Fifteen years ago last month, my husband built an addition to our home that turned into a major renovation. Rather than simply tying the addition into the existing house, he tore down the existing house and rebuilt it. Seriously. You could stand on the sidewalk and look down into the basement. That’s all we had left of our house.

And speaking of sidewalks, those ended up destroyed in the process. We lived in our garage for 8 months while Brian rebuilt the house well enough to move into just 10 days before Christmas. It was another year before the brick was complete, six months after that before I got a side porch/deck and 2 more years before I had a back porch. I’m still waiting for sidewalks.

Well, I was waiting. When Brian returned from Hawaii, I told him I really want sidewalks. He didn’t say much at first so I asked him how much money we’d need to pour the concrete. He told me. I told him I had that much saved. Man, did his ears perk up and his eyes pop out! He knew I’d been blogging for PayPerPost and a few other companies but he didn’t think I was earning more than enough for a gallon of gas here and there. He had no clue.

So now we’re doing the preliminary work for our sidewalks. Except Brian can never do only what we set out to do; if he builds it, he must overbuild it. Not only is he putting in sidewalks, he’s also torn off my side porch/deck. The purpose of this is so that he can replace it with a closed-in laundry room/mud room. He’s also going to replace the chain link fence between our house and Tammie and BJ’s house. (Although I’ve requested a gate between our yard so we can go back and forth in our jammies without the neighbors seeing. ) Yes, this is a wonderful idea. No, I did not budget for this. And remember, we’re also not completely done with Nick and Brit’s apartment out back. ~Sigh~

Since Tammie already posted a picture of my missing side porch/deck, I’ll add a few other angles. First, the heavy equipment in front of the house.

And then, what was left of my deck when I finally opened my front door to look outside.

I know when it’s all done it will look fantastic. My husband does unbelievable work and the mess is always worth it in the end. Ijust have to keep reminding myself that it won’t be long until it’s all done.

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That’s what they’re saying about the real estate market right now. Sellers are having to come down on their prices while buyers have their pick. Since we’ve been shopping around, considering our options, that’s good news.

Nevertheless, most real estate agents work for the seller, doing their best to get the best price for the home. It’s really tough trying to find an agent who will work for the buyer. We found that out the time we tried to put in a bid on a house and the agent we thought was working for us, threw in a clause that would have hurt us. Good thing I’m part of the grammar police; I caught the tricky wording when I read contract.

Since we’re looking into a warmer climate and have checked out the Carolinas, I was so excited to find this wilmington nc real estate agency. Paul Coffman of Coastal Carolina Properties is an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent/Broker. Simply put, he works for the buyer.

Even though Coffman is an agent/broker, he does not list properties. That keeps him free of any conflict of interest. He uses his expertise to get the buyer the best price, saving his clients both time and money. As a lifetime resident of the Carolina Coast region, he knows the area and can offer valuable knowledge to those moving there from around the country.

Coastal Carolina Properties has a full staff ready to assist buyers. The website offers an easy-to-use search function for finding the perfect property, filtered by number of bedrooms or bathrooms, price range, waterfront as well as several other options. In less than 30 seconds I found 3 homes that are perfect for our family. And since my husband is a builder, I checked for property, too. Oh, yeah! I think we could build one terrific house with the help of Coastal Carolina Properties!

The only hesitation I’d have about this kind of move is the fact that we really don’t know the area and in real estate, everything is about location. Paul Coffman and his staff take care of that. Knowing that Coastal Carolina Properties will work for me and not the seller, I can be confident that I’ll be directed to the best home or land for the money I have available. That’s a very reassuring thought.

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After Brian finishes his job in Hawaii, he’ll be heading home until the job in Phoenix is ready. Not sure where he’ll go from there but he’s looking into a few other markets. I’ve researched the Las Vegas Real Estate market and it looks really good. I think that would be just about an hour flight from Phoenix so maybe he can hop over that wayt to see things for himself.

I’m ready to do some traveling so if this works out, I won’t complain. Have trowel, will travel. Anyone need a fantastic stone mason?

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My husband called from Hawaii yesterday to tell me he may be getting an offer to do another job there. I’m not sure if he’ll be contracted or hired outright. I guess he’ll call me over the weekend to let me know.

I’ve been looking into getting his business cards printed at a reasonable cost. I also need to set up a website to showcase his work. I have a number of pictures of his work on my own site but finding it among all the other posts is not always easy.

Yes, next thing I do is set up his website. I know he’ll be thrilled since he’s been bugging me about that for months.

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The guy across the street from my mom is selling his house. I won’t say how much he’s asking but I will admit that I’m having a hard time believing a house that small, no matter how well kept, can be worth that much in this area.

I’ve been comparing housing prices in various parts of this valley as well as a few random spots around the country. I haven’t found anywhere as high priced as the Hawaiian island of Kauai but then, I didn’t expect prices that high elsewhere. I found some nice bargains in the midwest and a really good Cary NC Real Estate market. As much as I’d love to live in Hawaii, I like the idea of being able to drive home to see my parents rather than having to find a flight.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’d rather pay too much money for the house across the street from my mom so I can live near her. That’s even better than Hawaii.

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Did I mention how relaxed Brian looked in Hawaii? Well, he did. He went to work each morning in a really great mood and came home just for lunch still happy. And when the guys were done with work and came back to the house for supper, everyone sat around and laughed and talked.

So very unlike home.

I think the biggest difference for Brian is not having to worry about so many things on the job. He still has responsibility but it’s limited to the actual work being done. Back home, Brian had to worry about every little detail. Like the time someone complained about the noise of the mortar mixture which prompted a safety official to show up and inspect every detail of the job. Most of the infractions were small but Brian was not happy about having to purchase a fuel transfer tank for the gasoline and one for the kerosene that they used on the job.

In Hawaii, those kinds of things are not Brian’s responsibility. Bob takes care of that kind of stuff. All Brian has to do is make sure the stone and concrete work is done properly. That’s a big job but it’s what Brian loves.

And to look at his face, you can see that he’s doing what he loves.

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Be prepared for photos of the work my guys are doing. I’m thinking of building an entire portfolio of Brian and the boys’ work. I just need to dig up all the pictures I have laying around here.

On a personal note, I’ve stuck to my low-carb, lots of green vegetables diet for over 2 months. I’ve lost exactly 0 pounds. I’ve been working out 5 days/week for almost a month. Nothing.

I’m ditching this diet for the next two weeks. I will not go back to refined sugar and crappy carbs but I am going to indulge in some of the yummy fruits in Hawaii. I’ll continue to work out and I’m going to try to walk a lot more while I’m there. (Walking in the snow and sub-freezing temps here ain’t gonna happen!)

Okay, later folks! And my Peeps!

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