I'm sure many of you have seen the t.v. shows about house flipping or maybe you know someone personally who has flipped a house or two. I have to admit, I am a sucker for such shows and find real estate in general so intriguing. I plan to get my real estate license as soon as my kids are all in school and I have time during the day to show houses and meet with clients... I wish I could do it sooner than that, but I know that it wouldn't be good for me to try to juggle being constantly available with the needs of three small children that need what they need when they need it. As much as I would love to drop everything sometimes and just pop over to check out a house, it wouldn't happen that easily. All that to say, I still dream about real estate and house flipping often and find myself perusing the MLS during free time in my day.
Recently, I found a property that was listed low for the area and had a lot to offer with some love-- perfect for flipping. I showed it to Mark and he agreed to drive by and check it out on the outside. Now, a little sidebar on Mark's flipping feelings (see what I did there? ha), he is also intrigued by house flipping and would love to grow his business savvy with additional properties, either in rental form or flips. However, he can be very wishy-washy when it comes down to actually taking steps forward to make a possible investment as big as a house a reality. It can become frustrating for both of us because he sends me mixed messages about whether he is really interested or not, and he probably finds my persistence in searching annoying. Communication, then, as in anything, is key. Okay, so back to the house we went to see. It needed a lot of love-- the bushes and trees were overgrown (no problem for us since that is Mark's area of expertise), the siding was dark and dreary and in need of paint, the roof was sad and the street, while in a wonderful location as far as schools and desirability, was busier than we would prefer which may have lead to longer sit time on the market. And that was just the outside. We knew from the pictures that the inside was very dated and needed a new kitchen and bathrooms (there were 3 bathrooms) and paint and flooring. Since it was so well priced though, it was worth a drive over for sure.
We emailed the listing to two people: Mark's former boss/sort of business partner for landscaping and our realtor friend. Both thought it was a great location and a good deal, depending on the amount of work needed, but they weren't sure if it would almost be a wash with all of the things needed to spruce it up and the busier street. That was enough proof for Mark to call it DOA. Sad. I will say that someone else agreed with my feelings for the place and snapped it up a week later. I'm willing to bet it was an investor too. Ah well, keep moving forward.
That leads me to yesterday's MLS find... a 3 bed, 3 bath bi-level in a very good location, though not as desirable as the last. This isn't on an overly busy street and oddly enough, it's right next door to a house owned by some of our friends. Like the other house, this one needs love. It has many of the same issues as the last, except this one is 30k cheaper... and it seems like the seller (maybe a bank?) is getting sick of holding it because the price has dropped 3 times since it was originally listed. Mark was enticed by the price, but again, when I wanted to drive by, he seemed to lose interest. We talked about it in more detail, which was good, because we were able to explain how each other was feeling, and at this point, haven't made any decisions. We did ask our realtor friend what he thought it could sell for all fixed up... depending on what is needed, we could make a nice little profit if we went ahead and made it our first official flip. Or, we could break even... but we likely wouldn't lose money. It's hard to take risks when money is involved. Still in the contemplation stage... to flip or not to flip.
What about you? Have you ever flipped a house?
**Update on the 3 bed/3bath mentioned above. We went to see it today and it was r.o.u.g.h. We would basically need to gut most of it and start over. When we added up the cost of the work needed, we decided that unless they dropped it another 20k, we probably wouldn't make enough of a profit for it to have been worth the trouble. Interestingly enough, when we got home from seeing it, it was no longer listed on the MLS... so maybe someone felt like it was a deal after all... or they lowballed. Either way, it wasn't meant to be for us. We will find something one day and get our flip on then.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
UGH, Attitude
Maybe I'm feeling this way because I am pregnant and hormonal, but SOME PEOPLE need to learn manners. The "people" I am actually referring to is one person, a potential buyer for the SUV we are trying to sell. We have it posted on craigslist in four different nearby locations and have had it there since May, dropping the price every so often and getting tired of seeing it sit out in front of our house.
Well, in the last couple of days, we have had some interest, one person in particular, a lady we will call "Amy." She saw the ad in the place about an hour away and her first email was harmless enough, aside from the first sentence whining that something must be wrong with email because she sent her message 3 times. Okay, lady... sounds great. I only got it once and then I immediately responded because like anyone wanting to sell something, the sooner we get money the better. Mere minutes after I press send, I get a reply where she asks how much I want, says she needs to get confirmation from the loan officer and the car looks pretty nice. I then, of course, tell her that I would like the price I asked in the listing (duh) and question her use of a loan officer because in the first email, she wrote, "I deal only FACE to FACE and I can pay CASH." It is my understanding that when you get a loan, you do not walk out with cash, but instead a certified check. Her reply, another minute later, was that the price was fine and she would pay cash. All of this is a little weird to me because of the way her emails are worded, but as a seller, I don't want to lose the sale if it is, in fact, legit, so the emails continue on. She asks for the history and records and I tell her what I know and that I do have a copy of the carfax report that is still current and did cost us $40.00 to obtain, something we didn't have to do or offer. I offer it to her and then I get a reply about where to find car history reports on line, how she won't buy without one, and then sprinkles in all these verbs that really turned me off. "You will do this, you will do that, etc." I don't know if her approach is to try to have the upper hand or to sound strong and in control so that I won't take advantage of her, but it comes off as so rude to me! Please, talk to me like an adult and one that has something you seem to want to boot. At this point, I am definitely annoyed by her tone, but I send her a copy of the carfax and tell her we can meet whenever she would like. Her reply? I will just copy and paste it so you can get the full effect:
"sorry but the report must be up to date from today
just shoot me an email once you get the report and will talk about our meeting and you will show me the report when we will meet. (you will keep the report and present it to me in person)"
Again, with all of the condescension. It really irritates me how she is writing to me. Is it just me or is she being totally rude? Part of me wants to call her out on it and the other part just wants to sell the stupid car so I will do anything to keep the sale, including being verbally trampled on. I haven't written back yet... What would you do?
Well, in the last couple of days, we have had some interest, one person in particular, a lady we will call "Amy." She saw the ad in the place about an hour away and her first email was harmless enough, aside from the first sentence whining that something must be wrong with email because she sent her message 3 times. Okay, lady... sounds great. I only got it once and then I immediately responded because like anyone wanting to sell something, the sooner we get money the better. Mere minutes after I press send, I get a reply where she asks how much I want, says she needs to get confirmation from the loan officer and the car looks pretty nice. I then, of course, tell her that I would like the price I asked in the listing (duh) and question her use of a loan officer because in the first email, she wrote, "I deal only FACE to FACE and I can pay CASH." It is my understanding that when you get a loan, you do not walk out with cash, but instead a certified check. Her reply, another minute later, was that the price was fine and she would pay cash. All of this is a little weird to me because of the way her emails are worded, but as a seller, I don't want to lose the sale if it is, in fact, legit, so the emails continue on. She asks for the history and records and I tell her what I know and that I do have a copy of the carfax report that is still current and did cost us $40.00 to obtain, something we didn't have to do or offer. I offer it to her and then I get a reply about where to find car history reports on line, how she won't buy without one, and then sprinkles in all these verbs that really turned me off. "You will do this, you will do that, etc." I don't know if her approach is to try to have the upper hand or to sound strong and in control so that I won't take advantage of her, but it comes off as so rude to me! Please, talk to me like an adult and one that has something you seem to want to boot. At this point, I am definitely annoyed by her tone, but I send her a copy of the carfax and tell her we can meet whenever she would like. Her reply? I will just copy and paste it so you can get the full effect:
"sorry but the report must be up to date from today
i am at work now. i told you that you can get the report from the page that i have sent you or any car dealer approved by the dmv
Again, with all of the condescension. It really irritates me how she is writing to me. Is it just me or is she being totally rude? Part of me wants to call her out on it and the other part just wants to sell the stupid car so I will do anything to keep the sale, including being verbally trampled on. I haven't written back yet... What would you do?
Friday, June 14, 2013
Hadley Update (Finally!)
So we have been waiting since Monday after the MRI for the results. At Children's they told us that our doctor should call us by Wednesday to let us know what they saw and what our next move would be. By 1 PM on Wednesday, I couldn't take it anymore, so I called the doctor and spoke to the nurse who said the results weren't in yet and the office closed at 5 PM, so if I was going to hear anything, it would be before then. We waited and waited, but nothing Wednesday. Unfortunately, Hadley's doctor is out of the office on Thursdays, so that meant we wouldn't hear back until Friday at the soonest. I waited and waited with my phone next to me at all times this morning until about 2:45 PM when again, I couldn't wait any longer and called them myself. This time, I talked directly to the doctor and when he started the conversation with, "Good news, very good news..." I couldn't help but tear up and mentally thank God.
The doctor said that the MRI revealed Hadley has a vascular malformation under her skin. He likened it to the hemangioma birthmark that developed on her back when she was about 10 days old and should disappear when she is school aged. The only difference between the two is that one is on the outside of her skin and the other is underneath it. He suggested we take her down to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to see a vascular specialist about what to do next, whether to inject it with medicine to shrink it faster or what. I told him that we have noticed it has shrunken since he first saw it and he was excited to hear that, saying that instead of going to Cincinnati, we could just wait and see if it completely disappears on its own. He said he would check it out at her 2 year old well check in August unless it started to grow again, in which case we would head down to Cincinnati after all. Overall, he said we could rest assured that the MRI revealed good things.
It is so terrifying to think that your child could have some kind of life-threatening illness or disease and as much as I have tried to put it out of my mind, fear of losing her still creeps in and hits me out of nowhere sometimes. It has made me appreciate my Hadley so much more and cherish my time with her. I feel like I've loved her better in the last month and a half than I loved her before. We are just so thankful to God for protecting her. God is so good!
The doctor said that the MRI revealed Hadley has a vascular malformation under her skin. He likened it to the hemangioma birthmark that developed on her back when she was about 10 days old and should disappear when she is school aged. The only difference between the two is that one is on the outside of her skin and the other is underneath it. He suggested we take her down to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to see a vascular specialist about what to do next, whether to inject it with medicine to shrink it faster or what. I told him that we have noticed it has shrunken since he first saw it and he was excited to hear that, saying that instead of going to Cincinnati, we could just wait and see if it completely disappears on its own. He said he would check it out at her 2 year old well check in August unless it started to grow again, in which case we would head down to Cincinnati after all. Overall, he said we could rest assured that the MRI revealed good things.
It is so terrifying to think that your child could have some kind of life-threatening illness or disease and as much as I have tried to put it out of my mind, fear of losing her still creeps in and hits me out of nowhere sometimes. It has made me appreciate my Hadley so much more and cherish my time with her. I feel like I've loved her better in the last month and a half than I loved her before. We are just so thankful to God for protecting her. God is so good!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
We are having...
A BOY!
I'm still in shock. Mark had me so convinced the baby would be a girl and to be honest, although we have a name for each gender picked out, I really love our girl name and only really like our boy name. I do love our boy middle name because it has special meaning to my family, but I might be open to changing the first name if I hear or see something I like better. If you are wondering if I am the sole decision maker on names, I'm not... but I am usually the only coming up with names, then initial approval is Mark's job and I think I have the final say.
I don't know what to think of a boy either! I have only ever known girls. We have some gender neutral things for babies, but many, many girl specific things too! I've collected a few clothes for boys at garage sales or whatever with hopes of one day using them, but the reality of actually using them is kind of overwhelming!
I'm happy for a boy, I think! I know that if we had had another girl, I might have doubted the chance of ever experiencing what a boy would be like. And I loved seeing Mark be so happy when he saw that little boy part. He immediately started talking about throwing a ball with him and passing on the business. I told him that he can play ball with the girls too.
The only thing that could have been better about the ultrasound was the tech couldn't get the best view of the baby's heart. He wouldn't put his arm down and out of the way. She said that she did her best and if the doctor looked it over and thought he needed to see more, we would have to come in again for another ultrasound. She said she didn't see anything alarming, but just to be aware that if the doctor did want us to come back, it was to get a better view. Hopefully all is well with little guy's heart.
That's the news around here! Hadley had her MRI on Monday and the procedure went very well. We are still waiting on the results and hopefully they will call tomorrow with them. I am trying my best to trust that God is in control and that He will protect her. Please continue to pray if you feel so led. Thank you!
I'm still in shock. Mark had me so convinced the baby would be a girl and to be honest, although we have a name for each gender picked out, I really love our girl name and only really like our boy name. I do love our boy middle name because it has special meaning to my family, but I might be open to changing the first name if I hear or see something I like better. If you are wondering if I am the sole decision maker on names, I'm not... but I am usually the only coming up with names, then initial approval is Mark's job and I think I have the final say.
I don't know what to think of a boy either! I have only ever known girls. We have some gender neutral things for babies, but many, many girl specific things too! I've collected a few clothes for boys at garage sales or whatever with hopes of one day using them, but the reality of actually using them is kind of overwhelming!
I'm happy for a boy, I think! I know that if we had had another girl, I might have doubted the chance of ever experiencing what a boy would be like. And I loved seeing Mark be so happy when he saw that little boy part. He immediately started talking about throwing a ball with him and passing on the business. I told him that he can play ball with the girls too.
The only thing that could have been better about the ultrasound was the tech couldn't get the best view of the baby's heart. He wouldn't put his arm down and out of the way. She said that she did her best and if the doctor looked it over and thought he needed to see more, we would have to come in again for another ultrasound. She said she didn't see anything alarming, but just to be aware that if the doctor did want us to come back, it was to get a better view. Hopefully all is well with little guy's heart.
That's the news around here! Hadley had her MRI on Monday and the procedure went very well. We are still waiting on the results and hopefully they will call tomorrow with them. I am trying my best to trust that God is in control and that He will protect her. Please continue to pray if you feel so led. Thank you!
Friday, May 31, 2013
One Grain More
Someone posted this on facebook this morning and it went right along with my mini rant about gluten, so I had to share! Pretty funny stuff... enjoy!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
News, News, News
Sorry for the long delay in posts, all. I have been busy, busy with life... the usual excuse, I guess. I have a few updates for you...
First up, we can discuss Hadley's arm... although no actual progress has been made, we have finally scheduled an appointment for an MRI on June 10. She will need to be sedated so they can get the clearest picture possible, so that is a little scary and we will hate to see her strapped down and knocked out. The MRI should tell us more about the lump (ie. where it is located within her arm, whether it is part of her muscles or veins, how to best reach it for biopsy, etc). As far as we know, the only changes we have noticed are in color. At first, it looked like a slight bruise and over time, it has gotten darker blue and now is greenish. It's weird to see a bruise on someone's skin for over a month. Please continue to pray that she will be healed and this is nothing too serious.
Secondly, we are heading up to MN tomorrow. I'm pretty excited... I haven't been back to the homeland since Christmas of 2011, so I am looking forward to seeing some of my closest friends and of course, my family. It may be the last time my family is all together there because both brothers are planning to move before year's end. We will have to make the most of it! The drive out and back is the only thing I am dreading... hopefully it will go smoothly. *Update: Since I began this post, we have completed the dreaded drive out and are enjoying all MN has to offer. So far, that has included an Origami Owl jewelry bar hosted by my mom, cheering for my sister in law, Tishri, in the Med City Half Marathon (I hope to run this race next year while I am in operation lose baby weight), a feverish day for Hadley, a night away in the cities with Mark for our 8th anniversary, a visit to Mall of America, a trip to the library, time with cousins and lots of gloomy weather and rain. It has rained at least once a day every day we've been here... in fact, it's raining now. Thankfully the girls and I will be here for another week, so in that time we should get a chance to see the sun and play outside. We will also be getting together with some dear friends and their kids, so there is a lot to look forward to before we make the trek home... seriously, if you would like to pray for that, I would love it. Mark drove out here with us and stayed a few days, but had to get back to work, so he flew home, which leaves me to drive us home. Normally, this wouldn't be as bad as it seems to be now because I would probably attempt to drive through the night or drink all the caffeine I wanted. However, that is where life happening number three comes in...
If you haven't figured it out or have been hiding under a rock, I am pregnant with #3! I am 17 weeks along and feeling pretty good, except that I am just exhausted. Even with a good night's sleep and half a cup of coffee in the morning, by 2pm I am beat. The mere thought of driving 11 hours home with two whiny kids makes me very anxious. If need be, I will stop mid way and get a hotel room, but even that doesn't sound appealing because we don't do that well sleeping in the same room. If I must, I must, though. ANYWAY, back to the BABY! We found out we were expecting the day before my birthday when we were down at the beach in Florida. He or she is due November 4th. Mark would love to have a boy, as would I, but we have a name picked out for either and we have everything done for a girl and we would love her all the same. I pray little Acker is healthy and strong. I have been feeling movement for a couple weeks so that is nice reassurance for me that all is well in there. Most of my food aversions have gone away, but I do give in to cravings the majority of the time. I was very sick for the first trimester-- between nausea, vomiting, and migraines, I will admit that most of life's daily duties went ignored. But now that my energy is coming back, I can tackle housework and sometimes cooking more often and make our house feel like home and not the eye of a tornado once again.
So that is my rambling update for you guys. Sorry that took so long... you would think that with all that down time from being sick that I would have had time to write, but all I wanted to write about was the baby and we weren't sharing about the pregnancy yet! Such a dilemma! Until next time!
First up, we can discuss Hadley's arm... although no actual progress has been made, we have finally scheduled an appointment for an MRI on June 10. She will need to be sedated so they can get the clearest picture possible, so that is a little scary and we will hate to see her strapped down and knocked out. The MRI should tell us more about the lump (ie. where it is located within her arm, whether it is part of her muscles or veins, how to best reach it for biopsy, etc). As far as we know, the only changes we have noticed are in color. At first, it looked like a slight bruise and over time, it has gotten darker blue and now is greenish. It's weird to see a bruise on someone's skin for over a month. Please continue to pray that she will be healed and this is nothing too serious.
Secondly, we are heading up to MN tomorrow. I'm pretty excited... I haven't been back to the homeland since Christmas of 2011, so I am looking forward to seeing some of my closest friends and of course, my family. It may be the last time my family is all together there because both brothers are planning to move before year's end. We will have to make the most of it! The drive out and back is the only thing I am dreading... hopefully it will go smoothly. *Update: Since I began this post, we have completed the dreaded drive out and are enjoying all MN has to offer. So far, that has included an Origami Owl jewelry bar hosted by my mom, cheering for my sister in law, Tishri, in the Med City Half Marathon (I hope to run this race next year while I am in operation lose baby weight), a feverish day for Hadley, a night away in the cities with Mark for our 8th anniversary, a visit to Mall of America, a trip to the library, time with cousins and lots of gloomy weather and rain. It has rained at least once a day every day we've been here... in fact, it's raining now. Thankfully the girls and I will be here for another week, so in that time we should get a chance to see the sun and play outside. We will also be getting together with some dear friends and their kids, so there is a lot to look forward to before we make the trek home... seriously, if you would like to pray for that, I would love it. Mark drove out here with us and stayed a few days, but had to get back to work, so he flew home, which leaves me to drive us home. Normally, this wouldn't be as bad as it seems to be now because I would probably attempt to drive through the night or drink all the caffeine I wanted. However, that is where life happening number three comes in...
If you haven't figured it out or have been hiding under a rock, I am pregnant with #3! I am 17 weeks along and feeling pretty good, except that I am just exhausted. Even with a good night's sleep and half a cup of coffee in the morning, by 2pm I am beat. The mere thought of driving 11 hours home with two whiny kids makes me very anxious. If need be, I will stop mid way and get a hotel room, but even that doesn't sound appealing because we don't do that well sleeping in the same room. If I must, I must, though. ANYWAY, back to the BABY! We found out we were expecting the day before my birthday when we were down at the beach in Florida. He or she is due November 4th. Mark would love to have a boy, as would I, but we have a name picked out for either and we have everything done for a girl and we would love her all the same. I pray little Acker is healthy and strong. I have been feeling movement for a couple weeks so that is nice reassurance for me that all is well in there. Most of my food aversions have gone away, but I do give in to cravings the majority of the time. I was very sick for the first trimester-- between nausea, vomiting, and migraines, I will admit that most of life's daily duties went ignored. But now that my energy is coming back, I can tackle housework and sometimes cooking more often and make our house feel like home and not the eye of a tornado once again.
So that is my rambling update for you guys. Sorry that took so long... you would think that with all that down time from being sick that I would have had time to write, but all I wanted to write about was the baby and we weren't sharing about the pregnancy yet! Such a dilemma! Until next time!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Prayer Request
Hello Readers!
I know it's been a long time since I last updated the blog, but we have been busy and I haven't felt like I've had enough time to sit down and write for a while. Right now, though, I have a prayer request for you to consider as it is weighing on my heart.
Last Wednesday began as a regular day and it must have been raining because Mark was home for a little while in the morning. We were playing with the girls and I noticed a strange bulge on Hadley's arm, up near her shoulder. It was pretty large, maybe the size of a grape and we were instantly concerned. We called her doctor and they said that it could just be a deep bruise so we should watch and see if it changed or went down in size for a few days before calling back.
Well, Monday rolled around and we decided that it was time to take her in because it was still there and Mark would be going out of town for work for 3 days starting the next day, so we wanted to see the doctor before he left. After examining her, he wasn't sure what it was and said at worst, it was a cancerous tumor, at best, a deep bruise or possibly a cyst or hemangioma under the skin. He sent us right away to Children's Hospital to get an X-ray and said he would let us know immediately what the next step should be.
Yesterday, we heard back from him and he said that the good news was that the mass was not attached to any bones, but he did see a mass and was still unsure of what it was and what had caused it. He advised us to next get an MRI done in hopes of finding out more. Apparently, MRIs must be costly because before we can just get it done, his office needs to contact our insurance to ensure they will cover it. We are waiting to hear if we have been approved.
Please pray for little Hadley. Pray that it isn't serious and if it is, that we will have the best doctors to know how to treat her. Pray that we caught it in time. Pray that the insurance will indeed approve the MRI procedure and anything else that may need to be done. Pray that we will have peace as we wait and enjoy our baby girl even more than ever.
Thank you, all!
I know it's been a long time since I last updated the blog, but we have been busy and I haven't felt like I've had enough time to sit down and write for a while. Right now, though, I have a prayer request for you to consider as it is weighing on my heart.
Last Wednesday began as a regular day and it must have been raining because Mark was home for a little while in the morning. We were playing with the girls and I noticed a strange bulge on Hadley's arm, up near her shoulder. It was pretty large, maybe the size of a grape and we were instantly concerned. We called her doctor and they said that it could just be a deep bruise so we should watch and see if it changed or went down in size for a few days before calling back.
Well, Monday rolled around and we decided that it was time to take her in because it was still there and Mark would be going out of town for work for 3 days starting the next day, so we wanted to see the doctor before he left. After examining her, he wasn't sure what it was and said at worst, it was a cancerous tumor, at best, a deep bruise or possibly a cyst or hemangioma under the skin. He sent us right away to Children's Hospital to get an X-ray and said he would let us know immediately what the next step should be.
Yesterday, we heard back from him and he said that the good news was that the mass was not attached to any bones, but he did see a mass and was still unsure of what it was and what had caused it. He advised us to next get an MRI done in hopes of finding out more. Apparently, MRIs must be costly because before we can just get it done, his office needs to contact our insurance to ensure they will cover it. We are waiting to hear if we have been approved.
Please pray for little Hadley. Pray that it isn't serious and if it is, that we will have the best doctors to know how to treat her. Pray that we caught it in time. Pray that the insurance will indeed approve the MRI procedure and anything else that may need to be done. Pray that we will have peace as we wait and enjoy our baby girl even more than ever.
Thank you, all!
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