Cottage Contessa

Locust Videos

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:23:31 +0000

Heart House Update - Exterior Reno Complete minus paint

Tiffany — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:44:36 +0000

Finally going to give Heart House some love and attention. I cannot wait to show you the pictures of this completion - with my plan - this house will be simply amazing. Keep checking back on this amazing house.

Update on 6708 - On the market this week!

Tiffany — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:59:23 +0000

Update on Misty House

Tiffany — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:00:23 +0000

My crew for Heart House is going to move to Misty House as soon as the siding is on Heart House. A minor setback but at least I have a detail minded crew on the job. If any of you know me, you know how detail orientated I am - especially when it comes to finish work. If it isn’t straight - it isn’t right. Thankfully - Jeff has this same mentality. I will be posting some pictures of Misty house this week so you can see our progress. The house is less than a week from completion - just need to get back on track after working with Five Star Painting and Home repair.

This is Fives Star Painting and Home Repair’s craigslist post…BEWARE.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/hss/1157027251.html

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/sks/1086462048.html

You can expect the following to happen to you:

1. They broke into my property on numerous occassions and took our personal property and knocked over valuable items after being fired
2. Brian (one of Eric’s “most trusted people”) stole materials from our jobsite
3. They have people with warrants working for them
4. Eric went on vacation the day after I paid him. Several of his contractors as of today still have not been paid
5. Eric’s team is sloppy and broke several expensive items while doing the repairs to include knocking down the face of a chimney and breaking various things to include a brand new bath tub
6. Eric hires random people from Craigslist and invites them into your home without any background checks

I really liked Eric, he talks a great talk but when it comes down to execution of the job or managing himself or his team…things failed miserably. I am really sad this is how this turned out, I was hoping to use Eric and his team on many other projects. I am glad I found out now how truly bad these guys are.

Heart House - Facelift - 3-12-09

Tiffany — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:39:01 +0000

Transformation part 3…

Heart House - Facelift - 3-11-08

Tiffany — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:34:46 +0000

Removing the teardrop soffits and exterior siding. I would love to know who put siding over rotten soffits. It was so bad that we barely started pulling the vinyl off and the whole soffits started falling down. It is a sad day to see a house get this bad. Here is a whole new beginning for Heart House…

Heart House - Facelift - 3-8-09

Tiffany — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:26:56 +0000

Getting started on the transformation….

All of these pictures of heart house are the day we did the demo - but prior too. This is how pretty it was before =)

Dealing with bad contractors

Tiffany — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:09:31 +0000

I had heard many times prior to starting this adventure that finding good contractors was going to be the hardest part of the puzzle. I really did not put much stock in it until now.

I had to fire the contractor “Five Star Painting and Home Repair” from my job on Misty House. It has since, been a nightmare to include him (Eric Hood) and his subcontractor named Brian breaking into my house repeatedly. He not only broke into the house and stole materials but he stole our compound miter saw which made the occurence a felony which I plan to prosecute to the full extent of the law. I go back to thinking how things go wrong and thought that I would share a few tips I have learned:

1. Always have a contract stating exact terms of service
2. Never pay the contractor until they have finished the job. If this is not possible - use very specific milestones so if they decide to take the money you pay them and go on vacation, at least something is completed.
3. Always have a “know-it-all” around. Larry Dilts from Ladco, whom I have known since my first house sold has been a godsend. He keeps everyone around me honest and informs me when they are doing something wrong as I learn.
4. Never give them free access to any kind of money, always go to the store with them and know what you are buying. I have found many instances where I bought tons of excess material and was able to account for it at the end of the job. If your contractor does not have scruples he will load up the extra and take the money you spent for himself.
5. NEVER let someone work hourly. This leaves people standing around and getting nothing done. They do not care if your project gets done. The longer it drags on - the more money they get paid. Always do a gross sum contract stating the MAX you would pay for the job and sign a contract to ensure it does not exceed that unless some MAJOR UNFORSEEN addition needs to be made: IE: the clay pipe to your sewer connect is broken and must be repaired.
6. Get lien waivers from EVERY single sub on the job site. Do not leave this to the GC - get them yourself.
7. Get all phone numbers and last names of all subs on your job site. If something happens, you can at least have a record of who was on your property. I have no idea what “Brian’s” last name is and this guy was supposedly someone I was supposed to trust.
8. If something goes wrong, change all of the lockbox codes immediately.
9. File police reports ANYTIME something unusual happens. This creates a documented record or history when you end up in court.
10. Do background checks on who you hire. You will be astonished who you are rubbing arms with.

The good news is that I did find a good contractor named Jeff - whom works like no one I have ever seen. He is at the new house from 8am till 8 pm 6-7 days a week. He is planning on cutting over to finish Misty house so I can get it on the market. I am going to be posting some pictures for you of the amazing transformation of the second house in a few minutes - so check it out =)

Happy Rehabbing.
Tiffany

Another new house (Heart House) - closing Feb.27th 2009

Tiffany — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:36:44 +0000

I am really rather excited about this project. This house is ugly and smells like a herd of wild cats lived here, but it literally has not been touched since it was built. It comes complete with green carpet and 70’s retro inspired paneling in the entrance. I can see this house transformed. It will be amazing once complete and will offer 4 bedrooms 2 bathrooms. Listing price will be somewhere between 129-139 depending on how far I go with the interior details. My current plan is to remove the wall that seperates the kitchen and living room and have an island custom built. I always go back with hardwood floors (the kind you actually sand and finish) instead of putting down laminate (I feel a little sick even saying that word) or a prefinished snap together like lego floor.
I have recently found a great place to do custom cabinets that is reasonable on custom work. I also found a FABULOUS place this weekend in KCKS that sells granite (great quality 3cm bullnose straights) for 200-425 per piece. Fabrication cost is more than the granite!

k…I am way late getting to the house and they need insulation…bbl.

Tiffany

Work, work work

Tiffany — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:57:13 +0000