Under contract with Buyers on Property 2, we began our search for our next purchase when we came across what we will call Property 2.5. Property 2.5 was nestled in 5 acres, kept the kids in the same schools, and had plenty of room, around 3,300 square feet. What else did Property 2.5 come with? You guessed it, a ton of work. By far this would be our biggest project yet. This diamond in the rough was built in 1974 and had basically zero updates......orange kitchen counter, a yellow kitchen trash compactor, brown vertical paneling, and I could go on and on. I began to lovingly call 2.5 the 2017 Hatchette Dream house because so many things in the house paralleled the 2016 HGTV Dream house in Florida.
The t(w)eens moaned every time we drove past the house! Our friends were skeptical, "Jenn, don't bring the kids over here until you're done", "Jenn, I'm nervous!", "Are you sure this is the one?". Yes, we were up for the challenge. I had my kitchen planned on the Ikea Kitchen planner. We called in the contractors at the same time we ordered our typical inspections: home inspector, air quality, and radon. I have watched enough HGTV to know that this one also called for asbestos, so the asbestos inspection was ordered. A week later, the asbestos report showed asbestos in all of the drywall mud, in the popcorn ceiling, and in the parquet glue. For us, the asbestos killed the deal, as it basically equated to a gut job and a bunch of benjamins that were not in the budget. We walked away.
About four weeks later 2.5 was under contract. I was curious....who was buying and what was their plan? Did they have the same vision as me? As my new daily route took me past Property 2.5 every day, I rolled up and noticed 12 cars in the driveway and as I got closer I saw the film crew! Holy cow!!! 2.5 was going to be on T.V. I called the hubs, my realtor and closest friends. How could someone put my dreams on T.V.? My friend said, "Let's go see who it is!". And there I found myself driving down the drive of 2.5 as jealousy was filling my veins!
A well known HGTV duo was involved in the process. They were super nice, professional and allowed me to snap a few pictures with them. The film crew would only confirm the house is part of the couple's finalists and that the episode will air late summer 2017. My jealousy slowly morphed into excitement as I began to think about the positives. Someone else, and someone else who has been very successful with home renovations, has the same vision and sees the same potential as me!
Thank you famous HGTV duo! Our encounter finally lit the fire for me to get this blog I've been dreaming about off the ground!
