Bar napkins & chicken scratch

One of the first things we did after finding out that we would be getting a fixer-upper home, was have a couple of beers and cheer. We celebrated for about two minutes and then it "sinked" in. Okay, we have a home...now what? 

A couple of Blue Moons and cocktails later we drew up chicken scratch blue-prints on bar napkins with a list of our priorities. What do we want to focus on first? 

Thankfully, Amos is a real estate broker and has taken architecture courses. Additionally, my father has been a licensed contractor in the Los Angeles area since the mid-80s, and I am familiar with the world of construction and its terminology. The two of us put their heads together and voilà!  

It came down to the basics:

• Are the pipes in order?  + Any water damage?
• Are the alarms set up properly: fire, carbon monoxide, etc. 
• Roofing + clearing palm tree leaves off roof + Leaking?
• Wiring + Electricity (any needed updates and protection)
• How properly sealed are the windows? 

This is because one of our priorities during this process is conservation, being water-wise, re-using/recycling material already in the house, and being efficient. Meantime, we're about 3 months away from being able to even take pictures of the property, properly measure it, and do a walk thru with Luis, our licensed contractor/my dad. We are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. 

Looking forward to sharing more of the pre-production with you!