Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!! Welcome back to my world!
So... I have had a few questions of why Waco? I'm going to take this opportunity to let you know a little bit about the process and what has been done so far. There was a lot going on in the background while we were still in Louisiana!
In the early spring of 2016, we sold some property we had owned for a number of years out near Junction, Texas. At that point, we began discussing what we would do in the future when we were no longer needed in Louisiana. We both knew we were going to return to Texas!! We also both knew we did NOT want to return to Austin... or move to Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio. No need for a big city existence any more... especially with all of the traffic, etc., inherent in any mega-city area. So... after extensive discussion, the spousal-unit suggested that Waco might be a good place to consider. His interest, of course, was in the aviation industry, which is substantial here. My interest, naturally, was finding a city of reasonable size... but not huge. I wanted decent shopping, an HEB grocery store (you have no idea how much I missed that!), a Starbucks closer than 50 miles away (!), and plenty of local restaurants and activities. Waco certainly filled that bill. In fact, as I have told a few folks, Waco today is nearly exactly what Austin was when I moved there in 1972!!! Big university. Big lake nearby. Plenty of places to dine and visit. The only thing NOT in Waco is state government... and that is not anything I miss. :)
So, having never been to Waco, I visited it for a week in the spring of 2016 to check it out. I connected with an excellent Realtor (Cindy Gough) who was quick to understand what I was seeking and made it a point to work with me long-distance... not as easy as it sounds. We visited some properties and I found one that would work. Long story short: The inspection report was pretty scary. We terminated that contract quickly. A bit later, the spousal-unit made a run to Texas and stopped in Waco while here. He visited some properties with the Realtor at that time. He found a house he really liked. Long story short: The inspection report was even scarier than the first! We terminated that contract quickly, too. We were now getting into summertime. Having a good understanding of what we both liked/wanted, my fabulous Realtor began visiting properties I found online that looked like they had potential. During one of those visits, she began sending me videos of the house she was checking out. With that information and her comment, "If I were looking for a house, I would buy this one", we put in an offer immediately... without actually seeing it!! That's how much trust I placed in Cindy. It was well placed. I arrived for the inspection and saw the house for the first time. It was truly the right place. The neighborhood was great. The location was perfect. The house was pretty well laid out for our needs. The downside was it was last "done" in the 80s, apparently. :) It was a 1965 build so there were some things that clearly needed to be done... but the inspection came in well with only one item of concern which the Sellers agreed to cover by reducing the price by the amount of the estimate to have it resolved. We closed on the house in August of 2016.
Since that time, I made a number of trips back and forth between Waco and Louisiana. A lot of them were simply to become familiar with the city. As things began to change in Louisiana and it became apparent we would not likely be there much longer, I contracted with a local firm to do a pretty major renovation of the interior. You will get a LOT more information on that than you really want in future posts... but know that we finished that up in April of this year (2017). We relocated in June but still needed to finish the renovation by doing the kitchen cabinets/countertops/backsplash/appliances. That work started with a different contractor at the end of August and will, hopefully, be completed by the middle of next week. Three weeks without a kitchen has been interesting!
So... stay tuned as I begin the backtracking to the beginning of the house reno. There will be some ranting... but I know most of you will be interested in the "before", "during", and "after" pictures. I will do my best to do it all in an order that makes sense.
There you have it. That's it for now. Stay tuned!!!
Until next post...
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