What seems like forever ago, but was really just about three months back -- Ryan and I, in the throes of searching for our new home, came across an unusual listing online:
HUGE fixer: over 7,000 sq ft, on a huge lot and its surrounded by gorgeous mansions in Midtown's Poverty Ridge. Built in 1912 in the California Mission Revival style. It has potential to be one of Sacramento's most elegant residences. Three floors, two story formal living room, opprotunity for a catering quality kitchen for your extensive entertaining needs. Room for master suites, game room, office, library..the canvas is blank. Room for a 3 car garage with living quarters too. Near everything!
There were a lot of pictures with the listing, photos like these:
Amazing! Gorgeous! Lions at the entry way! What else does one really want? But where are the photos of the interior? There weren't any. Hmmmmm. The listing does mention it's a fixer. I read the listing again. Does HUGE fixer mean it's a huge house that needs fixing? Or does it mean the amount of fixing needed is huge? Turns out the answer is yes and yes. One of the first few times we went inside, we snapped pictures like these:
The truth is pictures of the inside -- in its current state -- can't and don't really do it justice. Sadly, it's pretty much a wreck. A former boarding house and having been uninhabited for more than a decade, the inside is terribly chopped up with walls missing, and giant holes in the ceiling. Even the floor is missing in one room. No running water. No way to heat or cool the place. A few bathtubs on their sides, scattered about as if this was Dorothy's house. Every time we turn the corner into a new hallway or room, Cade points and shouts "Uh oh!" Both boys sense it. The look on Blake's face in this picture says it all:
Dad, what are you getting us into?
But we love fixers! Even apparently HUGE ones. We've gone through several remodels, and Ryan watches
This Old House like nobody's business. Maybe I should call those producers because this is a project unlike any other.
We've already experienced a taste of what we're getting ourselves into. The process to secure a loan was, well, long. And complicated. And educational. Three adjectives that are likely to be applicable to the restoration project also.
But finally, the deal is done! It's officially ours. Anyone with a sledge hammer is welcome to stop by.
