Keeping busy.

So besides housing a baby in my uterus, doctor appointments, working,  we have been flipping a house.  Call us C R A Z Y !!!

This is the house.

This is the mess left by renters--this is the top of the refrigerator - I don't dust mine every day.. but it doesn't look like this.. and yes the cream cabinets are stained around all the edges, it's not the photo.

Apparently they don't clean stoves either. ( the clean burner- doesn't work )

They got rid of the drip pans and it was caked with "gunk" underneath.. ( yes that is dog food in there )

I didn't get before pictures of the (4) bedrooms --suffice to say.. much like the kitchen.

( the house ) is owned by my in laws -- the place my husband grew up in. They moved out 12 years ago, and ended up renting the house. Several different renters over the years. They are getting up in years, and my husband has been on them about getting rid of it, so (we) don't have to deal with it when one or both is gone. 

My husband being the only boy - in the area, he got called on to "help" as soon as they gained possession. ( yes ) my very nice in laws let the people stay 9 days beyond their contract. Day 10 we went in to asess what all needed to be done, to put on the market ( we had a realtor there ) -- The realtor said he would not list it in the condition it was currently in. ( yes that bad ).  Realtor and hubs wanted all carpeting removed, to expose the hardwood floors, wanted all painted -- one neutral color -- and paint ceilings and molding white.

Realtor wanted anything visibly broken fixed ( i.e light fixtures, switches, stove, sinks, etc ) but did not suggest any major overhauls ( kitchen, bathrooms) . The bones of the house have all been updated ( roof, heating, windows, hot water etc). The exterior needed a good fall clean up, as the renters, hadn't picked up leaves or cut the lawn in a LONG time.

In the end my FIL put some signs out, and tried the for sale by owner thing ( which is how he got his offer ).

So on day 10 we brought a crew ( mostly our employees ) to demo, and clean out the house. Renters left many many things inside. We filled a 30 yard dumpster, with animal stained carpets, padding, trash ( that we had already received a fine from the city for it sitting at the road for a week ). We then had to make the decision to remove the ceiling tiles in the basement - and pull all the staples. The hardwood floors were in immaculate condition  ( best selling feature )  Carpet was left ( and cleaned) in the living room and master bedroom. Day 10 we had 2 paint contractors out, and day 11 we hired, a contractor to start 2 days later. Day 10 also involved a case of magic erasers on the kitchen cabinets. Which made them look brand new . Day 11 involved removing all window curtains, shades, hardware.. all switch plates, and outlet covers removed. Day12 we let the painter do his thing. ( he was painting, sanding, fixing holes in walls and removing wall paper for 8 days )

Day 15 was outdoor clean up day. Another 15 yards of stuff hauled away.

There have been other randoms done at night, putting in new closet doors, shelves, cleaning, installing fixtures, replacing all the switch plates. Taking trash out ( the stuff the renters were coming back for, but never have ). My help has been limited to opening the door, shopping, magic eraser, picking up food, looking up repairs on the internet.

So this is the final painting product of the master.

So on day 24 ( of the month ) and 15 days after gaining possession --

 It has an offer, and hopefully before Lizard gets here the deal will be closed.

Pray that the home inspection goes well -- and nothing major pops up.

OH yes, we aren't gaining/making a dime on this. I'm hoping my in laws send at least a nice -thank-you. We are very happy that it is off their books, and won't have to deal with it, once someone passes.

I should add that the big reason we agreed to help get this flipped and sold, was my FIL went into the hospital the day they took possession back from the renters. He thought it was a reaction to the animal stench ( not allowed to have them in the house per lease ).  He ended up with a 21 day heart monitor, because it was a little more than just being lightheaded. Yes my husband and I felt compelled to get this gone in prime season. The housing market is really "hot" now. Sellers market, very little inventory, houses go like hotcakes when listed.

If I get any more "after" pictures this week I'll add them.