So, big news around here is that we are refinancing. Hip-Hip-Hooray! Bad news is that we have to get the house appraised again. So we are busy fixing leaks and finishing or faking unfinished projects.... hence the Psyche!
My job tonight included replacing the PRV (see below) to stop the mini-wading pools in our basement and the fire hose-style water pressure. A trip to Home Depot and Lowes each later, it was done! Pressure is now at 60 psi and the water heater isn't a ticking time bomb!
But on to more exciting items, like the biggest psyche-out of all (so far) the painted plywood countertops.
Is that granite? Is that soapstone? Quartz? Concrete? NO?!
Is it 2 sheets of cheap-ass plywood and $9 worth of black enamel paint? Why, yes, yes it is. And I love it.
So we know that this is not going to fake the appraiser out, I do think that by doing some small, cheap things we can greatly improve the current craptastic look of our house. For example, the under-bar seating area will eventually get woodpanels, but for now, I painted it out black and drapped some navy fabric over the dishwasher. It's not perfect, IMO it's much better looking.
Next up, painting those plywood walls purple. Then Marc frames the future downstairs bathroom wall and we drywall that puppy.
Good times this weekend holds. Good times indeedy.
Oh and a side note, I think I totally missed my calling as a set designer. The joy that half-assing things brings me rivals my demolition joy.
:)
Finally a fitting time to exclaim "Psyche!"
3/18/09
Labels:
kitchen
It actually looks pretty good. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteWe just finished our SECOND refi. We've had 3 mortgages in 18 months.
But with rates where they are, it's a no-brainer. You just have to lock them in. This is historic. The banks seem eager to refinance any loan that has decent equity (or what might be argued to have decent equity). I suspect that it makes good sense.
Foreclosure rates go down when the amount spent servicing the loan falls below the average rent.
And, of course, they get to pick up origination fees, courier fees, appraisal fees, fee calculation fees, etc., etc.
In any case, good luck and good job.
We're in the process of our second re-fi as well! We locked in mid-January and still have no closing date in sight.
ReplyDeleteOur appraisal actually went down from our last re-fi because this appraiser actually accounted for and downgraded the condition of our house because we didn't have trim up everywhere yet, even though the entire house is practically brand new. Oh well, we still have enough equity to re-fi at a great rate!
Good luck! Hope yours goes faster than ours. The mortgage companies are totally overloaded these days.
Im liking the kitchen so far, Im looking to go with gloss white as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the refinance, good luck with that. My parents got jipped $500 for the refinance. $500 was the fee, and get this, non refundable, and the bank wouldn't refinance them. The real kicker...they fully own 3 other houses. I don't get how they can be in their situation and not be able to refinance.
we refinanced at the end of dec., luckily for us we didn't have to get another appraisal because we only bought the house in july (and i guess the previous appraisal was still good?) good luck!
ReplyDeletei got really excited when i saw the first picture, i've been waiting to see these countertops! i never would have guessed that it was plywood, love it! we have totally half-assed some things around our house, planning on going back and doing the "real work" later... but it's funny that after living with some of the fixes for awhile, it just doesn't seem that important anymore. or maybe i'm just getting lazy :-)
Rates are falling hard. I'm hoping you haven't locked yet.
ReplyDeleteYou could be in clover.
M
We just completed our refi and did the SAME thing you guys are - ran around the house making the unfinished projects 'look' finished. It worked for us and the appraisal was great. The hardest part was taking the nicely cleaned house and making it a construction site again to complete everything the right way. Good luck!
ReplyDelete