Flip Updates

I don't mean to leave you guys hanging with flips- I post a reveal and then say nothing else for weeks?  Not fair.

Well, Dori's still up for grabs.  The super hot summer market seemed to drop out the second we listed this flip.  Sad trombone.  While we're certainly antsy, we're still confident she'll sell for a decent price as soon as the right people see it.  Waiting isn't our strong suit, though.  Luckily we've moved on to other real estate distractions.

We're buying a condo!  Not to live in, but to rent out!  I'm taking off my "Nicole Curtis" hat and putting on my "Scott McGillivray" hat temporarily.  Rentals has been one of our goals since starting flipping and it was finally time.  I'm not going to go into toooo much detail since we won't officially own anything until the end of the month, but I see another kitchen renovation in my very near future.  Gotta make this tiny, gloriously '80s, laminate kitchen shine so that every renter ever will want to live here.

If you've ever watched HGTV's Income Property you know the caliber of the property will dictate the caliber of the tenant- and we want a good tenant!  I'm probably going to go pretty basic in here- white cabinets to the ceiling, subway tile (because I already have a stock of them and they'll look bright and nice), and granite countertops.  Granite vs. laminate was already a debate, but for such a tiny kitchen, the cost difference is so insignificant and granite will be longer lasting.  We're hoping that once we take ownership I can get my contractors in to bang this kitchen out so we can get it rented out for the beginning of the year- Fingers crossed!!

Until then, I'll be busy frolicking in this unseasonably warm weather we've been having this week.  Have a wonderful weekend!!!

On the Rail

With my house finally coming back together after the floor/stair/railing reno, I have TONS of awesome DIYs planned for you guys.  For some strange reason, however, Hubby's pretty insistent that I install baseboards and door trim and finish painting before I start decorating.  Silly boy.  So basically, big, exciting things are coming, but my house needs to look like a house first.  Sad Trombone. I thought I'd pop in quickly today and show you that we are no longer at high risk for falling down the stairs- we have a railing!!!  I coerced my contractor (since we're still awaiting permit on the flip) to come and install this beaut.

With 2 super sexy newel posts that used to not be super sexy.

After all my crazy patching, I ended up painting it with a base of solid stain, then countless coats of Polyshades to give it a multi-dimensional, stained look.  I have some touch-ups to do now that they're installed, but I humbly think my paint treatment worked!

It's weird that we never realized how low our old railings were until we got one of the proper height.  Don't get me wrong, we knew the height was off, especially at the top, but check out the hole where the old railing hit the wall- a good 9 inches lower!

The entire old railing wasn't 9" lower, just the return at the top, but man was it awkward.  As you can see, 2 spindles are missing and replacements have been ordered.  For some reason, my count was 1 less than was actually needed since we changed the configuration a bit (the top newel post moved up a step) and one snapped during install.  No sweat, I've been assured by my contractor that I can install them myself without issue.

Now we just need to get used to not only using and seeing a railing again, but one that is the proper height!

Next step for these stairs? A runner!  These buggers are slippery now that they're refinished.  Slippery + already steep stairs = runner as necessity.

Frankie: Week 8

I hope you enjoy these weekly updates as I learn to navigate through the business of flipping houses.  Check out other posts about Frankie the Fliphouse HERE. Merry belated Christmas!  I hope it was everything you were hoping for and more!

With Christmas smack in the middle of the week, Week 8 was understandably not excessively productive for Frankie the Fliphouse.  It was rather productive for my kitchen with holiday baking, though (not all successful as you may have seen on instagram...)

Tonight I'll be attempting to make nut-free, gluten-free macaroons for another holiday party.  Keep your fingers crossed, I hope they taste good! (the macaroons, not your fingers...)

Anyway, back to Frankie...

The tiling is complete throughout the house.  Wahoo!!  The kitchen floor (which you saw last week) now has baseboards and wood transitions into all the rooms.

The kitchen ceiling also started to get painted.  I say started, because coat #1 made some of the paint underneath crack more, so I then had to patch before I do coat #2 today.

Moving down the hall, the bathroom floor and walls are d.o.n.e.  I'll come clean to you- while I LOVE the tile I used on the kitchen, I am not so enamored with the bathroom floor tile.  It'll look nice once the room is all together, but I won't use it again.  It looks less expensive than it actually cost, and my goal is kind of the reverse.

I believe the contractor is planning to start putting the room back together today.  That'll make me a very happy flipper.  I like when rooms become functional, pretty spaces again.

I do have a feeling the vanity is going to require more plumbing work than the contractor thinks, but lets hope I'm wrong.  The pretty vanity has been patiently sitting in one of the bedrooms awaiting install.

It's totally covered in tile dust currently, but I was able to clean up the old vanity top from the demo'd bathroom and get a pretty, appropriately-sized (very reasonably priced) vanity base for it.

In less photographic progress news:

The contractors have also been plugging away at the basement including jack-hammering an old cement shower pan and more drywall and taping of the walls that are staying.

In addition to more painting (trim, ceilings, ya know, the fun stuff), I also took a heat gun to remove bubbling veneer on the back of the future island that I showed you last week.  Since I'll be painting the piece, I can sand and patch as necessary without worrying about grain not matching.  This piece'll get it's own post/tutorial once more of the house is set.

And now that the contractors are winding down upstairs, I'm gaining space back in the rest of the house and can get back to some bedroom painting this week.  More painting!  Exciting stuff, no?  I'm also working to schedule my electrician so that I can get a jump on this kitchen install!  Is it strange that I want the kitchen to be in because I'm super excited to tile the backsplash?  This backsplash is going to be pretty epic if I do say so myself- just you wait.