Our first walk through of the house..

So, once we got through the initial shock, we decided to explore.  The house was originally a big single family home, but was turned into an upper/lower duplex. The front bedroom on the first floor, we discovered, was actually the original foyer. The staircase had been ripped out, and the ceiling was covered over to create a bedroom. A staircase was enclosed on the porch to access the second floor apartment. As we took in all of the sights (and smells) of the house, my brain immediately started seeing what it could be versus what it actually was. I started noticing the gorgeous hardwood floors, the 3 sets of still functioning pocket doors, the servant's staircase up the back of the house.. 

Before we even got through the entire house, we looked at each other and said "this is our house."  Now, just to win that auction! 

The auction was open for a month, and we started watching it.  The price stayed pretty low for quite a long time. I was really excited, until Pete reminded me that most of the bidding happens on the last day.  And so, we waited patiently until the last day.  He was still living in Virginia, getting everything in order to move here.  He stayed at work later than usual, because we figured his work internet was faster than the home internet. All the better to hit the "place bid" button! 

The bidding was set to close at 4pm.  But it had a "soft close" from 3:50pm on, so that anyone who places a bid extends the time another 2 minutes to make it fair for others to keep bidding as well.  So 4:00 came.. and the bidding continued. 4:10.. 4:15.. we apparently were in a bidding war with another person. Every time they would place a bid, I would say "Pete!" and he would reply with "I'm on it!" 

4:20... Me: Ugghh how can people do this regularly?? I think I'm gonna be sick!"

4:25.. The other person placed a bid. "Pete!" I practically yelled.  His response was different this time.. "Keri, if I place the bid, this is all the money we have. If he outbids us, we are done. Do we go for it?"  After a deep breath I responded with "Yes. Let's do it. If the house is meant to be ours, we will win the auction." So Pete placed the bid.  And then we watched the 2 minutes click down.. slowly.. I felt myself holding my breath... 1 minute... 30 seconds... I tried to distract us by asking him about work. It didn't work. The clock went down to 3..2...1. Bidding Closed.

I sat back and released the breath I didn't realize I was holding. "Oh my God, I am never gonna do something like this again."  

Pete:I think we won.

Me: Ugghh I can't even think about it right now.. 

Pete: Hey honey, I just got the email. We just won a house. 

 Why Hello there! 

So I've decided to start this year off with a blog about our crazy journey renovating a 1902 Victorian home that was, should we say, a bit rough.  We have had a lot of challenges, found some really cool stuff, learned a lot about Victorian architecture, and made some incredible friends along the way. So.. here we go!!

In May of 2017, I had recently moved back to Wisconsin from being away for 20+ years.  I never thought I would be back to the land of BRRRR and that dreaded 4 letter word that begins with "S" and ends with "now".  Yuck.  But my dad died the previous summer and I had spent over 6 months making the 800 mile trek from Northern Virginia here every 2 weeks or so, to take care of my mom and sister.  We finally decided I would move here and be closer for them.  Anyway, I passed the house, and, never noticing it before, suddenly saw an auction sign in the front yard.  I called Pete, who was still in Virginia at the time, and said Hey, let's look at this house. It's up for auction. We could get it and flip it! 

It looked pretty rough, but that's where diamonds are made, right? So I called the auction company to view it.  I remember her saying "Sure, you can look through it, the door code is '1234', just lock up when you leave."  I responded with "Um, aren't you coming with us?"  The long pause and "No, you can go yourself, but just be careful, it's a 'proceed at your own risk' house."  And we soon found out why..

We walked up the sagging steps to the porch. Actually, to the plywood thrown across the beams acting like a porch.. And when we opened the door, we were assaulted with the smell.  The house had been closed up for a long time, and the smell was overwhelming.. we began to look around and see just how "challenging" this house would be to renovate. Some of the floors and walls had come down and pipes had burst throughout the house... and the electrical (30 amp/120) was pretty much non existent.  We weren't deterred yet.... 

Hooked yet??? It gets better and better!!! Come back next week!! -Keri