We've officially started the renovation of the west side of Content! I'm affectionately referring to this new phase as - "west side, guest side" because the majority of additional square footage, on the west side of the house, will be dedicated to welcoming others.

Bathroom #2

Bathroom #1

But let me back up a bit. I should also mention that we are in the process of refinancing. I know a lot of people consider these matters private. And though I'm not planning on sharing the exact facts and figures, we do get asked rather often, "How are you paying for all this renovation work?"

Well, first of all- we both work full time jobs (plus both managing side jobs), only working on the house nights and weekends. We are extremely frugal in almost everything we do (furnishings, weekly expenses, travel). Oh, and we lived with my parents for THREE YEARS saving!

Also, mind you, we have owned since 2014 and are still knee deep in this reno! We have had the luxury ("luxury" bringing used 100% ironically) of doing the work ourselves which has allowed us to pick and choose our budgets and timelines.

In addition, we bought Content as an REO property, which basically boils down to - this property was such a hot mess that no one, in their right mind, would buy it, not even at auction.

Until we saw it!

The REO purchase price (though based on current market value) has allowed us to do a tremendous amount of work (2014-2016) in an effort to reappraise for a higher amount than our current mortgage. With that, we will take a cash back option while refinancing a new, shorter mortgage at an even lower interest rate. Though it's actually scary to take on more debt, we'll end up paying less over the next 25 years.

It's actually a win, win.

For anyone considering refinancing though, please note, it's not a quick process. All the work of your first mortgage (gathering documents : tax returns, pay stubs, credit reports, etc) is all necessary again, plus this time around, you have to worry about the value and condition of the property.

Though we are not completely done with the refi process, we did appraise for higher than our current mortgage, which is a huge relief as well as a welcomed pat on the back. All the work we have done so far if now paying off!

With the refinance, we will be able to reinvest in Content and start the next phase of renovations, beginning with two full baths.

Last weekend, we jumped back into our favorite past time - DEMO!


Bathroom #1 (BEFORE)













Bathroom #2 (BEFORE)

Looking for exposed beams

Found them!

These were all gone in 30 minutes!