THE DIGS

Here she is y’all! The #dalydigs. We have a lot to do, but trust me when I say she didn’t always look this good. Keep reading.

But first, the backstory.

The path to the forever house was not an easy one. We had been living in a typical stucco home that we built in an HOA for several years. Florida is plagued with stucco homes that all look the same, built in an HOA community about 2” apart. We could high-five our neighbors through the kitchen window and our yard was the size of a postage stamp. It was a nice home, but we knew we didn’t want to be there forever. Hubby wanted a home with some land, more privacy, and space for the doggies. I was hoping for a home with unique architecture not too far in the country. We put our old house up for sale, and probably had 100 showings over the course of a year. We took it off the market for a couple months just to take a break and we hired a new realtor. We relisted the house and finally got a contract and since an investor was purchasing it, they agreed to our 90-day close so that we could have time to find a new house.  We could finally seriously shop for a new home, something we sorta stopped doing because we didn’t know if ours would ever sell and I was sick of looking at homes that sold before we could make an offer. So we stepped up our search and looked at a few homes. #motd was dragging me deep into the country and I was not down with that. I had an imaginary border that I was unwilling to cross. We did find one that we both agreed on and put in an offer and ended up losing in a bidding war. At the time I was devastated and discouraged and feared we’d never find “the one” and we’d have to settle. Then one night hubby showed me a new listing that popped up on Zillow. It had everything we were looking for, unique architecture, in an area I love (that didn’t cross the border hah), and sat on a few acres. We emailed our agent10 pm10pm that night and went to see it the next day. We had to be quick – we were looking for something that is tough to find.

Ready for the before?

This is how she looked when we saw her for the first time. She looked worn down, lonely, in dire need of a pressure wash and slightly creepy. The yard was completely overgrown. The home was a foreclosure and had been vacant for at least a couple years. She had some minor issues and needed LOTS of updating, but we fell in love with farmhouse charm, dormer windows and the land she sat on. I knew this was the one. We immediately began working up an offer but because we were a couple months away from closing on our old house, we put in a contingency offer which the bank refused. Thank goodness the buyer on the HOA house agreed to push up the closing so we could put in a non-contingency offer on the Daly Digs. After a little back and forth, they finally accepted! We were psyched! But it would not be that easy. We feared our VA loan, which has more stringent requirements as far as the condition of the home, would be an issue. Well, let me tell you, it was. The VA appraiser had a laundry list of things that would need to be fixed by the bank in order for us to be able to close. By now, let me remind you, we had sold the HOA house, moved out, sent the doggies to grandmas, packed all of our belongings away in pods and were living like nomads. First, we stayed in a friends rental for a month while they finished up a lease on their old place. Then we went to a cheap hotel which we left after one week because it was horrible. So we eventually went to the Hilton, where unbeknownst to us, we would spend the next 78 days!! Yea, no one saw that coming. Trying to purchase a bank-owned home with a VA loan is not for the weak at heart. While we were lucky the bank was agreeing to do the work that the VA required, they did it at a snail’s pace, did things that were not required – which yea, I know, sounds great but not so much. It delayed the process, forced us to pay more closing costs out of pocket, and we, of course, had zero say in any of the finishes, paint colors or floors they used. There were delays at every corner. Getting the bank to approve the work, hire a contractor, ordering materials, then actually doing the work, was like watching paint dry. We were getting sick of our hotel home and we missed our fur babies. Our close date was extended more times than I can even remember. At one point, the bank wanted to completely back out and we thought we may lose the house altogether. But eventually they finished everything, the VA inspector cleared the home and we were able to close, after a 4 month long brouhaha.

Here’s a glimpse of the inside from day 1. Lots of work to be done, yes, but she has great, high ceilings,  a huge fireplace focal point, french doors annndddd….tons of orange wood and disgusting carpet. #oyvey

We celebrated closing day by ripping up all that gross carpet and tack strips (oh my, how annoying). The interior is coming along but you’ll have to stay tuned!