The Realtor Said I Could Sell Easier if I Kept Stripping...

The staircase, people. The staircase. Although, if it raises the value any, some other arrangements could be made ;)

I had a Realtor come over yesterday to help me decide what to do with the house. She is awesome and I wish I had worked with her in the first place. Direct, to the point, honest, and EASY TO COMMUNICATE WITH. Even a sense of humor. Perfect.

She walked through the house with me and told me what changes were worth my time and money if I plan to put the house on the market this spring/summer. Things like, don't bother with the ceramic tile but instead replace the vinyl tiles with more stylish new ones. Things like that.

I don't think you'll be seeing the 1920's inspired dream bathroom that is bouncing around my imagination. It's just not worth my time/money. Like I stated earlier, she did think it would be a good idea to finish stripping the banister, so that's on the to-do list. Here's that progress pic I promised you:Gotta love the 'Flame Thrower' and it's magical abilities. I just feel like the wood grain can finally breathe! Once I get the rest of the spindles all toasty-warm and paintless I'll go back with the chemical stripper and get the rest of the paint off.

I guess I'll also post the photos of the dining room trim all painted and the blinds FINALLY up.




Basically, the things I need to get done to put the place on the market would be to:

* Paint the kitchen cabinets a fresh white, replace hardware
* New vinyl tiles in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom
* Paint the walls neutral colors and the trim a crisp white
* Replace a couple light fixtures
* Finish replacing the missing trim
* Refinish the hardwood floors (argh!)
* Paint the front door
* Get the upstairs plumbing working again
* Find remnant to replace the carpet on the stairs
* Find a vinyl flooring remnant for the upstairs bathroom
* Either find carpet remnants or refinish floors in the bedrooms
* Repair broken bead board on the porch ceiling (porch swing fiasco)
* Replace shower curtains with ones with bright colors or patterns. They will distract the potential buyers from how much the bathrooms suck. This is also why she liked my roommates bright paintings.

She said she was going to go back to the office and run some comps from my area. She hoped to get back to me today with an estimate. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be enough to cover the costs associated with selling the house (realtor commisions, etc.) and pay off the mortgage. A little extra in the pocket so I don't have to beg for change in the subway would be nice too!

Crazy Crazy! Gotta Get Going!

Oooo! Life's getting crazy! I have less than two months to get everything straightened out here in Fargo. I'm starting a big push to get as much done with the house as soon as possible.

You'll have to forgive my lack of photos (camera's at my Fraternity house) but I've actually gotten some stuff done! I painted the trim in the dining room (except for the trim that I haven't replaced yet: crown moulding, baseboards, cap around doors/windows) and I started stripping the paint off of the banister.

Yup, I broke out the flame-thrower! Yesterday I accidentally took one of those Sunday afternoon naps that goes a little too long. What was intended to be an hour nap turned into a 6 hour slumber. One of those times when you wake up and the sun's just gone down, but your body says 'Good Morning!' I pulled paint off of the newel post and the first four spindles. I will still need to get some citristrip on there, but for an initial stripping I think they look pretty good. Here's a before:
I'll make sure to post a picture of the progress as soon as I can.

I'm going to get a Realtor over here this week to give me an estimate of what I could get for the house if I decide to sell it this summer. I'll get an idea of what would need to be upgraded to get my money back out of the deal. Then maybe estimates from contractors? I'm not sure what I'll do yet but I'm trying to keep my options open.

Gah! I wish there were three of me right now!

Sell? Keep? Burn to the Ground?

Well, loyal readers, there is a reason you have not heard from me in quite a while. A 100% life changing opportunity has occurred over spring break and now I find myself moving. To New York.

Yes, the big apple. I need to be there in May, which doesn't give me much time left with the house here in Fargo.

Due to Fargo's current market (crap) I'm pretty sure that I'll hold onto the house and keep renters in it until more favorable conditions surface. I'm also expecting my neighborhood to go up in value in the not too distant future due to some recent and planned development. Basically as much as I would like to just cash out right now, I need to hold until I can get my money back out of the deal!

The reason you ask? I went to New York for spring break and while I was there I dropped off some photos at some modeling agencies. As luck would have it, I signed a 3 year contract with Fusion Model Management, one of the top 10 agencies in New York. Your little Nate up in Fargo will now be a high-fashion editorial and runway model. Didn't see that one coming? Yeah, neither did I.

I'm putting school (and home rehabbing) on hold to take advantage of this amazing opportunity that fell into my lap. My agency wants to get me started in New York as soon as the semester is over and, hopefully, I'll be in position to go to Europe for castings this summer for Paris and Milan's Fashion Weeks.

So, yeah. I need to hurry up and get some work done on the house to make it presentable to renters by May.

How's that for an interesting post?