the adventure when ruckels renovate: before pics

so i'm back...
life has changed...a lot, but let's just start with whats happening now...

we've moved here, there & everywhere. it's been since 2011 that we've owned a home but that's all changing. we are putting down some roots! we have a house folks!

we bought a foreclosure via the site hubzu. it was...a process to say the least. we didn't have the smoothest experience, but it also wasn't the worst according to horror stories we read. {i'll share more on that experience later.}

here's the deal: we've got matt & i, the 4 boys, my parents + 2 dogs to fit in a house. we have been searching for a property to buy since we moved to florida almost 3 years ago. but the timing, finances, and perfect house just weren't lining up, including getting beaten to an offer on the house we thought was gonna be the dream house. we expanded the search to include a small portion of the next town and there it was in all it's abandoned, run-down glory.

she fit the budget, so we went to take a gander & thats when we all went into varying forms of shock. there was excitement, awe, amazement...and mold. yep, you read it right, MOLD! in fact, almost an entire ceiling of a room was on the floor. the carpet and some of the rafters were growing mold. despite the mold, the house could be an amazingly perfect fit. literally it had all the things on our must-have list & a lot on the dream list as well. even the boys got their wishlist items which included: stairs & a pool.

we sat on it. we prayed about it. we did our research & read reviews. we stalked the auction site like y2k was about to happen. and then we did this weekly for a month before we finally won the auction & set the ball in motion to close. and close we did! we closed on the house december 29, 2014 & set straight to work!

don't worry! before all the work began, we snapped plenty of before pics. the ones below are just a general overview of each room of the house {from the appraisal}. i've got other pics to post as we go room by room.

now for your viewing pleasure, i present our house on Forest Rd...

the front view. i think the middle shot is her best side.

 the rear view. and for reference, yard on 1 side of MIL suite & pool on the other.

 top 2 pics are of the master/office combo. it's all one big room connected with wooden accordion doors. i know you're jealous, but stop. i'll send them your way when i take them out. 

middle right: that's side A of the beast of a fireplace

bottom row: side B of the beast. it's 2 fireplaces, not the see-through kind.

 and bathrooms. there are 6 of them. all have wallpaper.

 not one has a double sink...and only 2 currently have a sink at all. 

 here is where there was once a kitchen. 

top right: former garage turned utility room.

middle: mother-in-law living room...aka MOLD & bedroom

bottom: boys bedrooms upstairs

 top: these look like 2 rooms but really, is just one giant one split by a weird wall

middle right: florida room

here's a generalized floor plan to help get your bearings.

see! told ya she's perfect! never in my life did i think i would live in, let alone own, a house this large. but i will share all the God ways that made it happen in another post soon. 

for now, just be relieved that we know we now classify as "your-crazy-friends". 

but you know what i say...life is always adventure! come join in on the fun! 

{yes i will slowly be resurrecting this old blog...hopefully updating/beautifying it too}