Whining about old houses and men in suits

The loan officer was just thrilled to help refinance my mortgage, and pushed for me to borrow more than I planned to borrow.  My credit, at least with the bank, is excellent, 10+ years and never late with a single payment...

So then comes the man in a suit to turn up his nose at my old house, and he comes while I am on vacation with the house a torn up mess, Jake nose deep on his laptop (doing schoolwork) and Ben and I are playing with my truck.  Ya, it was not running and no truck means no building supplies....

So, he thinks the place is ugly and a mess, worth the loan but I should be made to use the funds as he  thinks is the best use.  Do remember that this man does not live here and he is not going to be making the payments on that loan.

I am not putting cheap vinyl siding on this place, it needs the old asphalt siding removed, the old clapboard siding repaired and then house wrap, insulation and siding. Stucco is top on my wish list for that siding but I could consider other options.  Throwing a quick and cheap siding job and then making payments on it for far longer that it will last is not on my list.

The suit thinks my kitchen floor needs to be leveled, which means tearing out the ceramic tile Mick and I put down, putting plywood sub floor down and shimming/tweaking it to get a flat, level floor and then what? I have some cheap vinyl flooring installed that will not hold up long but I will be paying for it too for years to come.  And I should put in cheap cabinets and counters, never mind how long they will last, and he just put over$17,000 into doing his kitchen.

But my loan officer does not agree with the suit, and so I will probably get to refinance and put in the kitchen I want to pay for, and do the other things my way.

It is annoying, he is right that nothing here is done, and that the current siding looks terrible but last I checked, I do not live outside the house, and I have all new windows, except for those current big holes with plastic over them.

The metal roof, all those Pella windows, the drywall and work in the attic, the stairs, wiring, central air and drywall was not done with any loans, and I have not paid a lot for the labor, a lot of my sweat and some of my blood, and plenty of what I earn working in a pork processing plant has made the mortgage payments and put all the improvements into this house and will continue to do so.

And the suit can do as he pleases with his home and his money, and leave this grumpy old woman alone with her renovation project.

Old house progress

I spent my vacation week trying to make some progress on this old house, getting the last old windows out, the damaged kitchen door out and repairs done so all are ready for replacements.  I opened up the wall between the kitchen and living room with shelving from the back of the bench height to about a foot below the ceiling.  They still need trimmed out and another cost of paint but I like what they have done for both spaces.

I put peg board in between the studs on the wall between the kitchen and laundry area, the first has the keys and charger cords, all handy and off the pot rack.  The other 2 spaces will be used to hang the coffee cup collection.  I doubt if they will all fit but I will get some of them out of a box and enjoy seeing them here.

It is becoming my home, my house, done to suit my wants and needs, the open shelves between the kitchen eating area and the living room.  The new kitchen windows and in time, the new cabinets and counters.

And I will find time to clean the grasses out of the flower beds again, it needs done several times a year and I am behind on that again.

I am tired of sharing the house with my much loved son but know he and I will manage a little longer.  It is livable most of the time but I look forward to my home to myself and going back to sleeping in my downstairs bedroom, and having my living room back