we got it!

After 7 loooong months and literally over 100 houses, we found a house that met most of our criteria... was a good investment... was not a short sale or a foreclosure... and was in our price range.

It has come to be known as, the house on marble street.

The description in MLS reads: This 4br 3ba 2230 sq ft 2-story home has regular owner, but every room is in need of work. Great 13,220 sq ft(.3 ac)lot; ikea cabinets in kit, a cheery brkft room, formal lr & dr, fr w/brick frpl, mbr & mba, 4th br and hall ba on the 1st flr, 2 br's & ba on the 2nd flr, a covered patio, & beautiful diving pool in back. Unique touches but the home needs to be finished. Perfect for the homeowner w/lots of vision or the investor who likes to remodel. Add new flooring, paint, baseboards, window trim inside & out, & other finishing touches, and this home will shine! New roof & new low-e dual-paned windows on west facing 1st flr windows. New a/c compressor. Window coverings & stacked laminate flooring do not convey. Sold as-is where-is w/no warranties/ representations expressed or implied.

Just what we were looking for! Ha.

I (Suzanne) had to convince both my husband and our realtor to take us to see it. And even though it's a hefty mortgage for our one income, and ALOT of work, I'm glad I did. We got a great deal.... and are quickly making it our own.

Let's let the before pics speak for themselves, shall we?

Front of the house:


From another angle:


Front door and entry:


Formal living off of entry way:


From another angle (for the record, not our model airplanes, the previous owner had not moved out when we did our final walk-through):


Formal dining off of entry way:


Looking into the kitchen from formal dining:


Another view of the kitchen:


And another:


The nook at the other end of the kitchen:


Small bathroom between nook and 4th bedroom:


Not a great picture, but this is the 4th bedroom:


Back into the family room/informal living area:


Love the corner fireplace, not crazy about the brick, or the DIY mantel job:


From the other side of the room, looking towards the boarded up windows:


And another angle, looking back into entry way:


The lovely master suite, with sliding glass door to patio and pool:


And a very useful plant shelf, outlined by beautiful popcorn ceilings:


Our don't-relax-too-much-yellow master bath, complete with complementary blue wallpaper border:


So glad they decided to paint the trim bright yellow to match the linoleum (not originally yellow, by the way):


And the snazzy brass fixtures:


The next stop on our tour takes us upstairs:


Bedroom 1:


From another angle, with a view:


Bedroom 2:


Pretty exciting, so far, eh? Here's the hall bath upstairs:


Peering a little deeper, you'll find the standard tub and shower combo:


That concludes the inside of the house, let's move on to the best part, the backyard!

Here is a view of the HUGE covered patio:


Another angle:



The pool:





All of the above from the back of the property line:


To the right a little:


And a little more:



Those last three would have made a pretty cool panoramic shot. This view is from one side of the yard:


To the other:


We LOVE the space, and are so glad to have found a large lot with a pool... very rare here.

So that's it for the before pictures. I will be updating regularly as we start and finish projects!