Contentment

Since starting my intentional journey I have been working on contentment. Learning to cultivate contentment in sticky situations, when things don’t go the way that I planned, or flat out end up as a disaster.

We have had a lot of unforeseen issues with The Palace and it has become a “learning property” versus a slam dunk. It definitely has created a contentment challenge!

I have pushed my introvert self to share this journey on the blog, and joined Instagram (@Mom_Homework) to share photos and updates along the way.

One byproduct of this is that I am exposed to people who are also out there buying and renovating properties. People who offer great tips, insight, and inspiration.

Another byproduct, is that I am exposed to people who are wayyyy farther along in this journey than I am.

They have been at it for longer. They have dozens of properties. Property managers and contractors keep everything running, and they don’t do any of it themselves.

Or maybe they have taken the plunge and do out of state investing, buying and rehabbing properties remotely. Something that is WAY out of my comfort zone right now.

But, maybe, one day, I can take that leap. Or, maybe, that won’t ever fit into our plan. Regardless, I cannot compare myself to anyone else.

Choose Joy

My journey, is just that, mine. Unique to me, and my family.

While it would be easy to compare myself to the people I am now following, I instead choose to cheer them on. Finding contentment with my progress.

They are doing their own wonderful work, and we are all on a different path, together. If that makes sense.

The perspective that we adopt sets the tone for so much of our day.

Instead of feeling behind, I am content with where we are, and the direction our journey is taking. I like doing a big chunk of the work ourselves, although I would be okay if one day we have someone else handle the demo and clean up, as long as I still get to do the designing and putting together.

I have set my 90 day goals:
-Finish The Palace Renovation and have it rented
-Close on the Miller house, clean it up, get it rented
-Have another deal in progress
-Take regular progress photos and do a weekly(ish) blog update.

And I feel that they are within reach. We still have a lot to do to get there, but with an out of town wedding and lots of family gatherings for the holidays, being intentional about the volume of work that I add to my plate is just as important.

Progress update!

The Palace:

The structural issues in the basement and first floor have been remedied. The floors are now level, and solid! A big thank you to our amazing go-to-guy for all of his hard work and expertise.

All old hardwood floors have been removed.

The bathroom floor joists were all replaced and have OSB on thanks to our G2G.

We removed the kitchen ceiling, all remaining layers of flooring, and the subfloor. The joists under the kitchen are getting sistered up with new ones to create a solid and level flooring today. This will help to create a strong base for our tile, preventing cracks.

The ductwork is about 85% finished and we have AC pumping through the house, which is a blessing as it still is 95* out and it was pretty toasty in there.

Framing is about 1/2 way completed and we are getting ready for drywall.

We purchased the tile for the kitchen/bathrooms, it was on sale and exactly what I was looking for.

The hardwoods got delivered and I carried the two pallet’s worth up to the house. They arrived two weeks early, which is less than ideal because we haven’t finished all of the “wet” portions of the renovation. But, the AC is running and we have the dehumidifier going to keep the humidity down.

Plumbing starts on Thursday.

New electric starts on Thursday.

HVAC and the gas line get finished up on Thursday.

I am ordering our cabinets and countertops this week.

I picked out the majority of our lighting this morning with the girls.

Once we have water to the house we can begin laying tile and pressure washing the exterior. It’s going to be a fun weekend!

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The Miller House:

Closing is getting bumped up but the date is TBD.

As far as improvements go, we are looking into adding a driveway and parking area there.

We are going to replace some gutters and add gutter guards.

We may frame out a third bedroom in the upstairs area and update that bathroom, Josh hasn’t even walked through the house yet so once we close we will make the final decision. Doing so would increase the value of the house, and therefore the appraisal amount. It is also more attractive to renters.

A kitchen update will have to wait until down the line, everything is in good shape and the house has fresh paint and new carpet. Once the carpet is worn out I will put in wood floors but it makes more financial sense to leave it as is and get someone in there now.

Future

I check the listings daily, and keep an eye on what is going to auction. There are three properties that are going to auction this month that I am interested in and I have a list of a handful of doors for Josh to knock on.

Maintaining contentment doesn’t mean I have lost my drive.

Let’s get another deal on the horizon!