Progress on our Property

Since Brandon's decision to switch career paths from Physical Therapy to Real Estate a few months ago, a lot has happened. In an effort to kickstart that career and make our way toward some financial goals, we put in an offer on a house back in the end of September. Because receiving financing for the loan was dependent upon me getting hired at and having two pay stubs from Qualtrics, the process was L O N G. We finally closed on our house December 9. It's an income property in Springville--an up/down duplex, actually. We had seen a lot of Provo duplexes in our price range, and they were, to be frank, small, old, and gross. So, when we saw this property, we were much more excited. Here she is, in all her glory.

Six parking spots--a dream for us Provo residents

Yeah, she's not much to look at. But she's got potential. 

The upstairs was in pretty good shape, and the downstairs was, well...endearing. 

No, just cringe-worthy, actually. 

Ugly, old cupboards. Wallpaper. One room with no electricity. Wood paneling. An awkward,  half-carpeted kitchen.

But we had a vision.

The day after we closed on our house, Brandon and his brother John took a hammer to those white and green cupboards and the wall behind them. We wanted to open up the kitchen and living room. 

Our (extremely kind) friend Shane came and did the electrical work for us--moving electrical fixtures, adding outlets, nearly getting electrocuted multiple times etc. He has been a lifesaver. 

We've moved a door from one wall to another wall and patched a lot of drywall. When I say we, I mean Brandon, since I've been at work all day everyday. Brandon's cousin Danyelle moved in upstairs with her husband and daughter, and they have been super helpful and understanding about all the work going on downstairs. Yesterday was Saturday, so I finally got to put in some serious work. My sister and her husband came down to help with mudding and texturing. 

We also had Danyelle and Tim's help all day long as we tackled the kitchen floor. 

Dear friends, if ever you should contemplate putting down linoleum flooring, I ask you to reconsider. One day, you will have to take it out, and on that day, you will cry. Taking up about 100 square feet of linoleum took us over sixteen hours of labor. 

We got up the linoleum with a whole lot of scraping, chipping, and patience. We were proud of that. 

Some of the lovely old wallpaper and carpet remnants we discovered while ripping up linoleum

Little did we know the adhesive underneath the linoleum would be much more difficult. From searching online and talking to people with experience, we found out that soaking it in hot water would help. We did that. It did almost nothing, even after letting it soak. The concrete below was just cooling and guzzling the water. Brandon's grandpa had loaned us a propane-powered torch which we had also heard would help take up the floor. It didn't do much at all, either. So, after more elbow grease and frustration, we decided

Hey, let's try water AND fire. Best. Idea. Ever. It worked great. Someone poured water, someone torched the water, someone scraped, and someone swept. It was still extremely tiring work, but I don't know that we would've been able to do it without those tools. 

Aside from the part where I accidentally pressed the torch trigger and barely missed my husband, there were no incidents to report. We had fire extinguishers handy just in case. I'm sure a contractor would be appalled at our techniques, but hey, we got the job done.

Upcoming steps in the renovation:
Painting
Tiling
Cabinet staining and installation
Countertop installation