Our Not So New House

  The home that we live in now, we bought two years ago after the sale of our first home that we had lived in for 12 years.  It took many years for us to find the right house, at the right price, in our target neighborhood, and right around the corner from our old house (can't move too far from the grandparents!).  It is a well established neighborhood with a great school system, a family neighborhood where kids ride their bikes up and down the streets.

  This house sat on the market for a long time and I've had many people tell me that they looked at this house and felt "it just wasn't right" for them.  And I know why.  When I came to look at this house I was shocked to find out that every bedroom (there are 4) was rented out by a different tenant.  It wasn't being taken care of and was in bad condition, and was enough to make any sane person run away screaming.  But what I saw was an opportunity.  A chance to make this eye sore of the neighborhood a great family home for us.

  The second that we walked in the door as the new owners my DH started ripping up the nasty blue carpet in the hallway and bedrooms... it's been two years and we haven't stopped since!  Here are some pictures of the exterior of the house:

Before (that's a palm tree in the front, a very overgrown palm tree)

Semi-After (painted front door and shutters, a groomed palm tree and newly planted Knock-Out Rose bushes)