Today I got to sit down and interview the homeowners of The Springwood Hop, Brandon Barbour and Clair Rowe! I have known them both for years and was along for almost the entire process of this fixer upper but I wanted to dig a little deeper on their thoughts about The Hop. Check out the interview below to get a closer look at just how this renovation went from start to finish. What were your thoughts when you first found the house?Clair: "I wondered what it would take to get the house back up to speed? I immediately thought about what we would need to do to it, to make it more valuable." Brandon: "Clair actually made me buy this house without me even seeing it. As real estate agents, we are both comfortable with looking a deal over on paper, and since she had also seen it in person I was comfortable pulling the trigger. It was a multiple offer situation, and we still got the house even with a lower offer than our competition because we moved quickly and offered more secured terms. Also, our original intentions for the home was to flip it. So it had a good roof, the HVAC system was only a year old, and the price point was so low, that a decent cosmetic overhaul would have produced a nice profit in a flip. But our plans changed, and we decided we were going to live in it ourselves. So the project ballooned into a much larger financial investment, because what we wanted for ourselves was much more than what would have been sufficient for a profitable flip." What was your biggest challenge for the renovation?C: "Not handling all of the work physically, since it was our first renovation. Nobody wants the house to be done more than the person who is going to be living in it (or selling it). Nothing can get done quick enough in this case!" B: "I'd say the biggest challenge of the renovation was an overarching challenge--it was an ongoing barrier the whole way through. It was the lack of experience with renovating a home--especially one that was so old. Neither of us had any contracting experience, no real home-improvement or DIY experience, and no reference points for what things should cost. I had to learn how to do this kind of project as I was doing it. I asked tons of questions and had no idea how things should go or be. It was the biggest "learn-as-you-go" "sink-or-swim" experience I've ever had. And I think that was the biggest challenge to the project the entire time." What is your favorite part of the house?C: "The open living room to kitchen area. I like to entertain and spend quality time with people, so being able to cook and still hang out with people is a huge plus!" B: "My favorite part of this house is the master bath and closet. I think it's my favorite because it's been so long since I've really had an exclusive space for myself and enough space to properly organize my clothes and other apparel. It's also been forever since I haven't had to share a bathroom with guests or others. Cleanliness and organization are very important to me, but it's hard to achieve either of those goals when you don't have designated spaces for specific things. If you don't have a closet for your clothes, then they will end up on the floor. Period. So it's been refreshing to have such beautiful space that is private, large, and accommodating to my needs. It's very refreshing, relaxing, and rewarding to take a shower and retreat in a private space. Or get ready for the day out of a bathroom and closet specifically designed for you and your needs." What's the best advice you could give someone hoping to take on their own renovation project?C: "Get to know your contractor before making your final decision on hiring him/her. Do as much a you possibly can on your own, but do not cheap out on the professionals needed to complete the task right the first time. Ask an experienced local realtor for recommendations on who to consider hiring for the job!" B: "If you aren't in real estate and/or you don't have significant experience with home improvement or DIY projects hire professionals. The most important piece of the puzzle is the buying of the property. You can't change what you paid for the home, and you have to base your renovation decisions off what you're paying for. For example, we put on a standing seam metal roof, because we wanted that look. It would have been smart to buy a home that needed a new roof desperately. We paid for a great roof we ended up replacing." Do you have any plans to take on any fixer upper projects in the future?C: "Absolutely! When an opportunity presents itself, we are prepared to take on a few smaller fixer upper projects to flip versus live in. We can only improve from here!" B: "We already have the itch to do it again. We love our home, but being in the business of real estate and now having such tremendous experience wth renovating a 120 year old house, we want to do it again." Brandon and Clair are local realtor partners in the Burlington and Greensboro area and plan on starting their own blog series about how they transformed their new home from the ground up. Stay tuned for where to read their stories, but until then keep an eye out for my next post in #thespringwoodhop series all about the interior spaces! I can't wait to show you how it all looks now compared to day 1 for this fixer upper!
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"A room should never allow the eye to settle in one place. It should smile at you and create fantasy" -Juan Montoya AuthorHi! My name is Kristen and in 2016 I got the crazy idea of starting a blog and diving headfirst into the world of interiors. I hope you enjoy the content you'll find on k.space and find inspiration to change your space and tackle all of your DIY projects- big or small! Archives
March 2019
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