Life’s Reality is not always smiles and roses!
Well, my dear readers…..I have a confession to make!
As many of you know, the Captain and I have been “flipping” houses. Buying, remodeling and selling. For the most part, things run pretty smoothly although there are times, snags hit and delay the project….eventually, it all comes together.
And then along comes THE house we call Flip 3!…also known as (AKA) the red headed step child, AKA the stinky house, AKA Nightmare on 34th street, literally!
(I can say that because I have red hair and understand this predicament! 😉 )
I am a bit embarrassed to write about this Flip…well, embarrassed is not the correct word, how about frustrated?
When I first visited this house in its past state….no, not that kind of state…it is still in Florida! (Sorry, I have to find a little humor in this story I am about to tell)…when I first saw it, I saw potential! This was in May and it is now September…way too long to be “sitting” on this project. The whole idea of flipping a house is to “hold” it for about 90 days, tops… and “flip” it or sell it in layman’s terms.
This house is almost ready to be put on the market, but not 100 percent ready.
Believe me when I tell you that this is NOT the way I saw this project in my head in May!
Yes, I soon realized that Flips 1,2 and 4 were sort of exceptions to the rule. They came together fairly quickly. Then along comes Flip 3!
Flip 3 is simply Life’s Reality and it’s also most definitely the way many construction projects go.
We know that not everything is perfect, and many of us go through our days with “stuff” hampering our progress in our day to day life. I know, as you read the posts on pool construction and landscaping etc, that I post…. that it might be easy to think…Wow! No Worries for Me and My Captain! So in an effort to not “paint” a perfect picture, I am showing you that this is real life, warts and all.
In simple words, life is not like it seems on Instagram and Pinterest….and yes even some Blog pictures! Awesome, yes….true, not!.
When we set out to renovate Flip 3, we realized rather quickly how important it is to have an efficient project manager/general contractor! Well, we already knew that… but as our general contractor turned a few of his projects over to a project manager…well, there is where the “fun” began. Lots of work to turn this house into a home that a buyer would fall in love with and working with a new project manager was….well, it was/is awful.
After acquiring a property…the first step is to get all the permits required from the city and county, before beginning work.
And then there is the fun of Demo Day where we start the process of tearing out the old of almost everything and begin the planning.
First on the agenda was to rid Flip 3…garage in particular, of the smell of plant fertilizers that had been allowed to remain in the humid garage for a number of years. There are remnants of that smell which upon entering the house are still apparent to my nose, which twitches and sniffs automatically as I enter the front door.
I say…“that smell is still here” and the contractor/workers say…“what smell?” UGH!!!!!
Then there is the electrician issue. I marked where the dining room chandelier should be placed and it is “off” by about 12 inches in one direction and 20 inches in the other! I even placed a temporary table to show how “off” the fixture is and the project manager just moves it back under the light!
Sometimes it can be difficult to get sub contractors/workers to even show up, let alone on time…..weather is the usual excuse! Reality is, things don’t always run smoothly, contrary to social media, or more specifically blogs which tend to create picture perfect images. I am telling you my dear readers….this is not always the case.
Please don’t mis-understand my meanings here. I absolutely love what the Captain and I do…buying and selling houses. I really love taking a house that has not seen “love” in a long while and making it “happy” again for a new buyer. I am just saying that it does not always fall into place as planned.
So that is the Reality of it my friends! If you will excuse me, one of the painters (who might or might not have been sniffing paint) and I need to have a heart-to-heart talk about paint drips on crown molding! 😉
Just for the record..we have changed project managers and a few of the sub contractors.
However, that in itself causes delays. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel…or is that a freight train coming straight at us? 😉
Have a great week-end!
Hugs to all…..;)
Sandy says
Our youngest son built his home and his contractors weren’t always reliable, so I have some idea of what you’re going through, Kari.
Hugs!
Kari says
Yesterday I was at the site and noticed that all the electrical outlets are two-toned, one stark white and the other cream colored! In other words the plate does not match the color of the outlet! Ya gotta laugh! (I think)
Thanks for the hugs….needing it today! 🙂
The Captain says
Honey,
Did you say you saw Jason the other day at Flip 3? I hope he wasn’t wearing his mask. I’ll bet there was a strange resemblance to Dave.
The Captain
Kari says
You may be referring to Nightmare on Elm Street and even though I have never seen that movie….this, as you know is pretty close to a nightmare! hahaha!