New House, 2 Dogs, What a Blast!

Relocating...

2008-05-27T14:21:00.002-06:00

Follow the home remodeling at:

http://sadieandsarah.blogspot.com

See ya there!

Sarah Ghiazza is BACK!!

2008-05-16T11:37:00.001-06:00

All, just wanted to let you know that I changed my name (FINALLY!) and it is Sarah Ghiazza again!

My old emails will work, but if you want to get me quicker, email me at: sarah.ghiazza@gmail.com!!

Happy Weekened Everyone!!

Water Dogs!

2008-05-12T19:25:00.005-06:00

Those cute dogs deserve a post of their own this week!

On Sunday, we spent a few hours at the dog exercise area at Cherry Creek State Park and we had a great time! This is probably the best dog exercise area I have been too, and it was crowded on the beautiful Sunday afternoon!! We probably walked 4 miles or so in a huge loop with no leashes to get tangled!!! Fantastic!

The dogs got in the water and these pics of Sadie remind me of what a dog swimsuit photo shoot might look like - except without the swimsuit!! You can almost see the swager:

And Maggie had her share of fun too! She LOVED the water. It wasn't deep enough to really swim, but she just kept jumping in and out of the water and running across the sand at warp speed. And she found a little boyfriend that followed her for a while... good thing she is spayed!!

Dogs are so much fun!!

Construction Pictures, Week 2

2008-05-12T19:09:00.004-06:00

Well another eventful week! Certainly the views are changing as the walls come down! Here is the view from the front of the house - you can see all the way to the back door, and I like it!

The walls are off in the kitchen - nice to see:

And this is another picture of where the wall was with all of the cords hanging down:

I made another huge payment today. I would love to see more progress for how much I have invested, but changes are happening and I need to be patient that this will all come together. By the end of this week, the new wall in the bedroom should be framed along with the moved stairway. Next step is to get all the cabinets ordered which might be my favorite part! From the Aristrokraft website, I have chosen the style and stain that I want. Next is picking how many drawers I need and what I want the pantry to look like - should be fun!!

I'll keep the updates coming! I am so excited for this weekend! There are a couple of celebrations for Tanya (YAY!) and my mom is coming to Colorado for the summer - which means the summer is starting!!!

First Construction Pictures!! Week 1

2008-05-04T22:35:00.006-06:00

Demolition has started and here are a few pictures of what they got done in the first day or so... There is so much to do, but it is so nice to walk in and see that people were actually working!!

This first picture is of the wall between the living room and the kitchen. It is coming down to make room for the larger kitchen / bar sitting area. Check out that old construction! Those are boards with plaster between them instead of plywood! Weird!

Sorry this next picture is a little blurry, but you can see that the cabinets are off the walls and the tile is ready to be taken down. Also the range and dishwasher are out and being collected tomorrow morning by someone who reconditions and then sells them (or gives them to habitat for humanity type people)!

This is an angle that will be in most of the posts. This is the view from the front door looking in. You can see all the old cabinets!! (Also being donated / recycled - yay!)

Ok, that is all that has really changed in 2 days! More fun is sure to come! Hope you enjoy the pictures of change!!

And so it begins!

2008-05-01T13:31:00.004-06:00

Eric and I went by the house today to show John the "before" house and guess what? Some of the kitchen cabinets were in the living room!!! I can't tell you how excited that made me! We are officially started!!!

The master plan is to be completely done by September 1st. They actually think there is about 2 weeks of slack in the schedule so they may finish a bit sooner. I really like this contractor - so professional and on top of things. They will give me a report every other week on the progress and if they are not on track, I don't pay 'em!!

So, you are all officially invited to my house on Monday night, September 8, 2008 for the first regular season BRONCO game!! We play the Raiders (in Oakland) - what better way to warm up the house than with the Broncos vs Raiders!

Here are some of the kitchen before pics:

Bye bye 1980s kitchen!!!

Now I have lots of work to do - like pick out a pooper, kitchen and bath fixtures, tile, paint, cabinets, lighting options, oh my this is overwhelming just thinking about it. But I am so ready to be started!!

Ah the joys of a puppy...

2008-04-21T09:50:00.005-06:00

This is a little good news / bad news story...

The other day I was at work thinking to myself that I didn't really like the shoes I was wearing and I wanted a new pair. But I didn't think I should spend money on shoes right now when I have a house sucking all of my money. Anyway, less than 24 hours later, they looked like this:

This happened in the 15 minutes I was in the shower! Those puppy teeth are sharp and right after being spayed, I really didn't think she had this much destruction in her... I remembered a conversation I had with Tanya about a great shoe store on Broadway (Thanks Tanya!) so I headed over there and found these new shoes:

Surprisingly enough, I didn't have my eyes on Maggie one other morning last week and she also ruined my brown sandals, so I replaced them too!!

This is what we need to do with her to keep her from ruining things:

Just kidding - this is from when she was helping us pack ;)

In house news, we racked and sucked up 11 bags of junk from the house on Sunday. My arms are aching but it looks a whole lot better - still more to do of course! Then Suzie and Mike made a chicken dinner for us which was wonderful!! Especially because we were too dirty for a restaurant and too tired to cook. THANKS neighbors!!

The House is MINE!!

2008-04-17T08:51:00.002-06:00

We finally closed the house!!! YAY!! I am sitting in the living room right now waiting for the locksmith, the water turn on guy and for my Smart Move vaults to be delivered to the back yard!! Hopefully some of these peeps with start showing up! I bought a plastic table and a chair at Target this morning so I could get some work done - aah, my first furniture!! My contractor is also on his way to make some more measurements for the permits. Let the fun begin!!!

Sitting in my new living room just feels right. I already love this place and feel so at home here. Maybe by the time the Broncos play football again it will be exactly what I am picturing!!

So who is ready for a PARRRTY!

Bob Barker would be proud...

2008-04-15T08:32:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, Maggie got her girl parts removed! I guess that means she is really growing up! She seems to be doing pretty good although she can't quite get comfortable... We paid $60 to get a microchip put in her in case she ever gets lost. They went to scan the microchip and discovered she already had one! So now she has 2. Huh?

And in house news - which I am afraid to say anything about because every time I say something stupid like "we are closing on Monday" we don't close on Monday - I still haven't closed. I did get a fat check out of the bank and bring it to a "closing" yesterday but I never actually signed the paperwork and do not currently own a house. We sat there for over three hours waiting for some stupid HUD with the sellers signatures which never came. Argh! Buying this house is such a pain in the arse! I am not going to say another word until I have keys in my hand, but think good thoughts so we can have a trash the house party this weekend!!

Congress Park here we come!!!

2008-03-31T17:02:00.002-06:00

So it is official - we are moving to Congress Park. The bank finally decided to cooperate which is fantastic and we made a deal. Closing date is no later than the 11th of April, but we are shooting for Monday!! One week from today!!

The renovations will begin soon, but before that starts, I say a "Trash This House" Party is in order!! Complete with caps and beer pong and flip cup and other drunken craziness. The weekend of the event is TBD because I need to get the sewer line fixed first (in case we need to pee or puke...) but it will be soon! I am thinking April 19th so keep the calendar open!!

Doggie Wogs

2008-03-28T14:42:00.004-06:00

My sister tells me I need more pictures of the pups. Since my conference call is boring me, here come a few!!

Check out the tongue on that girl!!

And biting her sister... This is a daily occurence, especially in the morning when they finish eating!

She is so cute when she is sleepy...

Happy Weekend everyone!!

Still No House...

2008-03-27T21:12:00.003-06:00

So this blog was supposed to be about the adventures of remodeling a house... so far there is still no dang house. It has been over 2 weeks since I submitted my inspection items to the bank and I have not heard a word from them... The frustrating part is the uncertainty of it all - and the fact that the contractors are pretty much ready to start work and there is no house for them to work on!!

My new goal is to close some time during the week of April 7th but that means hearing something from the bank within the next week. I guess we will see!!

Oh and our little Maggie has an appointment to get her cookie cut :) she gets spayed on April 14th. We figure we should do it before we try to move so she has some time to recover in a place she is familiar with. No puppy puggles for us!!

We are really looking forward to celebrating Drea's birthday this weekend!! Lots of good friend time. And Eric says "Go Badgers".

No Longer a Homeowner...

2008-03-20T16:51:00.002-06:00

Well, we are officially out of the house on Yarrow. Yay!! I still haven't heard a thing from the bank on the inspection objection items and have no idea when I will. I need to take deep breaths and remember to have patience!! Our goal is to close by the end of the month, but I am not holding my breath on that one... Every day without a mortgage is a day I save $$!!

On a different note, I am kinda mad at the post office right now... I tried to get a PO box today for mail since I don't really want to forward mail twice in a month and my living quarters are kinda up in the air... I ran into lots of problems. First, you need to have 2 forms on ID - sounds easy but it has to be a Driver License and either car insurance or car registration with an address or a passport. Well guess what - I don't have car registration or insurance in my name (it is all in the company name) so I have to dig up my passport somewhere. I sure hope it isn't in a storage pod!! Then, they need to verify my mailing address. HELLOOO - I want a PO box because I don't have a stable mailing address. Argh. I guess I'll give them Yarrow St since it matches my ID and hope they don't really check?? Or get a new DL just so I can get a PO box?? That sounds hard. What would someone do if they didn't have a car or a passport??

Answers and Such...

2008-03-16T20:58:00.003-06:00

Pop Quiz Question #1:
Those indeed are solar panels. Apparently in the 1970's people got tax credits for using solar energy to heat their homes. So, for the last 30-40 years, this house has been ugly for the sake of saving energy. And wouldn't you know it, my hippy parents think I should keep these solar panels "Just think of the energy savings" and "well, do you think they could be brought to my house"... If anyone wants solar panels, all you need to do is come pick them up. Presuming I own the place that is...

#2:
That stuff is asbestos :( which is baaaadddd. Some places say asbestos is ok when it is not disturbed, but this stuff is clearly falling apart. Apparently asbestos in basements is a problem in these parts but I must deal with this stuff immediately. My contractor estimates $10-12k for the removal of the pipes. I am asking the bank for the $$. They have warned me that the walls likely also contain asbestos which will be a problem during the remodel and could cost an additional $10-12k for removal.

#3:
That my friends is art! I have 2 more toilets that are coming out soon so I will have seats for guests!!

Still no word on whether the bank will give me credit for the asbestos, a new furnace (the existing one is from 1960!), and a new sewer line. Yeah, the sewer line is completely trashed and estimated at $11,800 to repair. Anyone know a good plumber??

On a funner note, I was going through my camera and found a video I took almost 2 months ago. We were at my sister's house and she has a beagle puppy that is about 2 weeks older than Maggie - her name is Chloe. Aren't they cute??

Pop Quiz #3

2008-03-12T19:50:00.004-06:00

Huh? And WTF?? What do you suppose this is? And for extra credit, why would this be in the back yard??

We just got back the signatures from the bank and are officially under contract... I can't believe how long that took to get here - insane! We are supposed to close Monday but I just don't see how that is going to happen. I am going to submit my inspection report and I am asking for a lot of repairs. We'll see how that goes...

We might be on the hunt for a new house again, and then the blog might start to get boring...

One last questions, who wants to see the video of the sewer scope??

Pop Quiz #2

2008-03-11T19:46:00.002-06:00

What do you suppose this is??

Well, I will tell you that it is one of the furnace ducts, that connects to the furnace dated 1960!! And I will also tell you that this is not good... So not good... And there is lots more...

I am still waiting for the bank to actually sign our contract! It has been over a week since we agreed on a price and they still haven't actually signed the contract. It was supposed to be Friday, then Monday then today and guess what? Now they are saying tomorrow. Yeah, sure. Looks like we won't be closing on March 17th... Oh well, what can we do??

I have one more pop quiz...

Pop Quiz #1

2008-03-08T20:27:00.002-07:00

Ok, this week we are going to throw out a few pop quizes about the house :) Should be fun, right? I'll post all answers on Friday!

1) What do you think this is???

This is the side of the house... It is so pretty... When I was looking at the house, I said "that has got to go" and a new neighbor walking her dog actually said "I totally agree"...

Here is another phote a few feet further back, again South side of the house...

Thoughts??

Inspection is tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed (yep, our inspector is coming in on a Sunday! I wonder how much that will cost me...)

We Got IT!!

2008-03-04T16:58:00.002-07:00

The bank finally accepted our offer!
We ended up paying them what they were asking for the place, so perhaps some money was left on the table, but I am confident we can get most of it back during the inspection... They will be more willing to give me a $5k credit for the furnace / roof / whatever if we give them the price they want for the place. Plus I still think we can build lots of equity.
Let the remodeling begin!!
Maybe now I will get serious about packing??

And the wait continues...

2008-03-01T19:49:00.002-07:00

(Sarah) We finally got the notification that the bank has multiple offers and has asked for our "best and highest" offer. I wish it was like eBay where I could pick a maximum I am willing to pay, but I only get charged one increment above the next highest offer - like if I am willing to pay $50 and the next highest is $40, I only pay $41 not the whole $50 I am willing to pay... I am trying so hard to guess what my competition will offer and I don't want to leave money on the table, but I also don't want to lose!! Dang competitive streak... Oh and I am closing on my current house on March 17th so we need to get into a new place SOON!

And I am sick too. I guess my immune system wanted me to spend a day on the couch and in bed. I read the rest of the newest John Grisham book - The Appeal. It was really good and the ending was not what I was expecting - which is rare with Johnny... The first half was a little slow, but once I got to the middle I couldn't stop reading! So the day was not a complete loss ;)

Eric is at the Avalanche game with some of my favorite people so I am a little sad being home sick with the dogs. I should pack. Naaa, I will just play on the internet and watch the Family Feud on GSN.

AHH! We are into a bidding war!!

2008-02-28T16:38:00.001-07:00

(Sarah) Since the bank has been so slow getting back to me, the house we made an offer on now has another offer!

The bank is going to ask for our best offer tomorrow morning we are pretty sure... Now I have to figure out how much I am willing to pay...

If you are addicted to them, join them!

2008-02-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

(Sarah) I read blogs about 100 hours a day and I keep thinking of things I would want to say if I were blogging so I decided it was time. We don't have kids (or a plan for kids) so you will mostly hear about our doggies and the new house we are buying!! A puppy and a home remodel should be a wonderful combination!!

The basic updates...

We were visitng my sister in California in January and met the most adorable puppy. Maggie is a puggle (mix between a beagle and a pug) We knew it was crazy, but we brought her home with us and she is the perfect Colorado dog! Sadie has been the model big sister and teaches her something new almost every day. She is 4 and a half months old so expect lots of pictures of her growing and playing with Sadie!!

Here is a picture of us signing our freedom away...

And here is my new favorite picture!

Last month, someone offered to buy my condo in Belmar. It wasn't on the market, but with the new impulse purchase, oh I mean puppy, we were considering finding a place with a yard anyway... the timing couldn't have been better!

I had a contract on a cute little house in Congress Park, but it fell through... It needed a little more work than I was willing to take on for the price they were asking.

Today, we are negotiating with a bank for a property in foreclosure and if everything goes well, we will move into the basement and spend a few months remodeling the place. Should be fun...

Here is a "before" picture from the MLS listing:

So, we will use this blog for pics of the pups and pics of the progress on our house!