Our previous home had been a 1929 Chicago Style bungalow in the Midwest that I had done a lot of restoration on before a job had us move to the Dallas area.
I discovered after using a mass-spec builder that new homes left a lot to be desired in regards to the "character" of a home. Where my bungalow had 5 bedrooms in 1900 square feet and every inch oozed with charm...like an built-in buffet (with original 1929 stained glass doors) in the dining room and matching bookshelves and fireplace mantle in the living room. My new home had 4 bedrooms in 4500 feet and was a big vanilla box...with no charm and required lots of cleaning. The construction was good and the attention to detail (what detail there was) was good and eventually I came to love the house after adding my own charm!
Fast forward 6 years to and we find ourselves in the middle of a bad job relocation. At the "eleventh hour" my husband's previous employer offered him a new job and we were able to stay in Dallas. However, our home was under contract to sell and no amount of begging (or offering of money) could convince our buyers to back out of the contact.
A quick search of the local market found us a home that was perfect for us. On paper it had everything we were wanting and even a few "wish list" items we had talked about should we ever decide to build another home. These things included:
- All bedrooms (4) on the main floor (so DH doesn't have to take stairs on bad knees to tuck kids in!)
- A game room and home theater (for resale in the price point)
- A large yard (1 acre) with a swimming pool
- Eastern exposure on the pool and back yard (a "must" for outdoor entertainment in the summer and keeping cooling bills down in the main living areas of the home)
- Split his/her closets in the master bedroom.
- Double-headed shower in master bath
- Same school district as our previous home...but fewer taxes.
Yes, lots of these are luxury items and by no means constitute deal breakers when looking for a home...so finding this house really did check a lot of boxes. Initially the only thing we thought the house lacked was instant hot water at all the taps that our previous home had had. With water being more expensive to purchase in the new home, and having a swimming pool adding to our monthly bill, not having to flush 2 minutes worth of cold water down the drain every time we take a shower was worth having the home retrofit for.
Reality set it immediately upon moving in!
Because the home was built the same year as our last home (2006) it too lacked some "charm" but having dealt with that in the past I knew it was easily taken care of. Unfortunately the previous owners (PO) were not exactly on top of maintenance issues so my focus has to shift from "charm" to lots of "fixits". In addition, the builder of this home really dropped the ball in a lot of areas either in ways to "finish" the home, or mostly, make it livable in 2006 and beyond.
So that's why we are HERE! Stay tuned for our adventures in making a "new to us" house feel like our home.
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