Buying a house is like having a baby

No joke!  Not only are they both expensive, but I am seeing a pattern similarity! ;)  Here it goes:

You have that 'fun' leisurely part of just looking at what is available (seeing cute babies), then the stressful part of finding the perfect one, out bidding other buyers, and getting approved for a mortgage (morning sickness, getting fat).  Next comes the signing of paperwork and renovations (no sleep, lots of work), and finally the forgetting of all the awfulness and wanting to do it all over again because you like the end result.

Call me crazy but today I started looking at real estate and our renovations aren't even complete.  I need an intervention.  Someone please intervene!

Nightmares

of painting... endless walls.  Seriously, how can there be so MANY walls in a 2 bd/2bath duplex??  I am pretty sure it might take me a year to finish painting this place.  Of course, it would help if I would choose one color for each room instead of changing my mind after the first coat.

....and.... we're back!

Whew!  It has been a crazy 1 1/2 months!  Every single spare moment was spent getting the rental side of the duplex up and ready.  We now have tenants!  So... the work on our side begins.  But this is the fun part.  I am so excited to decorate and get it ready for us.  Pinterest has been my best friend lately and has helped my planning tremendously!  So many great and creative ideas for small spaces on there.  Can't wait to show you all before and after photos!

Life, Love, and Laughter

We closed on the duplex yesterday!  Although we had a busy weekend and hadn't planned on getting started working on the repairs quite yet, we were too excited to wait.  So while Andrew got busy tearing out the bath surround I started taping the trim so we are ready to go for painting.  Our boys (ages 2 and 4) were so excited to have a new place to play that they were running around playing tag and 'step on the dot' (their version of 'don't step on the crack'). It was adorable.  My son suggested we dance so we turned the radio up and enjoyed the moment.  It's the little things that make life fun :)

House #1? House #2? House #3!

My husband and I felt like we should have been on an episode of House Hunters.  We have been looking at so many types of properties and in so many locations that it kind of felt like a toss of a dice where we would land.  We didn't pick the cute house with a yard near the foothills that was completely finished, we didn't pick the fixer upper with the shop near the university, but we DID pick the small semi fixer upper duplex with the great location!  We are now the proud owners of an investment property.  For the next 3 years we will be working on and living in one unit while we rent out the other.  At that time we will purchase a house for ourselves and continue to rent out both units in the duplex for the income potential.  Has anyone done this before?  Any recommendations?  We were urged to read Landlording which looks like an interesting read.  I will keep you posted on our experiences as it goes.