Monday, June 22, 2015

Selling A House (Not Just Any House) Part I



With his own hands and help from his stepbrother and father, my Father built this house in the early 1940's. I  just learned the foundation was dug out by hand, no machines, by a number of men who came from afar to help over a weekend.

What you are looking at is a solid house neglected over the past five or six years and also my Father's treasures and their display in his room in the cellar. 

We were advised to upgrade the electrical, fix the brick steps, things like that, but to pretty much sell the house as a fixer upper, After the tenant moved out, it was an unclean mess. Call it intuition or conviction or whatever, but I never wavered: there was no way in holy hell I would let my Father's house be sold looking like that. 

I was right. After a mason, electrician, two handymen-carpenters, landscaper, cleaner, and exhausted JB and myself: here is the house that made it's debut barely a week ago "for sale." The photos are fantastic: it doesn't look quite this charming, but honestly, we did a hell of a job. And my father's solid solid work--not one crack in the smooth walls when the wallpaper came down, and his perfect hardwood floors even after all these years--his quality just shines. 

Look here:


It was clean as a whistle. It sold in three days. I'm so glad for my parents. Before it's too late, my brother and I and our families will sit in the kitchen again, and eat pizza. 

love
kj

P.S. I know I'm absent here. I expect to be back, to be writing more. For now, it be true that I is in a whirlwind. A bit of a tornado, even.

xoxo

9 comments:

  1. you did the right thing. Its a tribute to your dad that you could clean up an old house and still have it shine and have his spirit shine thru. You must feel a wonderful sense of completion and tribute. and a perfect Fathers day present to you all.

    xoxo mim

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  2. Kj, Both your houses look great, congrats on both sales!!! I envy you that beach house, lucky ducks you both are, it will be worth all the time and effort. xoxo

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  3. Good luck on the house sale - I know it's bittersweet.

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  4. I live in a house that my partner's father and grandfather built. As we have done renovations we continually find places where they obviously ran out of materials and/or money and just cobbled things together. It's been a challenge to say the least : )

    Congrats on the sale. I hope the new owners love it as much as you do and make wonderful happy memories there.

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  5. HOW GORGEOUS!! You are absolutely correct, it is true quality.
    Thanks for letting me see it, I appreciate the link.

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  6. Karen, glad the house sold fast. It is always a bittersweet moment when a childhood landmark is no longer there for you to enjoy. Better write that memoir!

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  7. What a precious house - and with a white picket fence to boot ;))

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  8. Amazing blog and very interesting stuff you got here! I definitely learned a lot from reading through some of your earlier posts as well and decided to drop a comment on this one!

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  9. Your parents' house looks great. Whoever you hired did a great job keeping the original charm but adding a more modern look. Is the sun room an addition or part of the original structure? If I bought the house I would probably change out the cabinets and counters in the kitchen and possibly redo the bathroom as well. Overall though you did an amazing job.

    Devin Newton @ Indy Market Homes

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