Buyer Beware

Now that we're almost done renovating our beach cottage, I have a confession to make.

I got a little full of myself when I found the place and talked Doug into buying it.  I was convinced that all it needed was a truckload of cleaning materials and a vat of paint to become a fun, livable little vacation spot.

Although the ad for the place used words like "furnished" and "well maintained," even our Realtor thought we were buying it as a tear-down.  When I told him my plans for it, he said I had vision.

Yes, I had vision to see that it could go from this:

to this:

and from this:

to this:

But it really wasn't quite as simple as taking a piece of furniture from this:

to this:

With the house, I didn't have the vision to see the live wires hanging loose inside the kitchen cabinets.

I didn't have the vision to see that the gas line to the stove was crimped, which could have eventually led to a dangerous leak.

I didn't have the vision to see that the range had been configured for natural gas, not propane, which we learned when the gas guy came out to fix the crimp.  Using the oven could have resulted in a serious fire.

I didn't have the vision to see that the gas heater was blocked up with pine needles, bird feathers, and other debris.  We discovered that problem when our carbon monoxide detector went off. Without it, Doug and I and our cat could all have died the first night we slept there.

I didn't have the vision to see that underneath the floor of our porch, the deck boards were just hanging with no support.  The weight of 8 or 10 people could have caused the whole structure to collapse.

All of these problems have now been fixed, and we feel safe in our little getaway.  But NONE of these issues were disclosed to us at the time of purchase, so I feel very fortunate to have had a savvy husband who not only found the problems but also knew how to fix them.

I think Doug appreciates my vision now--although he admits that he thought I was crazy for wanting to buy the cottage--but I appreciate his type of vision even more.

Thanks, honey.  You're the best!