pricing and doing the math I end up spending at least $20k replacing windows with a return on investment in energy saving so far out as too make it pointless. I think we're stuck with these windows unless something pretty radical happens. There alright, I'm just not excited about them.
What I'm excited about next:
1) Selling enough real estate to be able to re-do our kitchen and do hardwoods on the entire 1st level by the end of the year. I want the 1st floor to kick it.
2) Getting my office set up
3) Setting up the game room on the 2nd floor, with pub-height tables and chairs.
4) Replacing our garage doors with insulated, nicer doors that look great from the street.
5) Adding a french drain down the right side of the house
6) Designing some interesting stepping stones and pathways in the front and the back yard
7) Designing a courtyard in the back that includes a very large grill. Possibly a hot tub.
8) Painting the exterior - and changing the color to something more distinctive.
In another 24 months, I'd like to take this property to the top of home values in the area - it is large enough to play in that game, is close enough to the green belt, and is part of the subdivision that was constructed really well so it seems possible. We already picked up $20k in equity when we bought the home, and I think we could add around $35-40 based on what I've seen sell.
Enough real estate geekery for now. I have a whole entry about the kiddos, their schools, and the new milwood lifestyle. It's good up here.
Getting established in a new home involves a lot more than I remember, plus this one is huge so there are whole rooms and projects that I can already tell are months away based on our current velocity - which isn't slow!
What we've done already:
1) installed a new fence - every bit of old fence for our whole yard is gone, and we have spiffy new side gates that are really well made.
2) replaced the dishwasher
3) replaced three hideous fixtures
4) arranged the furniture downstairs in an acceptable fashion for now
5) Set up our master bedroom, mostly
6) removed all but two window screens from the entire front of the house, which was an adventure that involved a 24 foot lander and a whole of "not going to fall, not going to fall" from yours truly. This significantly improved the light and the curb appeal.
7) Had out trees trimmed, and a tree removed in the back yard.
8) replaced all three of our 5 GPL toilets with 1.3 GPL low flow 5 star flush rated toilets - and applied for the $200/toilet rebate
Already, the house looks a ton better.
On the "figuring out how to actually live here front"
1) Figured out that my mornigs must start with yoga or a run - or it is possible that won't happen at all. That happens around 6:00 AM.
2) The kiddos morning schedule pretty much guarantees I'm on the road by no later than 8:15, and on MWF probably closer to 8:00.
3) Monday and Wednesday nights are gym nights.
4) We seriously upgraded our retail from our old house. There are more restaurants I'm excited about up here than I expected.
Things that we've got to do that I wish we didn't have to:
1) Replacing our water heater - what we have is 20 years old, and I shudder to think how much energy we are wasting.
2) Having the entire HVAC system and duct work cleaned, and fixing the air return so that it is properly filtered and ducted. Why I have to fix this in every house we own I'll never guess.
3) Replacing the roof. I wish we could file a retroactive insurance claim. At least we had them knock $6k off the sales price to account for this, but still.
Things I've decided not to do even though I'm not totally happy about it:
1) I keep looking at the windows, but every time I start pricing and doing the math I end up spending at least $20k replacing windows with a return on investment in energy saving so far out as too make it pointless. I think we're stuck with these windows unless something pretty radical happens. There alright, I'm just not excited about them.
What I'm excited about next:
1) Selling enough real estate to be able to re-do our kitchen and do hardwoods on the entire 1st level by the end of the year. I want the 1st floor to kick it.
2) Getting my office set up
3) Setting up the game room on the 2nd floor, with pub-height tables and chairs.
4) Replacing our garage doors with insulated, nicer doors that look great from the street.
5) Adding a french drain down the right side of the house
6) Designing some interesting stepping stones and pathways in the front and the back yard
7) Designing a courtyard in the back that includes a very large grill. Possibly a hot tub.
8) Painting the exterior - and changing the color to something more distinctive.
In another 24 months, I'd like to take this property to the top of home values in the area - it is large enough to play in that game, is close enough to the green belt, and is part of the subdivision that was constructed really well so it seems possible. We already picked up $20k in equity when we bought the home, and I think we could add around $35-40 based on what I've seen sell.
Enough real estate geekery for now. I have a whole entry about the kiddos, their schools, and the new milwood lifestyle. It's good up here.