This house was a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 960 sqft, modular home.

While we were at the game, Tim, our contractor, started sending us pics of the house. While the wiring was still intact, there were parts of floor joists missing and damaged, strong messages written on the walls, and an overpowering smell of smoke. It could have been worse, but this was a lot more work than we had originally budgeted for.  It was concerning to say the least. So, the next day we got to work.

The kitchen and living area was open and inviting and the bedrooms were good sizes. 

What I liked most about this property, before we even bid on it, was the area. Situated between Radford and Christiansburg, this neighborhood was very nice with some of the best people you could hope to come across. I first met the next door neighbor, Janet, who told me about the troubled family who lived there. She explained to me the stress the previous owners caused. No one knew that better than the neighbor across the street, Angie. She worked in law enforcement and had stories of the many calls that were made. She would tell us how happy she was that they had moved. The neighbor on the other side, also named Angie (ironic right?), would bring us ice cream when we were cleaning up the yard in the blistering heat. She would tell me about how she would keep the kids with her sometimes so she knew they were well taken care of. 

There was a common theme while talking to the neighbors. Every single one asked me two questions. First, “Are you going to be my new neighbor?” And second, when I would have to say no, they would follow up with “Are you going to make sure that we get a good neighbor?” Every single neighbor asked me this! So, that became my priority. I needed to make a nice, beautiful home for someone so that this neighborhood that had been traumatized with bad neighbors for so many years, could finally have some peace and a quality neighbor. That’s really the big story of this house. The people around it. Yes, the house itself needed a lot of work, but that became so much easier once the goal was set to find these neighbors peace.

Back to the remodel, This house needed almost everything! We completely deep cleaned the house after demolition until the smoke smell had disappeared and the walls and ceiling were free of nicotine. New floors were installed, new HVAC was put in, brand new bathroom, kitchen, and paint. A lot of paint... I am partially scared to show too many before pics because the house is nothing like when it started and it started like something you would come across in a horror movie. In a way, it's incredible the transformation that was made, but I want to respect the current owner and not subject her to the horrors of what was. We hired out most of the work on this project. However, Lynsi's contributions were mostly in yard work and hauling off trash with her dad. There was so much trash! A traumatizing amount of trash. In order for the .3 acres to actually feel like .3 acres, the brush in the back and sides had to be cut down, the backyard was a literal trash pile, there was a pile of burned ash that I had to shovel and haul off, and my new weed-eater got plenty of work.

This house, with all of its complications, ended up being a beautiful, functional home.