Ahhhh, after waiting for what seemed like a lifetime for the probate sale to close; the ugly work was just about to begin.
I knew that by purchasing this particular probate home I was going to have to remove EVERYTHING from the home and property.
At MY Expense!
Most people are usually excited to move into their “New” home.
In my case; however; I am going from an incredibly beautiful, well maintained, updated, lushly landscaped, sparkling pool, oasis of a home to…
quite frankly…
…a very stinky, filthy, rundown, hot mess of a home that isn’t very livable at the moment!
I went from this…..
To This!!!
I Know, CRAZY…RIGHT?
BUT I LOVE THE OLD GIRL!
I loved her from the moment I set foot into her dank, dirty front door. Not even the feral cats roaming the house could deter me…
…but now I am having that moment of clarity and I can only wonder
What Was I Thinking?
You see, the man who lived here before had a bit of trouble maintaining the property as he got older. He had good intentions, but unfortunately he just couldn’t do it. He let the house fall into deferred maintenance (that is a kind term for it). Then 4 years ago, he passed away, unexpectedly, in a parking lot, while out buying dog food for his 4 large dogs and countless cats.
The house has sat vacant for almost 4 years.
Did I mention that these poor animals spent a few days in the house before they were rescued by animal control?
They were in the house doing their big doggy & kitty business, etc.
Ugh, some little Kitties got left behind (they were outside cats).
Being the clever creatures that they are, they figured out how to get into the house and were basically living in the abandoned home, creating kitty mayhem, which was not good for the poor, abandoned house.
My friend Tim Ohnstadfrom Timberland Tree Service came in and saved the day!
His crew arrived early one morning and began to do the very first major clean-up this poor house has had in easily over 20 years.
By the time I could snap this photo they already had the large, insect infested, overgrown, dying tree down. The vines and brush still pictured were clinging furtively to the tree, they were the next to go.
Progress was being made at a quick speed with Tim’s very capable crew.
I am pleasantly surprised at how spacious the yard really is.
Little by little the front yard and the backyard were emerging.
I love the Ivy on the fence, but for now it’s gotta go. I have dreams of a white picket fence.
There was a beautiful bay window lurking under all of the overgrown juniper bushes, you can’t see it yet, but it’s there.
The neighbor allowed me to remove the massive juniper bushes between our properties.
The junipers were really gross, all sorts of objects and animals were hiding out in there.
Holy cow! Looky here, a beautiful bay window is emerging!
And my neighbor and I gained back valuable property!
Hello beautiful windows!
Tim and his crew bring the big toys to get the job done!
Cute neighborhood, right? Lot’s of old homes still standing
Ok, here’s where it gets crazy! Look at it now! This is the same Overgrown insect infested yard. Jacuzzi anyone?
There is a dog run!
And so much more space on this little lot than I imagined!
Those dead bodies I thought I was walking on turned out to be old pipes and lumber and parts of the original balcony that is missing in front.
And I was shocked to find concrete under all of the debris.
There was so much compost that the killer tomato vines were thriving on the concrete.
Look at the front! I know she is a little bare, but a perfect blank canvas to work with!
I’m so excited to actually have a front yard. Perfect size! You can see the harbor in the background.
I told you there was a beautiful bay window. Thankfully it survived being mauled by juniper bushes for many years.
Some of you may feel that I should have left the plants alone. I struggled with removing everything. I love trees and plants and detest a concrete jungle. The trees were very sick, everything was a huge mess. But I could see the potential dying to come out. The entire house inside and outside will have to be restored! Lots of work and we will need access to every inch of the home!
There are so many more photos to see:
Click here to see MORE OF THE OUTSIDE CLEAN UP PHOTOS
Next we will tackle the inside of the house and get it all cleaned out. Lots of fun ahead, please come back!
