SpokaneFixer

My sister told me recently, “You don’t do anything small.” I had just sent her a quick photo of the new guitar pedalboard I was working on. Well… she’s not wrong. When I get a new idea or have an opportunity to design or build something, I tend to get excited with the creative potential, and sometimes I might go a little bit beyond what is absolutely necessary. Buying a home has proven to be no different, whether it was brand new or the dilapidated Spokane fixer-upper.

Two extremes: New Construction vs. Fixer-Upper

My wife and I bought our first home in 2007 in Houston, TX within the first year of our marriage. The market in Houston is bustling with new construction, so it’s possible to purchase a newly constructed home for roughly the same as an existing home. We thought, why not? We built a brand new house and got to choose just about everything that went into it. We did have a limited budget, so we elected to leave many features unupgraded, which also left room for a few projects (some of which I’ll post in the future). We sold the home after two years and moved to Spokane, WA.

Spokane is not Houston. No Chick-fil-a. No Whataburger. No Chuy’s. Not a single Texas flag flying next to the Stars and Stripes. It’s enough to make a grown man cry. And the housing market is completely different. When we started looking at houses, it was quickly clear to us that we weren’t going to find what we wanted for what we could afford. We looked at just a couple of homes prior to stumbling across our Spokane fixer. It was listed as a short sale, had been on the market for over a year, and had been vacant for as long. My wife didn’t care much to look at it, and our Realtor was wary to show it to us. But I saw potential, and it was in the perfect area – a block from the elementary school and five stop signs south of work. The commute would be glorious.

The Spokane Fixer

I remember walking in. It was dark. The lights were on, but many bulbs were missing or out. It felt heavy and oppressive. The house was fully furnished with mostly broken furniture and looked like it was abandoned in the middle of the night. Funny story, because come to find out, it was. Toothbrushes on the bathroom counters, dirty clothes on the floor and in the laundry machines, pantry and refrigerator stocked (so gross). Every room was filled with the artifacts of another family’s story. The entire downstairs reeked of dog urine. Holes in walls and doors, boarded up doors, doors with locks on the wrong side in order to lock people in rather than keep people out. Disturbing. It was perfect! We put in an offer, and three months later it was ours.

By the way, the term “short sale” is a complete misnomer. We were at the mercy of the selling bank, and there were many times throughout the months-long process that we were convinced the whole thing would fall apart. I’ll skip the details, but never again.

The Tour

This is how the house looked prior to moving in. I forgot to mention… the sellers took off to San Antonio and elected to leave us with all of their possessions – including the food mentioned previously. They got Whataburger, and we got a year-old supply of – well, let’s just say it was gross… and required a lot of bleach (huge thank you to my wife for cleaning that up). Aside from major appliances, we kept only three things: a toy box, a small coffee table, and a whiteboard. Everything else was taken to the dump on move-in day (HUGE thank you goes out to our Kaleo family on move-in day… we could not have done this without you).

My thousand words fail to paint the real picture, so enjoy these photos of our Spokane Fixer.

The Entry and Living Area

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The Kitchen and Dining Room

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The Upstairs Bathroom

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Upstairs Bedrooms

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Downstairs Living Area

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Laundry Room

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Downstairs Bathroom

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Downstairs Bedrooms

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Back Yard and Exterior

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