The Gist of it
The Cabindo is a 1,200 sqft, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath condo; right on a lake in a woodsy little park-like corner of the DC suburban sprawl.
It was my first home purchase, and I snatched the keys from the closing agent in 2012 and I lived there until 2015 when my family expanded and we bought a bigger place just down the road.
I invested A LOT of elbow work, and a couple dolla dolla bills, to make it an updated and comfortable home.
The Real Estate Part
The Cabindo is a 1,200 sqft, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath condo; right on a lake in a woodsy little park-like corner of the DC suburban sprawl.
It was my first home purchase, and I snatched the keys from the closing agent in 2012 and I lived there until 2015 when my family expanded and we bought a bigger place just down the road.
I invested A LOT of elbow work, and a couple dolla dolla bills, to make it an updated and comfortable home.
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| Comfort level: quite acceptable |
The Real Estate Part
My bf and I had been hunting for a house to buy together, and even though we were under contract for a place that amazingly checked all the boxes for both of us; in the end the plan changed and we didn't go to closing. I was about as far from 'happy camper' at that point as possible, but it was truly the right time to buy, and I was going to do so: accomplice or not.
I had been casually keeping an eye on the condo market as well though, and just knew something special would come along.
Lo and behold, at the same time as the house fiasco, my wonderful, but not-showing-well unit, had been languishing on the market for several weeks. The ancient appliances and out of date bathroom seemed to be scaring people away. Their loss. Since I was familiar with the local offerings, I knew this place was exactly what and where I wanted to be, so I didn't need to 'wait and see what else was out there' (hate that phrase), or come to any sort of agreeance with a 2nd mortgage signatory: this was the one. This was MY place.
The seller was really friendly and actually a real estate agent in my agent's office. What luck! It made negotiations easy, and we scheduled closing asap; which turned out to be the same day that I'd initially been slated to close on the house-that-wasn't. Oh irony, thank you for being you.
A 30 day timeline, as well as a super shisty appraiser who insanely undervalued the place; resulted in me parting ways with the vast majority of my bank accounts' contents. My 401k was shaking at the knees, but remained unscathed in the fray. Ugghh..... oh well.
Because of that and my thrifty nature in general (excepting shoes); all my projects have a miniscule budget, and are done myself. The only paid professional I've used was a plumber to install the dishwasher. Unless feeding my ever-helpful father counts as payment, but I don't think so.
I had been casually keeping an eye on the condo market as well though, and just knew something special would come along.
Lo and behold, at the same time as the house fiasco, my wonderful, but not-showing-well unit, had been languishing on the market for several weeks. The ancient appliances and out of date bathroom seemed to be scaring people away. Their loss. Since I was familiar with the local offerings, I knew this place was exactly what and where I wanted to be, so I didn't need to 'wait and see what else was out there' (hate that phrase), or come to any sort of agreeance with a 2nd mortgage signatory: this was the one. This was MY place.
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| thanks again for the pictures, MRIS |
The seller was really friendly and actually a real estate agent in my agent's office. What luck! It made negotiations easy, and we scheduled closing asap; which turned out to be the same day that I'd initially been slated to close on the house-that-wasn't. Oh irony, thank you for being you.
A 30 day timeline, as well as a super shisty appraiser who insanely undervalued the place; resulted in me parting ways with the vast majority of my bank accounts' contents. My 401k was shaking at the knees, but remained unscathed in the fray. Ugghh..... oh well.
Because of that and my thrifty nature in general (excepting shoes); all my projects have a miniscule budget, and are done myself. The only paid professional I've used was a plumber to install the dishwasher. Unless feeding my ever-helpful father counts as payment, but I don't think so.
Though this is not how I thought the picture of my first time home ownership would look when I'd started looking at homes: I couldn't be more pleased with how everything worked out.
Genetic Predisposition
My grandfather was a carpenter. My other grandfather was an engineer. My aforementioned Dad is a man of tools, knowledge, and a spark for building and doing. Happily, I seem to have inherited some of the traits that made these men who and what they are, and I take pride in continuing their legacies of precision (most days), and craftsmanship..jpg) |
| happy moments of this work in progress: friends in inconvenient places a deep seeded home depot addiction working with my hands a roof over my head & a comfy bed under it tasty treats |
Genetic Predisposition
I love to renovate, craft, build, bake, sew, and generally DIY my home and the things in it a little better, piece by piece.
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| projects, projects, projects! a ton down, a whole bunch to go |
Onwards and sideways
While I am not actively undertaking projects for the Cabindo other than general upkeep, I am projecting at the new house. Luckily for us, the house was turn key when it was bought, so other than some painting which still hasn't happened (really tall ceiling #firstworldproblems), I've been sticking to non-house material escapades. And raising a baby. And working full time. Ya know, minor diversions.
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