Pittsburgh For Sale: The Start of Our House Renovation- Purchasing the Home

First of all, Happy Halloween, everyone! Have fun and be safe!

When my fiancé, Jordon, and I bought our first home we were so full of excitement and hope. We imagined all our dreams coming true in this dilapidated but charming home upon a hill. Since we started dating in college, I had told him I wanted to flip homes when I was older. That would be my ideal job. I loved the idea of finding old and neglected gems and returning them to their former glory. Sounds nice. I had also told him my love of wrap around porches and how I hoped to one day listen to the pitter-patter of little children running across said porch and swinging from our porch bench swing. I'm a dreamer. Jordon is a doer. And before we had time to think, we put an offer in on a home that would fulfill all my dreams.

The day we made an offer on the home, we literally did not have time to think. I was busy all day but could not get this house out of my head. It had everything I wanted. It was old and beautiful and inexpensive. It was big and spacious. It was unspoiled so we could really make it our own. I saw the potential to make it into a wonderful first home. Jordon saw a headache but did his best to act excited because he knew how excited I was about it. I called to see what the deal was with this house around noon. The listing agent told us that "highest and best" offers had to be in by 3:00 that day and she simply did not have the time to show us the home. Bummer.

I went back to work, kicking myself for not inquiring about this house that so intrigued me sooner. Enter Mom to save the day! She called and somehow got someone to show her and Jordon the home. Completely shocking to me, Jordon really liked it. I mean REALLY liked it. Perhaps it was the over nine foot ceilings that sold it for my six and a half foot beau. I am glad he was there looking a it rather than me, as he was also not one to be intimidated by the hoards of experienced contractors there also looking to get their hands on the house. Anyway, long story short, we put in an offer and it was accepted. Later that night, Jordon and my brother went to the local watering hole to celebrate. He ran into a man drinking his sorrows away because he had lost the bid on a home that day- our home. Needless to say, he bought the guy a drink.

It was a scarey and huge decision for us. We bought a home that clearly needed work and because it was a foreclosure, the property was bought "as is". Before we signed on the dotted line, we hired an inspector to come assess the home. Everything checked out- foundation was fine, roof had some life still left, new water heater. Great. We were in the clear. For now. Little did we know, things were going to get a lot worse before they got better. What I can say for sure is that it was a great introduction into my real estate career. Having gone through the huge decision of buying a home has made me so excited to help people gain their little piece of this earth. Here are some pictures of the home the first day we saw it. Can't you just see the potential? Updates coming soon!

The front of the home

The soon-to-be-beautiful wrap around porch

A view into the dining room from the living room with a mid-century addition- making square throughways into arches. Jordon could barely fit through this so it was the first thing to go!

The dining room. Bay window to the left. There are four fireplaces in the home.

The kitchen. The picture does not do the grossness justice. There were LAYERS of the peel and stick flooring, dropped ceilings that were molding and crashing down, and intense water damage..