Still waiting on the money!

Our mortgage broker has pulled a rabbit out of the hat and has found someone who is prepared to look at our application! It all depends on the valuation now. Because the house is partially renovated, and they only value on the condition it is in right now, we could have problems. Floors up and walls down don't help but we are trying to remain optimistic. We should know by Tuesday so wish us luck...

Yesterday I won 60 pieces of sandstone on ebay for $34.00. Today, Amanda and Hewitt drove all the way to Penrith to pick them up only to discover that 3/4's of it was pieces the size of you hand. Half a days work for half a retaining wall - not happy. But...

We have just been told from our neighbour that they are selling beautiful, chunky blocks of sandstone for a $30.00/tonne at St Ives tip. I think we'll be taking a trip there next week.

L x

Day 2 & 3

Yesterday was exhausting. We didn't get enough sleep from going out on Monday night and it was hot again. Instead of working on the house I attended Hewitt's first swimming carnival. I was really nervous for him as he's not a strong swimmer and I thought diving in the deep end and even swimming the 25m short course was above his ability. But I was completely surprised. There were quite a few boys who didn't make it but Hewitt swam beautiful freestyle the whole way and ended up 4th! Very proud mum!

Amanda completed the last coat of paint on the front of the house. It's now true black. That's right, completely pitch black. It's really beautiful as the whole house disappears into the surrounding trees - a very theatrical trick, I know. 2 years ago we began painting it and chose a timid blue/grey. After the second coat we agreed it was too pale but the darkest we could get in an exterior paint was charcoal. Recently Taubmans produced a true black, so take 3, we've finally got it right.

This morning we faced our first major block...monnnnneeeeeeey! Our mortgage broker came over and the short story is that because we are both self employed and (I hate to have to admit!) have defaulted on our mortgage more than a few times we are stuffed. We both have maxed out credit cards used to finance the reno so far, and I have a personal loan which was originally borrowed to top up the deposit for the house - we needed 20% deposit and only had 12%. The personal loan is the only statement that doesn't default and we have paid off $25K, but everything else looks pretty sad. The problem is servicing our current financial situation and carrying out the reno is what's putting us behind. If we could re-finance, pay off the laon, credit cards and complete the reno we would be able to sink all our money into the mortgage and get ahead but first we need to get a clear run on the existing mortgage to get any conforming lender to take us seriously. It's a downward spiral and it left me feeling pretty hopeless. Our mortgage broker is going to give it a whirl but doesn't like our chances. We should hear something in the next 24 hours...

So we dragged ourselves out into the never ending pile of rocks, dirt, weeds and cat shit - lovely. As we were digging away Amanda pointed out that Bear from Man v's Wild (SBS 8:30 Monday nights) say's when you are rock climbing you need 3 firm footings to continue up the mountain. So what are our financial footings? 1. We have a house that will exceed it's original purchase price by an estimated 50% when it's completed. 2. We both have decent earning capacities. 3. I'm struggling to think of a third right now. Neither of us have much respect for money. We earn it and we spend it. I have a terrible habit of filing the bills away and forgetting about them, I then think the money we have is disposable, spend it and panic when the reminder notices come in. All this has got to change, it's time to look my fear and disrespect of money in the face. No. 3 needs to be our commitment to pay off what we have borrowed.

The other revelation I had was that the area of the back garden we are working in is our feng shui money corner. Right now it's in exactly the same state as our finances. But we're putting in the foundations and clearing through the mess. It's certainly an inspiration to complete this area and if the reno has to be put on hold because we can't finance it at least we can clear up this corner of our lives.

L x

Day 1

It was a 7:30am start. I began by bundling left over branches from a tree that we had cut down a couple of weeks ago and stacking them in the wood pile. Half an hour later I was getting over it, my back was hurting and I'd nicked my finger, anyway it was time to get Hewitt organised for school. Good excuse.

Amanda on the other hand was straight into it. She has completed 80% of a sandstone retaining wall which runs the length of the side of the house. This was originally a dark passage of privet and she's turned it into a beautiful view from our bedroom windows. Now for the hard bit, the curve into the back garden. She was on a mission - mixing cement, stacking stones, digging trenches...

After dropping Hewitt off I went into my comfort zone. With my project managers hat on, I began making calls about re-financing, council regulations for above ground pools, ETC. Did you know that you can put build an in ground pool if it complies with simple regulations without a DA but not an above ground. I mentioned to the woman in the planning department that this was odd as obviously the building works that are required for an in ground pool far exceed those of an above ground and she said "I don't write the regulations, I'm just telling you!". OK.

Anyway, at this stage I'm feeling pretty good about my progress, 6 weeks is pushing it but with a little help from our friends it is achievable. Speaking of which as a director it's all about surrounding yourself by the right people and this is how I intend to approach this project. Already we have offers. Thank you to Martin - a TV lighting director - who is swapping a day of electrical work for Amanda's help in the garden, Nikky - a interior designer - who is booked in next week to go over the design for the bathroom and Libby - an organiser extraordinaire - who is putting in a day on Friday to help me get ready for the garage sale (more on this later.)

So, as I said I'm feeling pretty good and I decide to read about the Tropfest winner on line. Amanda's still out digging and she spies me through the office window and... it's on! She says she can't do this with out my help and I've just put all this extra pressure on her by committing to a deadline. I say what do you think I've been doing all morning? You always think your work is harder than what I do! To tell the truth, I was procrastinating, it's hot outside, I'm scared of hard physical labour, it is all feeling a bit overwhelming. So I begrudgingly finished the wood pile and then picked up the spade and began to dig a trench. My mood subsided as I dug. Amanda gives me such great praise for so little, i think she was just relieved to have me out there with her. And the hard physical work actually feels really satisfying.

So it's wrap up time. We are off to see Hat's Off tonight. Last year I directed this concert, this year I am going to sit back and be entertained after a hard days work.

Till tomorrow...

L x

The Renovation

In June 2007 Amanda and I brought an original 1970's house in need of renovation in Berowra at the start of the beautiful Hawkesbury River, an hour north of Sydney. Amanda needed space, I needed a change and we both wanted our son, Hewitt to grow up out of the city and surrounded by nature. Plus it was cheap!

Although Amanda is a landscape designer and has renovated previously we were both extremely naive about the extent of renovations we were taking on. I was sure the house would be finished in 6 months and we would be entertaining family and friends on the deck by the pool by Xmas. Ha! It's 3 1/2 years later and we are still spending every weekend digging, hammering and sanding and every last cent we earn on timber, pipes, paint, nails, the list goes on. Renovating is hard work, renovating without surplus cash is harder!!!

So why write a blog 3 years down the track?

Yesterday we made a decision - let's set ourselves a challenge, re-finance and with a budget of $30,000, (after paying off the 3 maxed out credit cards and personal loan) complete the renovations in 6 weeks.

We are definitely over the half way mark, in fact it may be 75% complete, it's hard to say because as we've finished something in the past 3 years we forget the original state it was in. But if you think this is a small task think again, we still need to complete the laundry, en suite, front lounge room, flooring and pool (that's right all with $30K!).

I also have to admit that the major part of the reno so far has been carried out by Amanda's bear hands. I am a theatre director and I'm sure those who know me will agree that my strength is my vision. I am very good a standing back and seeing the outcome in my head, I'm not so good at participating in the outcome unless I am instructing others how to create what I see.

But all that is about to change. As of tomorrow I am project manager, designer, carpenter, landscaper, painter, brickie and labourer. I will post a schedule of works and before and after shots daily for you to check out.

Let's do this...

L x