we have posession...

So Mrs. H and I have been gone for a while. First to Memphis for a friend's wedding last weekend, and then to my parents in Illinois for Thanksgiving this weekend. I truly know most of the roads across the midwest now.

Before we left for Thanksgiving, we closed on the house. The buying process of this home was so easy compared to the buying experience of our first home. The realtor makes all the difference. We really appreciate everything that S. has done for us. She really made us feel like we were her most important clients and gave her 100% effort. So if anyone is looking to move to the NKY area, let us know. We know a great realtor. (My small plug for S.).

Now that we have possesion, Mrs H. and I are ready to get started in making the house our home. Today we went to the house and tore up the nasty linoleum on the second floor. We also cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. It's amazing what a few lightbulbs and some elbow grease will do to a home in a day.

Unfortunately, I went to take some pictures of our progress, and the batteries were dead. So you will have to wait a day or two for some updated pictures. Here are some that I found. These were taken of our street a few weeks ago. Enjoy.












our house is the second from the right






















another small bmw on the street
it's the neighbor's across the street










the house on the corner.
it really is a lovely house.

Friends of Bellevue...

Today, I emailed the friends of bellevue organization and asked them if our home falls within the enterprise zone of Bellevue. They said that it does. What this means for us is that we get our renovation materials tax free. YAY for us. Also, our home is registered with the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the Department of the Interior in Washington. Next, I need to go and start piecing together the history of our house. I really don't know much about the house, so I need to start investigating. We close on the house on Wednesday and have a final walk through with our realtor on Monday. Its almost here.

S. and I will be in Memphis for the weekend for a friends' wedding. I sure hope that the Buckeyes will be on TV down there. I only have one thing to say...

GO BUCKS!! BEAT MICHIGAN!!!

Last of the pics...for now.

Well...Ive decided to post the rest of the pictures that I took of the house. So, here they are. Sarah and I are closing on the house a week earlier than we thought. We are excited to be getting into the house and getting to work. We know we have a lot to do, and this will be the place to "watch" us do our work. On with the rest of the pics...

Here is a closeup of the fireplace. It is
actually in very good shape. The seller
actually cleaned up the tile and scrubbed
the fake filler.




Here is the garage from the back alley.
As you can see, the fence at the edge
of our property needs replaced. There is
a parking spot next to our garage. So, this
leads me to believe that from property line
to property line, there is enough space for
a two car garage someday.


This is the house directly across the street
from us. It might be hard to see, but the
porch is just the same as ours. I really
like the way they painted the trim on the
porch. I also like the green color and how
it contrasts with the red brick color.
A very attractive looking home.




This is a picture of the kitchen
from the south side. It is white.
Thats about all i can say about it.
You really cant tell too well, but
it is dirty. If S and I spent a
weekend cleaning, it would help
the house tenfold.


This is another picture from the
north side of the kitchen. Its
still white. The kitchen is a
pretty good size, and for
right now, its pretty functional.
It just really needs updating.


Here is a picture of the main
living area and the main entrance
to the house. As you can see, the
original woodwork was painted
white. Im bringing it back to the
original. At least on the lower level.



This is a picture of the lower
level bath. It is just a half
bath. The seller actually
remodeled this bath and did
a pretty fine job. All it needs
are shelves for towels. The
pedestal sink is a nice touch.

Here is another picture of the
lower living area. This is taken
from the south corner of the
dining area. As you can see,
this house is just loaded with
charm. Also, the hardwood floors
are in good shape.


This is a picture of one of our
neighbors' porches. They live
a few houses down from us.
I like the railing around the porch.
I would like to do something like
this with our front porch. S. thinks
differently. To those that this concerns,
im sorry they are Notre Dame fans.



This is the walk-in closet that is
off the master bdrm. The reflection
in the background is off the many
pieces of glass pieced together to
make a mirror. Just hideous. It is
a great closet though. Just needs
some updating...Like the rest of the
house.


Well, these are all the pictures for now...For those of you who may go through withdrawal, I have some pictures that didn't make it to the final cut that I may post. So...i will keep you...posted...when i might publish those.

To the H's and the D's, I just want to say thank you. You guys are awesome. S and I wouldnt be able to do this without your help. This will be a journey for us, and I know we wouldnt want to ride it with anyone else. Its gonna be a blast...well..not in the literal since of course. No demolition needed here. To Mr. D, thank you especially. We appreciate everything.

Keep checking back...Hopefully the next time I post it will be of pictures with some work done.

A few more pics...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I took quite a few pictures the last time I was at the house. Here are a few more of those. Also, our realtor talked to Sarah today and mentioned that we may close early due to interest rates. So, we may be getting into our house a little earlier than expected. We will wait and hear from S tomorrow. On with the pics.


This is the fireplace in the living room. It is inactive,
but in pretty good shape. The fake inset is just held
in by a few wires and needs to be redone.






Unfortunately, here are our "multi-colored"
steps leading up to the 2nd level. The previous
owner started to strip them, but he left before
he could finish. I have my work cut out for me
with these steps. Sand, sand,sand....




Here is a picture of our backyard
from the garage. It is a sizeable
lot (30X125) with two large trees.
Unfortunately like the rest of the house,
they have gone through many years of
neglect and no maintenance. The trees
need cut back away from the phone lines
that are running to the house.



Here is a picture of the deck on the
back of the house. Like everything
else, it needs updating. It needs
cleaned, treated, and stained.






This is the gated entrance leading
to the backyard between our house
and the neighbor's house.









This is the side entrance into the house.
One of my favorite features to the home
are the two front doors to the house.
They are the original front doors and
have never been refinished or touched
with paint. Thank Goodness.

More Pics of the House

Yesterday I went and took more pictures of the house. Being that it was Veteran's Day and that I work for a state institution, I got yesterday off. I wish I could work a 4 day work week EVERY week. Yeah, 3 day weekend. Sounds good to me. I hope you enjoy. We close on Nov. 30th if anyone was wondering.




This is the second floor bathroom.
It has been updated, but not too well.
There is no cabinetry and just a pedastal
sink with no mirror above it. This will
have to change. And no towel space?
Whats up with that?




This is the 2nd floor "master"
bedroom. It does have a
walk-in closet. You have to
go through this room to get
to the 3rd level stairs.



This is the front bedroom on the
second level. We hope to turn
this into our master bedroom
due to the number of windows.
We like the natural light that
comes through.





The floor on the second level. Notice the
terrible linoleum covering the original
hardwood floor? Is the original floor
salvageable? Dec 1, we will see. My
fingers are crossed that it is. If not,
carpeting will do the trick.



This is the "bedroom" on the third
floor. There is no forced heat or
central air going to this level. The
unique thing about the space is that
there is a city view; only if you tilt
your head to the right, stand on
one leg and put your arm out the
window. HAHAHA.

Another view of the 3rd story
bedroom. The other nice thing
about the space is that there
is a decent closet in it. For any
relatives that may stay for a
while...they can have their
own "space." =0)

I do have quite a few pictures. Keep checking back as I post new ones throughout the next couple of days. If there is anything you would like to see, leave a comment and I will see if i can accommodate. Only two more weeks and we are homeowners again. No more hearing when our upstairs neighbors go to the bathroom or take showers(usually at 7:30 every morning). We were fortunate to have some pretty quiet neighbors.

First pictures of our new house.

Here are the first pictures of our new home. These were pulled off the website that hosted our MLS for the house. Check back soon for more detailed pictures of our house BRB (before renovations begin).




The house






The kitchen








The "dining area"







Backyard from the garage







Backyard from the house