Fixing up my Condo

As if I don’t have enough on my plate with marathon training and weight watching, I have determined that after 8 years in my comfy abode that it is now time to upgrade to roomier quarters (could it be that Spelunker is cramping my style?). Of course, I started off wrong – I started looking at all the neighborhoods that I would like to live in first, instead of preparing my condo for sale. And although, at first, I believed that I didn’t have much to get the condo ready, my error has now been corrected.

First, I bought 2 new appliances: a dishwasher and a dryer. I only bought those because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of replacing the stove, I wanted my dishwasher to match the remaining kitchen appliances, and wanted my dryer to match my washer that I purchased 2 years ago. Then, I rented a 5’x5’ storage unit and packed up all my clutter to deal with later in a bigger home.

Next, my realtor, Alan, looked at my place and recommended that I install granite counters to increase the re-sale value. At the moment, I’m willing to part with $3K of my hard cash to get a re-sale value that is $10K more than it would likely go for. I’m also replacing the stove that I initially didn’t want to deal with.

Spelunker and I painted the living room last weekend, which was a monumental task, but the payoff is fantastic! I chose a neutral cashew color and painted the trim a hi-gloss white, and immediately discovered that my vertical blinds for the balcony match the paint exactly!

The granite counters get installed tomorrow, and Spelunker and I plan to paint the kitchen and my master bathroom this weekend with a semi-gloss gray. If we have time, we will also paint the office with the same cashew color as the living room. Since I bought 5 gallons of the stuff, I plan to hold onto whatever is left over and paint the next place I move into since I like the color so much.

I’m thinking of putting in a tile backsplash behind the granite, but want to see the counters first before I make up my mind. The only other chores that remain are calling a steam cleaner for the carpets, getting my dad to install new linoleum in my bathrooms on Aug 9^th, and optionally, re-painting my bedroom.

At this rate, maybe my condo will be on the market before Labor day….