Holding Pattern

It's been a few days with no real action. After a flurry of initial activity, I'm in a bit of a holding pattern until the close of escrow when I can actually start moving on getting stuff done. I'm waiting for bids from the two contractors I met last week, and am meeting a third contractor out at the property tomorrow night.

My financing plans have changed, so my plan of attack has changed too. With all the turmoil going on in the mortgage market, I decided against using the renovation financing. In addition to the various points and other fees charged by Wells Fargo, adding the $$$ to do the renovations pushed it up into jumbo mortgage territory, with really horrible consequences on the interest rate (even with the full point!). So, I'm doing conventional financing and will begin doing the critical work with cash left over from the sale of my condo. That means all the corrective work--foundation, roof, windows, electrical--necessary to bring the house up to code.

Once it's habitable, I'll partially move in (read: bed and a few essential items) and will progress with interior work like the bath remodel and kitchen expansion/garage addition after opening a HELOC in another 4-6 months. My aggressive schedule is to have it completed in 12 months, my more conservative estimate is 18 months. Either way, I know it is going to take a lot of money, patience and work, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

It would be nice to get all the work done up front, but I'm being optimistic that this will enable me to better plan the kitchen and avoid making hasty decisions. It will also give me time to look into the possibility of enclosing the full carport to make a real garage so I can do that and the kitchen expansion in one fell swoop.

I spoke with someone at the county planning office on Friday and I may be in luck since the house is a "non-conforming structure" (meaning it does not adhere to the 5' setback rules) on a "non-conforming parcel" (a lot that is below a certain size). Also since the carport has a roof and pillars, it's technically a "structure" and I'd simply be enclosing it rather than constructing it. Nice little loophole, I think.