Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Regions Bank, however all opinions and proclaiming my belief of renovating for you are 100% mine.
When Grunt Labor and I realized that the new construction home wasn’t for us, we put it on the market and started house hunting. We were pretty open when it came to houses – we weren’t scared of having to do a little work. We were picky when it came to location though. A good sized yard was a must and a “real” neighborhood would be nice.
We looked at countless houses. No, I’m serious. Countless. Lucky for us our realtor also happens to be a good friend and he was a great sport about showing us just about anything and everything under the sun.
There was the house that sat right across from a would-be neighbor who owned a school bus and parked it right on the street every day as if it were a lawn street ornament.
There was the house that had a dead bird in the shower.
There was the one with a creepy downstairs that I ran out of faster than should have been naturally possible.
After hunting for probably a month with no contenders, we were ready to just sell the new construction, put most of our things in storage and live in an apartment until we found the right place.
And then our realtor called and said, “Have you looked at the house in my neighborhood?” Oh, you mean the neighborhood we consider the perfect neighborhood and dream about every night? Nope, we didn’t let ourselves look there because we knew it was too far out of our league. But our realtor said there was a foreclosure on the market in his neighborhood. And it was in our price range.
We went to see it – with flashlights as there was no electricity or even running water turned on.
And before we even looked at the downstairs level, we knew. We knew that this was our home. Well, I knew. Grunt Labor had to have a bit of coaxing.
There was just a problem or two, well besides not knowing if the water or electricity even worked. It needed some renovations. We knew that even if it took us a year to finish all the work that it was worth it to get into this neighborhood though.
And so we bought the beloved foreclosure. We closed on the house one day after our summer vacation started (both Grunt and I were teachers at the time), moved in enough furniture to get by and renovated 90% of the house that summer.
We took out a wall between the living room, dining room and kitchen.
First Kitchen Remodel / Current Kitchen Design
We painted the cabinets, got new appliances, eventually built an island and switched out the countertops.
First Bathroom Remodel / Current Bathroom Design
We laid new tile, ripped out the old vanity and installed a new one in the hall bathroom.
We painted every. single. wall. We bought all new trim and doors and painted every. single. one. of. those too.
We installed hardwood flooring throughout the main living area and carpet in the bedrooms.
We renovated our house for us. Yes, we did do it on a budget, but we also didn’t think twice on the things we really wanted for our home. I heard my in-laws say once that everything they had done to their house had been for them – because they liked it or had always wanted it. I thought that was a pretty good take on it, so we kept this in mind as we renovated the Beloved Foreclosure. And now, we’re sticking with it once more as we renovate the 70’s Landing Pad. If you’ve always dreamed of living in your house and making it a home, I suggest you give it a try. A home you love does the heart good. Why yes, I did just come up with that cheesy (but true) line all on my own.
If you’re ready to renovate your house or buy your own beloved foreclosure, Regions Bank has a wealth of information about home buying and renovating on their Facebook page. They even have information about all the “non-pretty” but money related things like should you take out a home equity loan, how to navigate mortgage disclosures, how to be more energy efficient and ways to reduce your property taxes. Regions has resources for both first-time and seasoned home buyers as well and are always looking to provide you with financial solutions that are perfect for you and your budget.
So let’s have you weigh in – How would you renovate and make it yours?
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