Alex referred us to our soon to be plumber, who in turn suggested a contractor, who ultimately became our general contractor. Before returning to California we took extensive measurements, captured hundreds of photographs, studied the existing layout, discussed design ideas, and drew out many different diagrams and floor plans.Īgain, relying on referrals, our Realtor was a great resource for recommendations. This visit was also a great opportunity to spend time at the property. We made sure everyone was on board and scheduled to meet the demands of our timeline. We ordered a debris box, a port-o-let, secured our demo crew, interviewed flooring refinishers, and researched local window and door suppliers. As we just learned, smells can tell you a lot about a property.ĭuring our trip to North Carolina to finalize our purchase, we made sure to allow extra time to get as many things arranged as we could to begin this renovation. The buttercream doors, trim, casing, baseboards and molding were actually a gloss white that was discolored yellow from 50 years of tar build up! One important lesson we learned from this experience is that when you are house hunting “virtually” you are eliminating two vital and, arguably, most important senses: smell & touch. The existing wallpaper which we thought was a beige chintz was actually a white chintz stained from decades of cigarette smoke. So, in all fairness – our Realtor wasn’t wrong. He simply replied, “Like your grandma’s house.” And, while I understand that to mean a mixture of mothballs and oatmeal cookies, I neglected to remember that my own grandmother did in fact smoke cigarettes inside her Healdsburg, California home. We remember asking our Realtor during one of our virtual showings what the house smelled like. We’re talking Nugget Casino, Reno Nevada circa 1970 type of cigarette smell. When we opened the forest green double front doors and entered our new property for the very first time, we were met with the strong stench of cigarette smoke. We then flew from California to Raleigh, signed all of our closing documents and were handed the keys to our newly purchased home. It was enough to encourage us to move forward with an offer and eventually an accepted purchase agreement. Our fantastic Realtor once again worked his magic with his smartphone so that we could virtually “see” almost everything inside and around the property. After meticulously analyzing MLS photos we came across a home that looked promising. With his enthusiasm, jovial demeanor, and extensive knowledge of the Raleigh housing market, we knew we had found the right person.Īs we were considering which home to buy, we depended on video walk-throughs that Alex created for us. Alex Lawrence (AKA Big Al), called us back shortly thereafter. After we studied the recommended Realtor’s website and read past client reviews, we made the call. We asked him for recommendations in finding a Realtor. It all started with a cousin who graduated from Chapel Hill and later lived in Raleigh. You know how Realtors love to say “location, location, location!” Well, we’ve learned through this experience that when you know absolutely no one in a particular location the saying should be “referrals, referrals, referrals!” When contemplating purchasing a house in the Raleigh area, we relied heavily on referrals to make this purchase and renovation possible. We are sharing our experiences and the lessons learned with you, dear reader, because you can do it too! However, as with anything new, there was a learning curve. These newly applied tools and learned skills were valuable in undertaking this challenging remote fixer-upper renovation. While adhering to the current CDC guidelines and protocols, we limited physical interaction with clients by incorporating virtual design presentations, tele-conferencing, contactless sample drop-offs, and scheduling personal masked appointments to visit local showrooms. Having our own interior design firm, we shifted our business model during the uncertainty of the pandemic. One lesson my partner and I learned was how to successfully purchase and renovate a fixer-upper house from 3,000 miles away. By Interiors and Article By Steve Marraffino, Principal Designer, Marracar Design, writer for New Homes & Ideasįind more articles like this on The Pandemic taught us many things: How to cut our hair by watching YouTube videos, how to conserve toilet paper, contactless grocery shopping, the joy of baking, and how to be more neighborly.
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