Another New Home!

After 76 days of living in the RV, we closed on our house! (and all the people said "AMEN!"). We had a wonderful experience working with Melanie McDaniel of First Class Realty.  She's the best of the best, so if you need a realtor in the Hampton Roads, VA area, let me know.  I can hook you up!

 We had 4 days from closing day until we got our household goods and we had some work to do.  Drew's parents drove their camper up to help us out, so while Grammy was keeping the kiddos, we got busy.  We started in the garage.  It was musty and there was some mold on the walls due to a previous moisture problem in the crawl space.  Kilz to the rescue!

It looked and smelled SO much better when we finished!

 The yellow kitchen had to go!

 I had lots of helpers with the priming.

 Priming is done....did I mention that 3 days after we got our household goods, we left everything and went to DISNEY WORLD? (I looked at these primed walls for several weeks before I finally painted)

 Master bedroom was painted monochrome gray.

 Though it's hard to tell in this before and after, I promise it looks different in real life.  The office got a coat of accessible beige. 

We also painted one wall of the living room before our things arrived.

Then it was moving day!  My job was checking off boxes as they came off the truck and directing where everything went.

 I kid you not, the movers hadn't been there 30 minutes when one of them fell through the ceiling of our walk up attic.   Luckily it was just his foot and he didn't come crashing in.  The bad news:  they deemed that room a safety hazard so they couldn't put anything else in there, which meant that ALL the JUNK and holiday decorations that we keep in the attic, got stored in the catwalk upstairs.  

 Floor to ceiling boxes!

 At the end of the day, this is what our living room looked like! (YIKES)

But hey...at least we finally have a HOME again!  And we definitely have more than 300 square feet! So I'll take it, mess and all!

We left the house in a complete disaster 3 days later to go to Disney! (a trip that we had planned long, long ago!)

Duplex Rehab

Flip that house! (or duplex in this case).  Several months ago I did a post about our business Liberty Coast Investments. {If I could find said post in my archives, I would link you to it.  Alas, it's late and I can't find it, so the gist of it goes like this: We invest in real estate, meaning we buy houses to either hold and rent or sell for profit.}  Anyhoo, I thought I'd catch you up on what we, as Liberty Coast Investments, have been doing.  We found a great deal on a duplex back in November.  We were a little slow to get started on the renovations due to that whole bed rest thing, birthdays, Christmas, back surgery (Drew), and a new baby.  We were just a little busy.  But renovations are almost complete on both sides now, so I thought I'd share the progress.

This property was bank owned and in need of some serious TLC.  Each side is 2 bedroom 1 bath.  The left side needed a LOT more work than the right, so we spent the majority of our budget working on that side.  It had to be totally re-wired, there were some plumbing issues, the kitchen needed gutting, as well as the bathrooms, both sides needed heat and ac window units, and the whole place needed sheetrock.  Even the ceiling had plywood and paneling???  Looking at the "before" pictures, you'll think we were crazy!  Hopefully, the place will win you over with the after pictures.  

*Note: as much as I LOVE doing the renovations myself, I can't really do them with a newborn, so we hired out the work for this one. And let me tell you...it's no fun to hear quotes on labor charges for stuff you know how to do!* Anyway, I digress.

 Here's the outside before...

 ..and the outside after. (they were painting the trim the day I took this pic, so it's not quite finished here)

The blue color is not my favorite, but for a rental, it'll do.  Especially when we had people practically knocking down the door to rent the place.  (Yes, both sides were rented while it was being renovated) It needs landscaping as well to help with curb appeal, but again..it's already rented.

view from front door (before)

view from front door: after

 kitchen before

 kitchen after

bedroom before (you can see where they're working on the wiring)

 bedroom closet (I couldn't get over PLYWOOD on the CEILING?!)

bedroom after

this space we turned into a laundry room

 like so...

bathroom before

It was a hot (pink) mess.  We got a new vanity, new light fixture, new medicine cabinet, new window, removed that vinyl board in the shower, replaced it with tile, and gave that tub a good scrubbin!

 after (since this photo we've put those blinds in the window and hung a shower curtain rod)

The left side is completely finished and a family moved in it 2 weeks ago.  We're still finishing up the right side.  Carpet is being installed on Monday, the tile is being grouted, and there are lots of little finishing touches that still need to be done to that one.  We were able to save the cabinets in the kitchen.  However, they did get refinished.  We were able to use the stove so we just got a new fridge and microwave on that side.  It also got a fresh coat of paint. The tenants are eagerly awaiting their move in date.  Our ultimate plan with the duplex is to list it for sale in hopes that another investor will buy it.   It's a great income property, already cash flowing, so if you know anyone who is interested, give us a call!  If you've ever wanted to get into the real estate business and own a rental property, this one is perfect to get you started.  In the meantime, we'll be collecting the rent.  :)

What is Liberty Coast up to next?  Well, we're also rehabbing this house:

It's a great little 3/2 built in 2001, nice neighborhood on a corner 1/3 acre lot!  It just needed a little cosmetic updating.  Can we say BRIGHT RED carpet and brass fixtures?  Renovations on this one are underway and we should have it on the market by the first of May!  I'll keep you posted on the progress of this one as well.  

We have finally started getting our business moving the way we've wanted to for a while.  No more procrastinating.  We're in full swing!

Green House Update

On Sunday, Andrew and I drove to Albertville to spend some time with my Granddaddy before he started his chemo.  I was really glad for the opportunity to go home, since it had been over 6 weeks since our last visit.  Since hearing of Granddaddy's diagnosis, I had been a little homesick.


Mondays are my Dad's day off so I had the chance to help him with the green house.  You remember the green house, right?  Well, in case you missed it....GO HERE to learn about it!.


They're still not moved in since there are a few minor things, mostly cleaning now, to be done.  Dad and I installed a couple of fixtures, did some new wiring, and raised the ceiling in the living room.  Here are some before and after shots (So far).  

Mud room: Before

 After (we still need to instal the toilet on the left)

Mud room view 2: before

 mud room 2: after. (the hole in the wall is a laundry chute from the bathroom.)

Laundry chute from bathroom closet: Before

Laundry chute: After

Bathroom: Before 

 Bathroom: After (Quite possibly the largest/most noticeable change) 

Oh and we did put a light fixture where that hole is!

 View with tile job in the back.

Kitchen: Before

 Kitchen: After (The tile floors made a HUGE difference!)

Oh and we also took out that old window unit in the background and rebuilt the window.

Office: Before

 Office: After (Bye, bye green carpet!)

Guest room/future baby room before:

 After

And last, but certainly not least....the most significant change to the old house...

CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR!!

(Welcome to the 21st century, old Green house!)

I know Annah and Jefforey are anxious to get in there.  What a transformation that house has gone through!  I can't wait to see it once it's 100% complete and has furniture in it.  Looks like we'll be moving into our houses the same weekend. :)

Operation: Green House

This past weekend, Drew, Andrew, and I drove up to Albertville for a wedding.  The bride looked gorgeous and the reception was stunning.  I pulled out my camera to take some pictures, but alas, my battery was dead.  What a bummer!  So you'll just have to believe me when I tell you how gorgeous it was.  This wedding made me feel extremely OLD!  All the friends of the bride were there.  Several of these gals were my dance students when they were in FIRST GRADE.  (like I said...OLD)  It was great catching up with all of them.


Our trip had another purpose as well.  My sister and brother-in-law are moving back home.  They'll be living in an old farmhouse on our land, known lovingly as "The Green House."

My Great-Grandfather bought this house back in 1954 (I think).  We don't know exactly when it was built, but it was long before electricity, central air, or BATHROOMS.  So over the years a bathroom was added on, as was electricity, and a window A/C unit.  This house is OLD, but very charming.  My Dad along with his brothers and sisters lived in this house until they built the house my Grandma lives in now.  Over the years, the Green House has turned into a storage unit for our family's unwanted furniture.  But all that has been cleaned out now and we're renovating/updating it for Annah and Jefforey to live in.
I love remodeling projects so I asked to stick around and help out.


The first couple of days, we were working on things that you couldn't necessarily "see" but needed to be done.  Dad had started working on the plumbing before I got there, but wasn't finished.  So we finished up the plumbing. I should have taken a picture of poor Dad covered in mud from crawling around under the house all day.  We got that finished up on Tuesday and now there is running water!  Hooray!    We also had to support some floorboards under the house, and reframe a couple of outside walls.


This room was an afterthought on this house.  It was originally the back porch and you can actually see the white porch post still there in the middle of the wall.  We gutted these two walls to reframe them and add insulation.  We also did away with the one window to maximize storage space.  (This will be the mud room/laundry room/half bath.

 getting ready for the new window

 Eventually all the windows will be replaced but since we were doing framing in this room, we had to replace this one now.

 making the new frame

 In the coming months, they will be replacing the siding on the exterior of the house as well.

Moving on to the bedrooms:  Jefforey had already primed all the rooms so all we had to do was paint.  The carpet will be coming out in both of the smaller rooms.

This will be the office. (before)

 (after paint)

Mom and I like to call this one the "imaginary baby room" because IF Annah and Jefforey ever make me an aunt, this is where the lil one will sleep. :)

 If they have a boy it'll be blue and brown....girl means pink and brown....so we painted it brown.

The master bedroom needed to have the walls washed and the ceiling painted.

We didn't do anything to the kitchen except wash half of the cabinet doors.

 We have no idea what the orange/yellow streaks are coming down the walls in the dining room?!  Don't worry...they came clean.

The living room got a fresh coat of paint.  It will also get new floors (at a later date in time)

 Let me know if you'd like to buy this piano!

And now the bathroom....that's really what I came for...to tile the bath tub.  If you remember, I told you this bathroom was added on to the house sometime in the late 50's.  The walls were covered in this black fiberglass stuff.  Jefforey had already done the demo and got that stuff out of the way.  We had to reframe the walls, add insulation, and add sheet rock.

(This closet used to house the hot water heater.  It will now be a linen closet.)

 Annah loves the retro feel of the mosaic tile, so it's staying. (It just needs a little cleaning)

 Finally the cement backer board went up so I could start tiling!

 At 11 pm that night, we stopped right there...

 The finished product...minus the grout.  I didn't get to totally finish before I had to leave. :(

 And I made sure to get out of town before they started the tape, putty, and sanding of the sheet rock...NO THANK YOU!  Count me out!  lol

I love the blue accent tile because it matches the cabinet top that will go in there. 

I can't wait to show you pictures when it's all said and done.  It's going to look great!