The Navy Cottage

We are officially closed!!  Now that she's ours, I want to show her to you.  This will be a picture-heavy post, but there is also so much to talk about. We closed on a Friday, left that day for the week at the lake with my mother-in-law, and then the following Thursday night we headed over to this place to get settled and mostly, start cleaning.  I can now say that we've cleaned top to bottom (including scrubbing down all the walls) and it was SO dirty, but I feel so much better.  We're headed back for a 3 day weekend there this weekend, but unfortunately the forecast is for rain and thunderstorms.  Still, we'll make the best of it.

Here she is, lakeside. And no, she's not navy:

And street side:

No one has been in/used the lake house for over 2 years.  They apparently had a cleaning crew (they should get their money back...seriously) come in and keep it presentable for showings, but they added this deck below literally as just a means to sell it.  Honestly - I don't like it at all...there are a lot of things we would have done differently.  But it is what it is and we'll tweak it to our needs.  For now, it's a nice place to throw the dogs when we don't want them running free (we use a baby gate at the one entrance off the deck to block it off).

This is the back lot that we included in the purchase.  It is quite large and will eventually be a nice place to park the trailer for the summer, etc.  I also have ideas of putting a play house for the kids or something up there.  

Lakefront.  Important to note that these photos were taken very early in the season this year and when we toured the home in June it already looked much different.  It had lily pads off the shore closer to the lake and some weeds and muck closer to the dock, but a good 10 feet of clear beach directly in front.  It does NOT look like that now.  It is totally overrun with weeds and pads.  While it is illegal to remove the lily pads, we are allowed to clear a 25 x 25 foot spot in front of the beach, and a path for us to get the boat in and out. We will have to do this as every time we take the boat out now, hubby has to get it out past all the weeds into open (and deep) water, and then clean out the filter, then get under the boat and remove all the weeds wrapped around the prop.  Not a feasible long-term solution.  Many of our neighbors have done the same over the years and they say it's simply a process.  We don't mind the pads away from the beach at all...we simply want a place for the kids to be able to play in front of the house, so initially that is what we're doing.  Clearing out weeds and muck.

The dock isn't long at all - only 30 feet long.  It's also only 36" wide.  We've already received a quote for a new dock - 48" wide and 50' long, with a 144" wide platform at the end of it.  We are trying to determine what we are going to do and in what order, but it's good to know what it will cost when we do decide.

This is the sunroom directly overlooking the deck.  It was added a number of years ago and we love the extra space it adds.  We've talked about adding two pull-out sofas in this room for additional sleeping space.

A view of the main area from the corner of the kitchen.  This entire area is quite small, but we don't need anything large.  It does need work, though.  More on our plans another time.

The kitchen.  Small but has everything we need (except maybe a dishwasher?).

The bathroom.  Very large (much larger than needed) but gives us room to work with things.  We need to re-work this though, because this is the only area we can add laundry to the home, and we really want to do this eventually.

The very small bedroom.  This will be the master, though it will not have a bath attached, obviously.  The bed is now gone (the mattresses were so bad) and since this isn't a room I envision us doing anything with soon, I do plan to prime and paint that paneling just to brighten up the room.

And the upstairs!  Basically one large, 23x23 room that contains three twin beds already, with room for at least 3 more twins and/or fulls.  More if you put in trundle beds.  The angle of the roofline makes it difficult to put bunks, but this offers a TON of sleeping space with plenty of room for clothes storage as well.

So there she is! We have so many plans for her, but time and money are our limiting factors (aren't they most everyone's?).  We're in the process of talking to some contractors, getting bids, etc.  We've already purchased a boat lift, but ran into a snag with that which I'll discuss in another post, so nothing major has changed so far, but I will be documenting all changes here so stay tuned! 

We have a closing date!

So, this thing is really happening!  Obviously we knew it was, but now we have a scheduled closing date and know with certainty when we will have keys and get to take possession.  The one snag is that we are actually closing two days later than the date in the contract, and it also happens to be the date that we leave for a week-long vacation at a lake house with my mother in law.

How an 8yo boy packs for a week at the lake...

We have done this lake week vacation for the past 3 years, and this year is no different.  If the timing had worked out better, we wouldn't have even rented a different lake house this year, but we really didn't know we were going to purchase (and she had booked this months ago), and even at the point that we had an accepted offer and contract there were back and forth negotiations after the inspection, as well as a very long lead time to get the appraisal done.  We were concerned that if we cancelled and something fell through, we wouldn't have a place to stay this year (although the upside would be that she would have saved quite a bit of money, only losing her deposit).  The upside is that we no longer need to rent a place, and she can come and stay for longer visits!

One "lake week" favorite activity....wake surfing!

Regardless, even though we take possession the day this vacation is starting, the house will in no way be ready for long term guests, even for a week stay.  There are certain personal items we requested to have stay with the house (beds, aluminum fishing boat, kitchen table and chairs) but for all we know, they may leave other furniture behind, and potentially items like dishes, etc.  It's common around here for lake homes to sell "turnkey" with everything you'd need to enjoy the property staying with the home.  We didn't request that because we knew we'd likely replace everything (eventually) anyway.  We certainly aren't expecting anything to stay for that reason, and so we very likely will have a home with no bedding, no dishes, no silverware, no chairs, no sofa.....you get the idea.  So, not ideal for a week-long stay at a lake house.

These weeks are some of our most favorite moments.

The closing is taking place at a title company very near the actual home, so we do plan on grabbing the keys and running down there to take stock of things (and a few measurements!) before heading back home to finish packing up and heading out.  It will be nice to know exactly what we do have, and we can being our hunt for items that we will need to survive our time there (dishes, cooking items, a grill, etc.).

One year we had the pleasure of listening to this branch slowly creak and eventually tumble to the ground.  Then it was epic bonfire time!

Our next steps are to figure out which renovations we are going to do and when, and how much we went to do now vs. over time.  We have always talked about them being done slowly and over time, but there are some things in the works which may necessitate accelerating that.  The advantage there is that it would be DONE, and we could actually go to our lake house and simply enjoy it, instead of feeling like we were constantly working on it.  So stay tuned for more on that!

The dreaded "F" word...

You know that word, right?  No...not the four letter variety.  The five letter variety.  The one that sends home buyers running for the hills.

FLOOD.

At the beginning of the appraisal process the lender, however their process works (which we inquired about but never really did get a straight answer about), initially determined that we were in a floodplain and would require flood insurance.  Initial estimates on our property ranged from $500-650/year (from my insurance agent, but without doing any research) to $800-1200/year (from Floodsmart, the federal website that tells you everything you need to know about reading flood maps, what to do next if you find out you are in a floodplain and also offers flood insurance) and up to $2500 a year from someone else my husband quoted.

What we did know was this....at the median level of these quotes - around $1200/year - that meant an additional $100/month on our property that we just really did not want to pay.

In a lot of ways, this property is a bit of a stretch for us.  There is a lot we're not giving up to acquire this property, but there is a lot we will give up to get it.  We also know there's a lot we are getting in return.  Quality time with our children each weekend on a much slower schedule, extended visits with my mother-in-law each summer which will mean so much not only to her, but also to our children and us who miss her terribly after she moved out of state a few years ago.  It also gives us the opportunity to flex a few of our DIY muscles, which is one of our biggest hobbies.

But an additional $100 a month is a lot of money, any way you slice it.  It ramps our payment up to a level we weren't comfortable with.  Another way to think of it - that is $100 worth of fewer improvements I can make to the property each month.  So my husband had pretty much made up his mind - we were walking if the final determination was that the house was in a floodplain.

Luckily, we questioned the lender about their process, they went back to the people that made the initial determination and after reviewing everything, did ultimately decide that the home was not in a flood plain.

I'm sure it's a common scenario...I mean, it is a lake house, after all.  And we had some pretty gnarly flooding here even last summer.  The flood would have to be pretty bad to actually reach the home.  It sits on the lot in such a way that the property is in the floodplain (as any lakefront property would be) but the actual structure is not.  We have a few good feet in front of it to spare.  Granted, it's a risk and we do understand that, but we feel pretty confident in not having insurance required.

So, we press onward.  I will admit that this process has been stressful and seems like it has taken forever, but we are *so* close to being there.  We anticipate a closing in less than a week!  I can't wait to share more details about the home and some pictures as well!

I Have a Secret

I have a secret about the Navy Cottage.  It's NOT navy!  Ha!  

I'll share pictures once the deal is final, but I can assure you it is a very ugly brown color.  There are some other issues with it (well, pretty decent issues which we'll be addressing as soon as we take possession but there will be lots more on all that here I promise you!) that could result in a residing at some point.  Needless to say I have my eyes on a very navy cottage.  Think navy cement board shingles with a gray metal roof....

Here are some inspiration photos....

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The above is my absolute dream style.  Below with the roof shows the complete picture as I envision it once completed.  

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Obviously the focus would be lakeside, so their wouldn't be a main door there, but we hope to eventually add sliders (currently the only way into the house is on the side).  There is also currently a brand-new deck built onto the front of the house lakeside, but a fence wraps all the way around it, so you can't even step off the deck down to the water.  Another thing we hope to remedy.  But painting the fence white would tie this all in well.  I'd probably choose to stain the deck a weathered gray look.

While I love the wooden door, it is a lake cottage and I adore the idea of a fun pop of color on the main door as well.  

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The boy loved the yellow while the girls, of course, loved the coral pink.  Who knows where we'll end up, but it will be a fun process!  

Lakehouse Dreamin'

For as long as I can remember, Derrick has been into "toys" of some sort.  Not overly so, but he certainly appreciated them.  He owned a motorcycle when we met, and after dating, we moved to Arizona to start a new chapter.  We were eventually married there, and after moving into our second home there lived not far from a huge lake (well, reservoir if we're being accurate).  During one visit from out of town friends, we rented a boat and enjoyed the water, and this is around the time I remember Derrick talking about getting a boat and enjoying life like that on a regular basis.

We eventually left Arizona and never did get a boat.  We moved back to the midwest and lived here a number of years and still didn't have a boat.  Then, in 2013 some life circumstances paved the way for us to finally purchase our boat.

This thing truly is Derrick's baby.  Well, his fourth baby since his other three human babies take priority.  This is our fourth summer enjoying it and we absolutely love it.  We've made lots of improvements to it and those will likely continue.  We spend weekends on it with friends, enjoy a week with grandma on a different lake each summer, and have even started the kids on learning to wake surf.  Amazing summertime memories!

One upside is that we are only 20 minutes from a local reservoir and that is where we spend most of our time.  We always appreciated the closeness to home, the fact that it was free, and that we didn't have to spend our weekends also maintaining a home.  We just pack up, pick up the boat (we can't store it here for extended periods per our HOA) and GO!

But if we were being honest, trailering everywhere isn't all it's cracked up to be either.  Having to pack each thing from scratch each time takes time, especially with three kids. Then the boat has to be cleaned after each use as well (Derrick's rule, not mine lol).  Trailering also uses more gas and takes longer to drive.   The last couple of years we've really started to explore the idea of a lake house and having a more permanent place to spend our weekends and boat time.  The idea of waking up on a Saturday, walking out to the dock and hitting the water without much prep really started to grow on us!

We looked at houses and fell in love with the second one we looked at.  I'm thrilled to say that we are under contract and past the dreaded inspection period.  I'll hold off posting any pictures of anything until it's officially ours, but we already have our wheels turning with all the amazing things we ultimately want to do to the place!  And there is something very unique about this particular navy cottage.  I'll share more hopefully soon!