Drumroll please! It’s taken a while, but it’s done! The damaged rental house is finally ready to sell. Well, mostly. I still have to put the remainder cabinet pulls on the kitchen cabinets.

When the tenant vacated the property, I was shocked and appalled at it’s condition. You can see what  the house looked like here.

Slowly, with a lot of elbow grease and more than just a little bit of money, it started to improve. For a list of repair items as well as some progress update photos, just click here.

But now, I’ll let the finished photos speak for themselves. 

In Part 2 of When A Tenant Damages Your Rental Property, I was trying to make a decision about the kitchen countertops. I finally made the decision to go with quartz, but when I tried to order them, I could not find anyplace that could have them done in less than 5 weeks. I did not want to wait that long!

I was lamenting to a friend and his reply was, “Well, figure it out kid.” So, because I’m impatient and because I rarely back down from a challenge, I did!

Floor and Decor sells un-fabricated quartz pieces. I purchased two pieces of quartz and did the fabrication myself. Actually, I had some help. That stuff is heavy! I purchased a handheld, wet tile saw and a diamond blade. I used that to slowly cut the material to length. For the smaller countertop, I also had to cut along the back length because the counter is not a standard depth. I used a 4″ grinder with a diamond blade to make the corners. This part was harder than I anticipated and I cut almost cut too far into the corner.

I used an over mount sink so I could not have to cut a hole for the faucet or polish and finish the edge of the sink hole. In the end,  these countertops were more money and a lot more trouble, but well worth it!

Letting this house go is bitter sweet. I see the landing on the stairs where I found Abigail asleep with our dog and a blanket one morning. I see the kitchen where Katie made loaf after loaf of homemade bread when she had her own little bread business. I see the garage door. Joseph shot hundreds of hockey pucks into a board leaned up against it. I see the bedroom that was once Alia’s and the radiator where Anna sat and did school work.

This was our home. We celebrated birthdays, opened Christmas presents and lived the holy amidst the mundane. Yes, letting go is bittersweet. But I’m glad we did the work to fix her up again. My friend Kathi reminded me recently reminded me to choose joy! So I rejoice in the life we had here.

\