We opted not to sell our house. So we refinanced it and got such a great rate that we'd like to keep it forever. Plus, how many times have I heard people say, "Man, if only I'd kept my first home..." So, I'm going to do that.
It seems that we've found a renter, too. A gal who worked with Matt at KOMO, and her 8 year old girl. That works out great b/c there is a 9 year old girl next door and another down the street. Kids everywhere! We're hoping that she's the kind who'll treat this place as her home and will want to stay for several years. That's what she says, anyway.
But this brings up the issue of finishing off all those little things that we've been putting off "until later". 
Well, now it's later. We replaced the windows with the broken sash, broken seal and the one that was so wont to grow black mold. I ordered up 6 cu. yds. of pea gravel and hemlock mulch to fatten up the garden path and establish a good weed barrier in the flower beds. I've got a guy coming to lay new formica and a plumber who will finally fix that main shutoff valve that's been broken for...awhile (read: since we moved in). That plumbing thing is a gamble, though. Because the pipes are so old, we're in danger of the pipe in question breaking during repair, which would force us to lay all new pipe from the street to the junction that's being worked on (cha-ching!). SCARY! I'm going to seed the rock walls with Iberis sempervirens and Dianthus deltoides to block weeds from growing in between the rocks and to crowd out any of that persistent English ivy's attempts at re-colonizing. I am so not going through that hell again.
Well, now it's later. We replaced the windows with the broken sash, broken seal and the one that was so wont to grow black mold. I ordered up 6 cu. yds. of pea gravel and hemlock mulch to fatten up the garden path and establish a good weed barrier in the flower beds. I've got a guy coming to lay new formica and a plumber who will finally fix that main shutoff valve that's been broken for...awhile (read: since we moved in). That plumbing thing is a gamble, though. Because the pipes are so old, we're in danger of the pipe in question breaking during repair, which would force us to lay all new pipe from the street to the junction that's being worked on (cha-ching!). SCARY! I'm going to seed the rock walls with Iberis sempervirens and Dianthus deltoides to block weeds from growing in between the rocks and to crowd out any of that persistent English ivy's attempts at re-colonizing. I am so not going through that hell again.
I've always understood the idea of "you gotta spend money to make money", but still. When you're in the process of hemorrhaging for windows and landscape maintenance, it hurts. Of course, depending on my residency situation, we could well end up back here in 5 years, and that would be swell. In the meantime, our tenants get to live in a sweeter place than we do. That's how we've always rolled. 
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