Tag Archives: home

2 Busy LA Days (or Getting More Renovation Planning Done)

Posted on February 23, 2022 | Comments Off on 2 Busy LA Days (or Getting More Renovation Planning Done)

After my parents were in Santa Barbara, they came to LA next to help me with some things with the condo. Even though the contractor we hired is really great at being in communication with both me and my parents, I know it’s been tough for my parents to help as much as they would like to without being here in person. Plus, I think they both enjoy seeing things come together and they wanted to see the progress in person.

They were only going to be in LA for two days and we had a lot of things to get done. The first day they were here, we started at the condo so my parents could see everything that has been done so far. It’s very different seeing it in person compared to photos and on FaceTime, so it was exciting to see how happy they were with everything that has happened. And we had a few little projects we wanted to get done at the condo that the contractor wasn’t going to do, so we worked on those. Then, we had another trip to Home Depot to get a few materials we needed. Fortunately, everything we needed were things we already had planned on, so we could quickly go and get the exact items we needed. We did decide to change the hardware in what will be my bathroom to match another thing we picked, but those were easy to find too. I know there are always a few more things to add to the list, but I think we’ve made pretty much all the decisions we need to make related to the remodel (just not the decoration) phase).

The next day, we started at my current place. I have made my current place my home over the past 12 years, and part of that includes putting holes in my walls to hang paintings or other decor. So my dad and I went through the things that were hung with screws (since nail holes will be easy for me to spackle over) and we took them down and worked on covering up the holes that were left behind. I will need to keep working on this to finish the project, but we at least got started. We also took down the window a/c unit that I have really loved since I got it. I’m working on selling the a/c and a few other things in my place right now. I’m not asking for much since I’m not trying to make a profit. But there are things I have that I won’t be moving with me and I’d like to find people who could use them.

After the work in my current place, we went back to the condo to meet with the contractor. We had a few things we wanted to go over that we had questions about, but they were all easily answered. We also had to go over how we wanted each type of tiles to be laid, but that also was pretty easy to figure out. I won’t be able to move in as soon as I was hoping, but it should still be pretty soon that I’ll be moving in and out of my current place. We’ve had a few delays, but nothing too bad. And it should still be completed within the timeline we were originally given.

And the last condo task we had to get done was to get some ideas for some furniture that I knew I would want. We went to one store that was a bit overpriced, but we got some great ideas of what I would like and what would fit into different spaces. I knew I wanted to find a chair for my living room, but I couldn’t find options that I liked that were within my price range. Then we decided to go to the store where I got my couch 8 years ago. While I didn’t find my dream chair like I found my dream couch, I figured out exactly what I want. I’m going to go back with a friend later to double-check the color, but we are going to order a chair that is in either teal or blue velvet that has a slightly different arm shape than my couch and then also order a matching ottoman. It will be significantly less expensive than a lot of other places I looked at and I already know I like the quality of their products. I don’t know why I didn’t think of looking there earlier, but it seems like a no-brainer now.

The two days my parents were here were pretty busy and full with things we needed to get done, but it was a lot of progress toward me being able to move out and that’s one of the biggest focuses in my life right now. And the next time my parents are here, the condo might be done and I might be moving in!

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Default ThumbnailAnother Busy Condo Weekend (or A Working Visit For My Parents) Default ThumbnailOne Step Closer To Moving (or My First HOA Meeting) Default ThumbnailInto The Next Stage Of The Renovation (or Seeing Things Come Back Into My Place) Default ThumbnailA Busy Family Visit (or Making Some Choices For My New Home) Default ThumbnailI’ll Have A New Home Soon (or The End Of The Condo Hunt) Default ThumbnailMore Serious Condo Hunting (or Being Real About What I Want)

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12 Years At One Place (or My Last Anniversary At My Current Place)

Posted on February 15, 2022 | Comments Off on 12 Years At One Place (or My Last Anniversary At My Current Place)

Exactly 12 years ago today, I got the keys to my current place. I set up my lease so I would have 2 weeks to move from my last apartment to my current house. I remember how excited I was to move here. When I was searching for a new place, I really wanted to find an old bungalow that would be the perfect size for me to live alone. At my last apartment, I was in a 2 bedroom place and had a bunch of different roommates. But I was excited to live alone and wanted to find the perfect place to do that.

I felt so lucky when I found my current place. It was exactly what I was looking for. The rent was a good price for me and even though it was pretty small, it was going to just be for me and I knew I could make it look like it was much bigger.

And for the past 12 years, I have been pretty happy here. There have been times when it wasn’t perfect and sometimes I wished I had more space for things I wanted. But considering the goals I had for a place, this place fit exactly what I had really asked for. I love having my own space and no roommates, I love how my place has character and doesn’t feel like a generic apartment, and I love the neighborhood I’m in. And for a long time, the idea of leaving here for another place really made me sad.

But things have changed over the past few months. Obviously, I’m so excited to move into my condo when it’s done. We had a small setback that may delay my move by a week or two, but nothing too bad. But things are moving along and I should be moving pretty soon. And with my new landlord and the issues I’ve been having at my current place, I’m counting down the days until I start my move!

I do still have some sad feelings about leaving this place soon. It’s been my home for almost 1/3rd of my life! The only place I lived longer was the house I grew up in. I love a lot of the features such as not sharing any walls with any neighbors. I will have to get used to that when I move, but I will be gaining a lot compared to the things I will need to adjust to. I’m also sad knowing that it seems like my new landlord will be tearing down this place in the near future and turning it into something else. I don’t like thinking about that because this place has been so special and I would love for someone else to be able to live here for a long time and also know how amazing this place will be.

But I know that is out of my control and I understand why the new landlord would prefer to have 15 upgraded apartments compared to 8 tiny and outdated ones. So I’m just going to be grateful that I’ve been able to spend the last 12 years here and I will be moving to an amazing place that I’m really turning into my home. And even though I’m not moving right around my house anniversary, I do love that I did make it to my 12 year anniversary here. Something feels just right about that idea. Like how there are 12 grades in school before you graduate. I have 12 years of renting here before moving on.

And maybe I’ll be at my condo for 12 years or longer! You never know. I didn’t think I’d be at my place now for 12 years, but at the same time, I couldn’t imagine moving before now. So I guess I will just have to wait and see.

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Into The Next Stage Of The Renovation (or Seeing Things Come Back Into My Place)

Posted on February 11, 2022 | Comments Off on Into The Next Stage Of The Renovation (or Seeing Things Come Back Into My Place)

The renovation on the condo has only been happening for about 2 weeks, but so much has happened in that time. I’m still shocked how quickly the demolition took as well as how fast all the things they tore out were removed. And it seems like almost every single day, significant changes have been happening. For most of last week, I think most of the work was about removing the things we are not keeping and getting the condo ready to be put back together. And while this week hasn’t necessarily all been about getting the new things in, it’s starting to be like that!

Even though I have lived through renovations when I was little when my parents fixed up their house, I really don’t remember too much about how things went. My main memories of those renovations are really weird things, like when a contractor was on the roof (I’m not exactly sure what they were doing there) and they stepped in the wrong spot and fell into the bathroom and broke the toilet. It’s an interesting memory, but it doesn’t help me know what the process would be like in the condo.

I’ve been lucky that my parents have gone through renovations before so they can tell me what some of the timeline would be like or what things have to be done before other things. And the contractor we hired is also great about communicating about the process and letting me know when different things are happening. For example, the contractor let me know when the tile would be picked up so I could take another look at what we picked and I could finalize what I wanted the paint colors to be. I was pretty sure I knew what colors I wanted for each part of the condo, but I still wanted to test it against the swatches on the wall that I did a few months ago.

And as exciting as it was to see the demolition and changes being made in the past week, I think I’m even more excited to see the things coming in that will be a  part of my new home. There haven’t been too many things added yet, but the biggest change so far has been adding the lights in the ceiling. Originally, there were no ceiling lights in the living room or either bedroom. I know I could do floor lamps, and I will probably do the for the living room anyway, but having lights in the ceiling will be nice too. And for the bedrooms, I will have bedside lamps in my room and probably a desk lamp in the office, but I still like the option of having more lighting.

I’m also seeing the bathroom start to come back together. We are keeping the bathroom with the same footprint with everything, but we are freshening it up. So far, the work has mainly been things you don’t see, like the plumbing. But also my new bathtub was installed this week!

I know this isn’t a big change, but it feels like we are done with one phase of the renovation and are starting another phase. And that just brings me that much closer to being able to move in! And as more things are added or brought back in, I have a feeling I will be more and more excited about it!

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Having Issues At Both Places (or I Know These Are Small Problems, But They Add Up)

Posted on February 8, 2022 | Comments Off on Having Issues At Both Places (or I Know These Are Small Problems, But They Add Up)

At my current rental, I’ve had a series of issues that have come up. I think this is to be expected considering I live in a house that was built about 100 years ago and I’ve been here for almost 12 years. But I feel like I have had so many random things that have gone wrong and needed to be fixed. I’ve had multiple flood issues from my water heater, bathroom pipes, garbage disposal, and toilet. And I’ve also had a gas leak before or have had gas appliances not work. With my old landlord, things were fixed pretty quickly and they were on top of telling me the status of things being repaired.

Well, last week at my house, the gas company came out because there was a suspected gas leak on my street. They came over to let me know my gas would be off for maybe a few hours, but they would let me know when it was back on and they would relight the appliances. This was a minor inconvenience, but obviously, a gas leak needs to be fixed.

It turns out that the gas leak is in the pipe that provides gas to half the units where I live. My current place has a driveway in the middle and each side of the driveway has one main gas pipe. The pipe on my side was repaired a few years ago. This time, it’s the pipe on the other side.

Normally, this wouldn’t affect me much, but when the gas company came back to turn on my appliances, they said they could not turn on my heater. I guess it needs to have a major cleaning because it’s a carbon monoxide risk. I don’t think it was causing issues for me before because my carbon monoxide monitor is only about a foot from the heater, but the risk isn’t good so I can’t use my heater. I’m glad I have a little space heater, but it gets cold inside my house at night and it’s been tough. I’m hoping my landlord will fix this soon (and legally he has to because heat is a required thing to have in a rental), but I feel worse for my neighbors across the driveway. Not only do they not have heat, but they also don’t have hot water or gas appliances. And over the weekend, we all discovered that the dryer in our laundry room is a gas dryer. So none of us were able to dry our clothes after washing them. So I had to hang up all my clothes around my house and hope they will dry soon.

While I was dealing with the issues at my current place, I was also dealing with a minor issue at my new place. I am trying to get things set up for me so that they will be ready when I move in. And this includes making sure I will be able to set up internet when I move in. There were a lot of cables that looked like they could have been for the internet, but none of them seemed to be in the right place. So I set up an appointment this past weekend to have a technician come and help me see what I might need to do.

This should have been an easy appointment, but just like the issue with the gas leak, nothing is as simple as it appears. The first technician showed up, was looking at some of the wires in my walls (fortunately, we are in the part of the renovation where the walls have a lot of holes in them), said he was going outside to look at things, and then 5 minutes later I got a call saying my appointment was canceled. The technician just left and never told me! I called back and the customer service person I spoke with was shocked that happened and said they set up another appointment. Nobody can explain what happened, but the company canceled and reset my appointment multiple times within 6 hours. And because I was always told they were always on their way, I spent about 7 hours waiting for someone to show up.

Finally, someone showed up who was able to do the work I needed to have done. And because of all the weirdness that happened with the appointments, the supervisor for the technician and the manager for the service department also arrived to make sure everything was completed. What should have been a 1-hour thing ended up being about 7 hours, but at least it is done. There is a bit of additional work we have to do to make everything work the way we want it to, but it’s minor compared to what we thought we might have to do.

I know that having no heat in my current place could be worse (while it does get cold here, it’s nothing compared to most of the country). And I know spending 7 hours for an appointment isn’t horrible either, just annoying. But I think having everything at one time was just a bit overwhelming for me and really made me have a bad weekend. But hopefully, I will have heat again soon and this is one of the last bumps in the road for my renovation!

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Feeling A Bit Unsettled (or I’ve Written About This A Lot)

Posted on February 4, 2022 | Comments Off on Feeling A Bit Unsettled (or I’ve Written About This A Lot)

For about 6 months now, my living situation has felt like it was in a bit of limbo. I found out my current place was being sold which put me into a bit of a tailspin. My parents and I decided that looking for a condo was the right next move, and then it was a few months of looking at places and open houses. And each time I looked at a new place, I tried to imagine living there. There was one condo on the first day of looking that we almost put an offer on, but something just didn’t feel right. And then when I found the right place, there was the escrow period and then preparing for the renovation. So since August when I learned my current place was being sold, I felt like I was getting ready to move but also unsure of when that would be happening.

Even now, I have a better idea of when I will be moving and I’m finally starting to make preparations but I still don’t have an exact move date. I can’t hire movers yet, but I also don’t want to keep putting things away in my current house because I know they need to go into boxes soon. I also have done very little packing, but I worry that if I don’t start doing it soon, I will be packing at the very last minute and that will be stressful. And at the same time, I don’t want to live somewhere that is just filled with boxes.

I also have been looking for some new furniture I want to have in my new place and have been making choices about what I don’t want to take from my current place. But I also can’t exactly sell things now that I don’t want because I still need them. I’m trying to sell the things I can sell now, but that’s not much compared to what I will need to sell.

This feeling of being unsettled has been a way of life for me for about 6 months, and I wish I was over it already. But every time I get past one thing that makes me feel this way, another thing comes up. But I know we are getting closer to the end of this. The renovation has started and a lot of progress has been made in just the first few days. And things are continuing along at a great pace. I have been joking that once the renovation finally starts I will probably be shocked at how fast that is compared to everything else, and I think I was right. Every day so far this week, major steps have been happening. And in the next week, I know a lot of the materials are going to be picked up so that will make there be even more dramatic changes.

I know this time is temporary and I am extremely lucky that this is how I am moving. Not everyone has this opportunity and I’m extremely grateful. But even with being this grateful, it can still be stressful and I’m trying to be ok with feeling like that and not being guilty that everything doesn’t seem happy and easy for me. And accepting those feelings is important for me to work through them so I can focus on the happier and more positive feelings and try to start being even more excited about everything that is coming up for me with this move and being in a new place that I helped to design!

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Now Things Are Feeling Real (or So Far, We Are Ahead Of Schedule)

Posted on February 2, 2022 | Comments Off on Now Things Are Feeling Real (or So Far, We Are Ahead Of Schedule)

After attending the meeting with my HOA, I knew that the renovation was going to be able to start soon. We had a few things that needed to be done, but they were much faster than the initial preparation we did for getting the approval. And because we only had to submit the last forms and not wait for anything else, once we got it all sent in over the weekend, we knew we’d be able to start this week.

My contractor wanted to start on Monday, and I’m so glad we were able to stick to that. Because the hours the HOA has set that you are allowed to work on condos are almost the same as my work hours, I won’t be able to watch the work happening. But we are very lucky that we hired a contractor who has been great at keeping us informed about things during each step. Even as we were preparing things, we were getting frequent emails and texts letting us know what they were doing and with options that we needed to approve. Since this is the first time I’ve been involved in a remodel, I appreciate this. I still don’t know a lot about the process, but I feel less lost than I did before.

With the official start being on Monday, I knew things would be happening but I didn’t know how much would be done on day 1. So while I worked, I was getting emails to confirm things but I was curious to see what work would be done at the end of the day. So once I was done with work, I headed over to the condo to take a look.

I figured the demolition would have pulled up the floors and maybe some of the kitchen cabinets. I’m really glad I took some photos over the weekend because now I have some good before and during renovation pictures.

We had been told demolition would be done within a few days, but they got it all done in a single day! I think it looks like a lot more work than we are doing. We are putting in new floors, painting all the walls, and redoing the kitchen and one bathroom. This is more work than we originally planned, but this is getting everything on our list done before I move in instead of doing some of them later while I live there. It is much easier to redo a kitchen when I don’t have to live in the same space.

The entire process of finding and buying a condo has had different moments when it has felt real. And I have been trying to not get my hopes up about things until they are done and approved. So there were some things in the renovation that I was worried we would be told we couldn’t do (even though it looks like all the work I am doing has been done in other units). And I was trying to not be too hopeful about when we would start or what we could do. But when I walked into the condo on Monday evening and saw everything in progress, it really sunk in. This was happening. We are turning this condo into something that is really going to feel like it’s mine.

I still don’t know exactly when it will be done and when I can move in, but it’s going to be soon. Because we have been preparing for this renovation for a few months, everything we need is already ordered and waiting to be picked up. And while it looks like a ton of work, it’s considered a small job. I know there can still be random delays and setbacks, but the contractor feels good that things were prepared and it shouldn’t be too long of a process.

I guess now that things have started, I really need to start looking into moving. I haven’t looked at moving companies yet and I really haven’t packed up much. But I also have the luxury of taking my time when I move in. I should have at least 2 weeks where I can move in while I’m still paying rent. It might be closer to a month depending on the timing of when things are done. And because I can move a lot of my stuff in my car and it’s a quick trip back and forth, I should be able to do a lot on my own. I just need a moving company for the big and heavy stuff, but fortunately, I don’t have a lot that fits into that category.

I don’t know what will be the next moment this feels real to me. Maybe when I move in and am finally sleeping in there. And I have a feeling that will be happening before I know it!

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One Step Closer To Moving (or My First HOA Meeting)

Posted on January 25, 2022 | Comments Off on One Step Closer To Moving (or My First HOA Meeting)

When my parents and I started condo hunting, our original plan was to find a place that didn’t really need any work so that I could just move right in. And while the condo we got technically didn’t need work in order for me to live there, there were things we knew we wanted to fix. One of the bathrooms needed new tile because there was some old grout that was making the tile loose. The kitchen cabinets were not closing properly and were sagging so I couldn’t put heavier things in some of the cabinets. The floors had marks on them and there were 4 different types of floors. None of these things made the condo unlivable, but since it’s easier to do the work before I move in and I wasn’t being kicked out of my current place, we decided to do just that.

And if we had bought a house and not a condo, things probably would have moved along faster. When looking for a contractor, several that we reached out to said they do not do work on condos. And once we hired a contractor, we had to submit a proposal for all the work to the HOA to be approved. We knew this would be the process and it’s one of the things that some people might not like about a condo. But for what we were looking for, a condo was a much better option than a single family home. So we followed the rules and submitted everything that we needed to.

And last week, the HOA had their meeting and approving my remodel was on the agenda. The meeting was held over Zoom, so my parents could attend (since they are co-owners with me, it was more than just as support). And the HOA board was nice and changed the agenda around a bit to move discussing my remodel earlier so we could do that without sitting through the rest of the meeting.

They had all received the proposal we submitted, and for the most part everything was fine. There were a few things they misunderstood, but we were able to clear it up. We have to submit an addendum with some clarifications, but it’s mainly to put in some very specific details. Such as one area where we are removing cabinets we had to add that we were not doing anything structural but just cosmetic. But nothing about the actual remodel has to be changed or wasn’t approved.

We didn’t get the final approval at the meeting, but we got conditional approval since we have to submit our addendum. And once that is submitted and confirmed, then we can finally start on the remodel!

I’m hoping that as soon as we submit our addendum, the contractor we hired can start right away. We know he might have taken on another small project while waiting for this approval, so we might have to wait. But I’m hoping that we do not have to wait too long. And while I wish we had already started, because we had to order quite a few things, this delay allowed us to order everything and for them to arrive. So once the work starts, hopefully there won’t be any more delays while waiting for things such as appliances.

I think that once the work starts, it will finally hit me that I’m moving. Right now, I’m still in a bit of limbo with an unknown date when I will finally be out of my current place. But things are moving forward and I think once the work starts it will feel like it’s moving quickly and move-in day will be here before I know it!

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Still Waiting To Get Things Started (or Continuing To Work On Patience)

Posted on January 18, 2022 | Comments Off on Still Waiting To Get Things Started (or Continuing To Work On Patience)

I was really hoping that the renovation on my condo would be starting this week. When I wrote my last post about it, I had gotten some updates about the process and thought that we were almost done with the approval process. But I think there has been some confusion between me and the HOA and things have gotten delayed a bit more. And while it is frustrating, I also know we need to do everything properly. I don’t want to move in on a bad note with everyone.

But it is tough when I feel like everything is on hold now. There was a lot of momentum during the condo hunt and while we were in escrow. And after the purchase was done, we took a lot of steps toward hiring a contractor and picking out materials. Of course, we had to do a lot of that before submitting everything to the HOA, but it feels like we have everything ready and waiting to go and we are just waiting for this last step.

I guess it’s a bit ironic that my word for last year was patience and now I have to work on practicing that idea a lot. When things are on hold or there is a long wait, I tend to start to think of the negative. This is something else I have been working on adjusting, but it’s tough to not wonder if things will be delayed even more. There is nothing in the renovation plan that seems that extreme. And I think everything we have in the plan are things that we can see in other condos in the building when we looked at the ones that sold in the past. So there is no reason why I should think the HOA won’t approve my plan. But because we are coming up on 6 weeks of waiting for approval, it does make my mind wander a bit.

But I am trying to focus on the good. This is the last big hurdle before the renovation starts which also means it’s the last big hurdle before I really can start planning my move. I am very lucky that I am able to remodel the place we bought. While nothing was unusable, my parents and I agreed that since we wanted to do work it would be easier to do it before I moved in. So instead of waiting a while before making these changes, I will get to move into a place that I helped to design and is what I’ve been dreaming of. It’s not the ultimate dream home I have in my mind, but we are making a lot of changes that bring it close to that idea. And that’s going to be amazing.

This is also probably one of the only times I will have to do a waiting game like this. If we were splitting things up into different projects, we’d have to go through this each time. But now, we are getting it done at one time and I won’t have to worry about the next waiting period.

I also keep reminding myself that the process I’m going through now is different from when I’ve had landlords come and fix things. All the repairs I’ve had done in the past are for situations that usually are emergencies (like getting a new garbage disposal because it was flooding my kitchen). I’m not submitting a repair request that would be answered within a day. I’m doing something to make myself happy with my new place and not just to make it livable. Remembering that this is a different and new process has helped me be a bit more patient.

I’m supposed to get another update this week and this update could be the approval. If that happens, then hopefully it’s only another week before things get started and I can have a better plan for what my timeline is. But until I get that approval, I’m working on being patient and waiting this out.

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Still Preparing To Move (or Getting Rid Of Some Things And Buying Others)

Posted on January 12, 2022 | Comments Off on Still Preparing To Move (or Getting Rid Of Some Things And Buying Others)

The exact timeline for when I will be moving to the condo is still a bit unknown right now. The renovations haven’t been able to start yet, but we are hoping they will start this week (we are waiting on one thing from the HOA before we can start). And once things start, they might move quickly because we have already planned out things. We have picked out the materials and ordered them. And most things are already in stock and waiting for us or will be arriving soon. So once the work actually starts, hopefully, it won’t take that long.

Ever since I knew for sure I would be moving, I have been working on cleaning my current place and seeing what I can get rid of. It’s been coming along slowly, but I don’t have to rush since I still have some time. But I have worked on going through my closet and seeing what clothes and shoes I won’t be moving with me to a new place. I’ve also started to go through my desk and filing cabinets and trying to see if I can scan in papers that I’ve been holding onto. And lately, I also have been going through my kitchen because even with the limited space I have in there, I have been holding onto things that I know I don’t need to keep.

It’s still tough for me to let go of a lot of things because I don’t want to get rid of something I might want. But most of the things I have trashed or donated have been things that I know for sure I won’t need. Those were easier choices, and now I’m getting to some of the tougher ones.

But while I have been trying to move to my new place with less stuff, at the same time I have also been looking at new things I want to get. Some of the things I’m looking at are because the new place will be bigger and I will need things that fit that space better. For example, my coffee table is very tiny because I have such a small living room. I always wanted a bigger one, but I didn’t have the space. So now, I can get one that I have been looking at online because I will have the room. But I’m also looking at what things I currently have that I can refresh with a new look.

A lot of the things in my current place are things that were handed down to me. I love this because I have gotten some great stuff without having to find it. And some of these things are older which also means they are made better than things are made now. And maybe because they were handed down to me and free, I feel a bit more open to replacing them. My headboard came from my parents over a decade ago. It was something that was in a condo in Tahoe they bought, and they didn’t want to keep it there. So they offered it to me and I took it. And it’s great and I’ve loved it, but I want to find a different-looking bed for my new place. Fortunately, most of the things I’m looking at replacing tend to not be that expensive. I do have to still be mindful of spending, but I’m glad I’m not looking at huge expensive purchases except for maybe one or two things. And almost everything I’m looking at getting are things I can always wait on. It would be fine for me to move into my new place with the things I have now and replace them later. But it would be easier if I didn’t move something that I was going to get rid of shortly after.

Maybe I’ll feel more of a push to get things going once the renovations start and the moving date seems to be more of a set date than an abstract one in the future. But for now, I’m still slowly getting ready to move and hopefully, this prep work will make the actual move a little easier for me when it happens.

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Another Busy Condo Weekend (or A Working Visit For My Parents)

Posted on December 15, 2021 | Comments Off on Another Busy Condo Weekend (or A Working Visit For My Parents)

When my parents and I started the condo hunt again this year, one of the things we were looking for was a place that didn’t need a lot of work. We knew that most places would need some slight cosmetic work, but the goal was to not have a big remodel job for whatever place I got. The main reason behind that was because I work full-time (technically more than full-time with all my jobs) so I can’t really manage a big remodel project.

And when we found the condo I got, the original plan was not to do a lot of work. There were a few things we wanted to do, but nothing too crazy especially when compared to some of the other places we looked at. But that plan changed a bit when we decided that it would be better to just do the work before I moved in and get all the things done that are on the list. This still is considered cosmetic work, but it’s more extensive than originally thought.

So my parents came down to LA last month to help me get things started, especially with finding a contractor and starting to pick out materials. After that visit, we didn’t know when they would be down to LA again, but there were a few more things they wanted to help me with in person so they were back in town this past weekend.

For the first 2 days that they were here, I was working so I didn’t see them too much. I saw them briefly the second day they were here when they stopped by while I was working so I could choose a few things and we went to dinner after I was done with work. But the third day they were here was our big day to get a lot of stuff done for the condo. We had a list of places to go and things to get done, and we knew it would be a pretty full day.

The first stop for us that day was to go to the tile store again. I had already picked out the counter and backsplash for the kitchen as well as the tile I wanted as the bathtub surround. But I still needed to pick out floor tile for the bathroom and a backsplash for the bathroom sink. I had an idea for the bathroom sink and found the perfect tile for that. And for the floor, we went pretty simple and basic since a lot of the other tile is unique and interesting. And then we actually had to order the tile and materials since the last time we only picked things out. Fortunately, the contractor we picked had detailed notes of the square footage of each area so we were able to work with the tile store to figure out the exact number of each tile we needed (plus allowing some overage in case we need it). I’m so excited to see how the bathroom will look when it’s done because we picked out some amazing things!

The next stop was our biggest one and that was to go to Home Depot. I’m so lucky that my mom had done remodels in the past and she had a very organized list of all the things we needed to do. And this was to find a lot of the things that I’ve never had to consider since I’ve always had rentals. So we needed to get a kitchen faucet, bathroom faucet, shower/tub controls, bathroom fan, and things like that. We also looked at drawer pulls for the kitchen and picked out the ones I liked, but we only bought a little thing of those since we don’t know exactly how many we need. But at least now I know exactly what to go back to buy when we have the final number.

This was a lot of stuff to get, but it’s getting a lot of things done that we would need to buy. And going to Home Depot that day was perfect timing because the day before I got a coupon from the store as a new homeowner that gave us 15% off! We did have some issues with the coupon (mainly due to me forgetting about it until we were walking out), but after some help from their customer service desk we were able to get our discount. And I’m glad we did since this was probably the biggest shopping trip we would have there.

After that, we went to a lamp store and found a good dining room light and bathroom light. We also found a light for the other bathroom, but we didn’t order it since we needed to measure something first. But I’ll be ordering it online soon.

After doing so much on that day, we only had one more stop to do the next day. I met up with my parents at the vanity store to order the bathroom vanity. And that was the fastest thing we had done since we had already picked out what we wanted to get and just had to pick the finish and order it. I think we were done in about 15 minutes at that store.

And after the vanity store, my parents headed back to the Bay Area. We have almost everything picked out now. There are a few things we picked out that need to still be ordered, but that will be simple. And I think we really only have 3 or 4 things left to plan before we have everything decided. Now, we are just waiting on approval from the HOA so we can get started on the work. I can’t wait for that to happen because I also know the sooner we get started the sooner I will move to my new place!

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Default ThumbnailA Busy Family Visit (or Making Some Choices For My New Home) Default ThumbnailPart 1 Of A Family Visit (or Letting My Parents Relax A Bit) Default ThumbnailMore Serious Condo Hunting (or Being Real About What I Want) Default ThumbnailJust A Normal Weekend For Me (or Lazy Days Are Surprisingly Busy) Default ThumbnailI’ll Have A New Home Soon (or The End Of The Condo Hunt) Default ThumbnailMaintenance Time (or Busy Busy Weekend)

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