Fixer Upper Part Two

Fixer Upper Part Two is a cautionary blog story about fixer-uppers, home ownership, missed closing dates, red-tagged appliances, hiring an attorney, and stress. Fixer Upper NDE (Near Divorce Experience) is part one. If this is your first visit to my website, you can read that post by clicking on the link underlined above.

The Offer

The four of us headed back to the real estate office to discuss proposing an offer. The sellers told us they wanted a quick closing. Our offer was $60,000, which was $2,000 less than their asking price. I felt nauseous and on the verge of a migraine as our realtor filled in the details and numbers on the required paperwork. We left her office and our family’s destiny in her hands.

The next day Pete and I got the exciting news that the sellers had accepted our offer. The closing date was set for thirty days down the road.

In thirty days, the risks we took and lessons learned through the years would pay off and be a more permanent investment. Unlike mobile home ownership, the house and the land it was built upon gave us purchasers peace of mind.

Pete and I survived our childhoods doing the best we could. We worked through barriers in our engagement and eventually married. We made a huge move from Illinois to New Mexico without jobs. After eleven years of marriage, I made it through a high-risk pregnancy, and we had our first child. We kept moving forward after the death of Pete’s mom when Hayes was only two weeks old. Then came the decision to relocate after about a year of living in the Family Section of the mobile home park after eight years of residence in the Adult Section.

Now we were in debt for the rest of our lives to Home Fixer Upper Home With Great Potential.

Life Is Risky Business

The quick closing never happened. The sellers missed two closing dates. We were growing increasingly frustrated because our realtor told us she had been unable to find out why they were no-shows, which seemed a little suspicious.

The family that purchased our mobile home was living with their family waiting for us to move out. It was a huge mess and incredibly stressful. After the second missed closing date, I told our realtor that Pete and I would make this offer only once. If the sellers wanted out, we would release them from the legally binding purchase agreement. Our realtor assured us the sellers wanted to close, and another closing date was set.

Attorney Time

The sellers missed Closing Number 3. Pete and I were left with no other choice. Living in limbo had taken its toll on both of us. We gathered our real estate documents and made an appointment with an attorney to discuss this grand injustice.

It had been seven grueling weeks of exhaustion and frustration since the sellers accepted our offer and signed the purchase agreement.

Our attorney read all the real estate documents, and the details of conversations and interactions I carefully documented in chronological order.

He picked up the phone and called the seller’s realtor. Our attorney identified himself and told the seller’s realtor that Pete and Marilyn Fuller were in his office and hired him because the sellers would not close on the house. In a matter of minutes, our attorney discovered that when the sellers sold us the house, they were days away from being foreclosed upon, which was why they wanted a quick closing. We did not have that information before we made the offer.

Missed Closings Mystery Solved

Because we hired an attorney, he found out the following: Before the first closing date, one of the sellers made some unexpected income from selling a mobile home. The sellers then thought they could stall until they were out of foreclosure and not have to sell us the house. Our attorney calmly explained to the seller’s realtor that the sellers were legally bound to sell us the house. He explained that if the sellers were unable or unwilling to do so, The Fullers would sue. Our attorney said he expected a prompt call back with another closing date, or he would start the legal proceedings on our behalf. Before we left our attorney’s office, we had the fourth closing date. It was two weeks away.

The two weeks of waiting one more time to close on our house were agonizing and packed with one gigantic to-do list. Our main concerns were the red-tagged appliances and making sure the owners had not damaged the property in additional ways. All the red tags had been removed when we checked out the house for the second time. We assumed that the appropriate inspection and repair of the appliances had been completed and were safe to use.

Angry Housewarming Gifts

Lucky Four-Leaf Clover! They finally showed up for Closing Number 4. Hayes was four and a half months old. The Fun Fuller Family proudly pulled up to our new homestead in Pete’s royal blue, partially primed Datsun truck just before dusk.

We got our first extended look at the work ahead. A quart-sized bottle of aspirin flashed across my mind, along with an inner smile knowing Hayes was worth every moment of hard work.

We entered our Southwestern Ranch-style home for the first time as new homeowners with great relief and elation. Hayes rested safely on his Dad’s solid left arm as the three of us checked inside the house first and then the back yard.

Fishing Hooks And Bullets

Not surprisingly, we discovered the previous owners left angry housewarming “gifts” of used cat litter and dog droppings scattered about the den. Like it was our fault they could no longer pay their mortgage and had to sell. We had been extremely patient and fair. What’s the classic saying? Oh yeah, “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.“

We found fishing hooks and bullets in the carpets of every room-aka Crack House decorations.

Used paint cans decorated the garage and the laundry room shelves that were splattered with paint. We discovered that instead of cleaning anything, they just painted over the dirt! That’s why there were so many orphaned paint cans.

Back Yard And Sheds

The back yard was nearly impassable with years of out-of-control weeds and two rusting metal storage sheds filled with trash. On the plus side, I didn’t hear any gunshots, smell rotting diapers, or hear foul language. It was a house we could afford, and I could still dream of being a stay-at-home mom with my baby until he was older. The neighborhood was transitioning, with many of the original owners moving out and families with little ones moving in.

Despite the massive challenges, we were grateful. Pete and I wandered through each room, brainstorming how to share the workload, live in our fixer-upper castle, and care for the wee Hayes.

Visitors At Our Castle De Odor

While we explored the level of filth left behind, we heard the first knock on our front door. The three of us went to the door together. A man and a woman holding their toddler’s hand welcomed us with: “Hi. We’re your neighbors. I’m Billye. I’m Arlie, and this is our son, Brandon. We live right next door. We heard a family bought the house and couldn’t wait to meet you. The people who lived here were such slobs! We know how bad the yards are with the trash and dogs and all. Is the inside just as bad?”

Then we all burst out laughing. We introduced ourselves and invited our new neighbors in to check out the house they had longed to see inside. If I lived next to people like the previous owners, I would be curious too.

The ambiance of domestic house pet odor, stale cigarette smell, moldy shower stalls with urine-stained bowls, and garbage-scented air freshener did not disappoint them.

As they stepped around the cat and dog gifts in the den on the tour of the Fuller Castle, they said in disbelief, “Look at that. How disgusting! How could they live like that? Why did they even want to own a home if they didn’t want to keep it up? Pete and I felt exactly the same way.

And then with playful attitudes, “Congratulations?”

Billye and Arlie explained that our house was designed exactly like theirs, except they did not have a den. They invited us over on the spot to see their place, and we happily accepted their friendly invitation.

The House Of Hope Next Door

Their home was clean, uncluttered, and beautiful. We chatted some and then thanked our new neighbors for stopping by to welcome us to the neighborhood. Pete and I felt comforted by the visual next door that our home would also look that way someday, hopefully before Hayes graduated from high school.

It had been a day of victories. Victory over stress, fear of the unknown, and exhaustion. We decided the three of us would live in the den until we could get Hayes’ bedroom cleaned, disinfected, painted, and replace the gross carpeting. After hauling the crap out of the den, our family settled in for our initial well-deserved siestas.

Fun Fullers New World

So, our lives in a new world began. Personal safety for my family was my biggest concern. First thing the following day, my instinct nagged at me to call the electric and gas company and ask for inspections of our appliances. I explained that we had just moved into our house and had concerns because the appliances had been previously red-tagged and wanted to be sure they were safe to use. Thank God, I followed my gut. The inspections found that the appliances were still unsafe to use, revealing that the sellers must have removed the tags themselves.

Our attorney asked us to call him once we got into the house. When I told him of this major problem, he told me we could sue the sellers who were responsible for the appliance repairs according to the real estate documents. I told him we were finished dealing with the people of zero integrity. All we wanted to do was enjoy our son and work on our home. I thanked him for his expertise and for making it possible for us to finally live in our new home and neighborhood.

Moving Forward

During our brainstorming session, Pete and I figured out how we would work as a team to fix up our new place. Our plan was that I would be primarily responsible for the cleaning, disinfecting, wall prep, painting, purchasing home improvement items for the inside of the house, and assisting him with additional projects. There were many.

Pete agreed to the handyman role. His responsibilities included repairing or improving any electrical, structural, or functional problems inside or outside of the house.

Together we worked on landscaping the front and back yards, hauling loads of debris to the dump, and working on the stucco exterior. For the few times we did not have the appropriate tools or skills, we hired that work out.

I took care of Hayes during the day while Pete was at work. When Pete got home, he spent time with his son while I worked on my fixer-upper duties. In essence, we were each working two full-time jobs. Although I did not go back to work outside the home like the realtor wanted, I worked hard to fix the unwanted into a home we all enjoyed.

I know life is tough for every person. Still, I wondered why the most joyful times in my life with Pete seemed to be covered up by some other stressful, dramatic event. We were happy because of Hayes, but the simple and peaceful seemed missing from our relationship.

Were these the challenges we needed to work through to be strong and wise enough for the path ahead? Had God brought and kept us together for an unfolding purpose?

Copyright © 2022-2024 Marilyn K Fuller. All Rights Reserved.

Tough Cookie Tip: I do not recommend renovating a fixer-upper house as bad as this one with a baby unless you have family or close friends available and willing to care for your little one while you work on it. Renovation at this level involves intense cleaning using heavy-duty chemicals, lots of dust, and paint fumes which a baby should not be breathing. While one of us worked on the interior house projects, the other would be outside with Hayes, away from any exposure. With Pete and I doing 95% of the improvements, it took us four years to complete.

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