The last four months have been a mind-bending roller coaster. But I know in my heart, it will be worth it in the long run. To think that back in March, we had no idea what to expect, and were not disappointed by the god of curve balls. Yet, here we are in July, finally able to laugh (mostly) about being moved into our townhouse condo. It feels good. Well, it feels better.

But let’s start at the beginning. Here is the basic summary of our new home and how it came to be:

The building is a brick structure built in 1889. There are eight three-floor townhouse units (each with a basement, back deck, and two parking spaces). The building was purchased and “flipped” by a private equity firm to have all new interiors and appliances. When we saw the unit back in March, it was totally gutted down to the wiring and sub-floor. You had to have a certain amount of vision to even remotely consider purchasing at that point.

But S. Rod and I are definitely high on imagination. While we knew that there was a certain level of risk involved when making a “new construction/major renovation” purchase, we could see the great opportunity in it.

Now, how great that level of risk turned out to be is a matter of opinion. Some who hear the last four months’ stories recoil in horror, others shrug their shoulders and say it is on par for the course. But along the painful way of dealing with the equity firm’s representative, the various contractors, the real estate broker, the lawyers, the lenders, the inspectors, the movers, and each other, we learned a great deal about the system. So you had better believe that the next time we make a home purchase, it will work much differently. We hope.

In the meantime, things are coming together with all of our different rooms and it’s exciting to be setting down the cornerstone of our future. I know I promised photos, but I’m waiting to get some completed rooms first (with assembled furniture and no boxes!), so bear with us. Time is on our side now. Finally. Cheers.