Morgan CottleMay 29, 2018

The Beginning

Morgan CottleMay 29, 2018

Here we are a few days before our settlement, and we can't wait to get in and start putting our stamp on this gorgeous house!

The Story

I am a PA Licensed Realtor and saw this house come up in the MLS, right after Brandon and I had resigned ourselves to staying in our condo after we had a new construction deal that didn't work out. We had looked at a few other places, but we weren't really sure exactly what we wanted and thought maybe we would wait a year or so before we really started looking again. But I saw this house come up and something told me that I should go see it. Truly, I was not really expecting that I would ever buy it. With the market on fire like it is right now, I didn't think we would ever have a chance at it. But it's in a beautiful area of town and I love looking at all the old borough homes, so I figured why the heck not? I texted the address to my mom, who is also my business partner, and she said, "let's go see it." So, that evening, my mom and I took our first steps into Brandon's and my future home.

As soon as I walked in, I knew that it was an incredible opportunity. The light, the original floors, the trim, the huge windows - I fell in love with all of it. Later on, we told my dad and Brandon about it and we went back again to look - again, not really thinking anything of it other than that it was a great house, maybe for one of my clients. We spend a lot of time checking out homes in the area, so all four of us seeing this home really wasn't out of the ordinary.

My dad seeing this place is what snowballed the whole thing into what it has become. He loved the house so much, he considered buying it himself for him and my mom to move into. Even Brandon, who is usually quite picky and maybe a little hard to please when it comes to looking at homes, spent an hour walking the property, scouring it with his architectural engineering eye.

Now, don't get me wrong - this house needs a LOT of work. It only has one bathroom (we have previously lived with two full baths, so I'm sure that will be fun!), hardly has any closet space, and the original hardwoods are horribly stained. The kitchen has not been touched since the 1950s, and that's being generous. The bathroom plumbing is all out of whack, the basement has water problems, and there's oil heat (radiators!) and no central air. But the good we can see in this home is what makes this place perfect for us, despite its shortcomings and the work (and potential additions) it inevitably needs.

I am no stranger to good old-fashioned hard work and renovation. In 2014 I bought a condo just outside of our downtown area. It was original 1986 everything. Over the last four years, I (and later Brandon) updated and renovated that condo to bring it into the 21st century. After our offer was accepted on our new home, I put my condo on the market and it had multiple offers within 24 hours. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to renovate that home with my own two hands to match my vision - and I feel luckier yet to be renovating this new home into one that I am sure Brandon and I will be happy in for many, many years to come.