As many of you know, Jeffrey and I recently closed on what we are affectionately calling “the money pit!” We couldn’t be more excited to start this journey together. I am starting this little blog to record our progress. Jason Swafford, owner of New Vintage Construction, will begin work on the major renovations next week.  

Here’s a little background on how we got ourselves into this wonderful mess:

Last summer we decided that we had outgrown our little apartment on 5th street…not only because of our stuff but also because of our growing waistlines!  We looked at too many “charming” apartments in downtown Frederick and quickly realized that we could have a mortgage payment for less than a one-bedroom apartment off Market Street. 

Enter Abby Zanger: the funniest, best dressed, most determined, honest, and just plain damn amazing realtor on Earth. Abby tirelessly took us to house after house and patiently listened to my unrealistic demands. In July, we stumbled upon a powder blue townhouse in the historic district.  I really fell in love the minute we walked into the filthy living room. Room by room, it got worse and worse, but I was falling hard. Envisioning chandeliers, fussy wallpaper that my friends would secretly envy, dinner parties, stainless appliances, and the all-important double sinks…I saw our future home. Undeterred by the hole in the roof, damaged walls, and even the sensory deprivation in the basement… I saw the potential. Unfortunately, it was just out of our budget after we factored in renovation costs.  

Months went by. We saw more and more houses, but we were constantly thinking about that crazy blue house.  In late December, the house was relisted as a bank-owned property and was now in our price range. We were ready to put in an offer and while on vacation in St. Thomas, we did.  Only to get a call before our snorkeling tour telling us that the bank had just accepted another offer before we got ours in.  Needless to say, I handled this news in a less than graceful manner and may have scarred the little girl on the bench next to me for life. I did recover and went on the snorkeling tour…

Dejected, we gave up. That’s until Abbey called one day to let us know that the house was back on the market. This was fate… it had it be. We put in our offer and got it…well, kinda.  It seemed like with each passing week, something went wrong and pushed us back. Electrical problems, a flood in the dining room, hazard tape being put up around the only entrance. It wasn’t looking good. We had even gotten down to our last extension before the bank was going to dissolve our contract. Friday, April 29th, 2011 was do or die.  I waited at work until 4 pm and knew that since I hadn’t heard from Jeff, it was over. 

He came to pick me up to go drown our sorrows and the phone rang…Abby was screaming “Get your ass to Old Town Title. NOW.” Less than an hour later we were homeowners. Scared, nervous, excited homeowners!

In this blog, I’ll attempt to document the work we are doing on Our Little Nest on South.  Stay tuned… more pictures to come!