Thursday, January 29, 2009 | by nathan

S***box Update

Remember this?

This was the garage of the house next door to me back in February. This house here, affectionately known as The Shitbox:

To say that this house has, for YEARS now, been the scourge of my street is a wild understatement. The former owners, who were nice enough people, owned two of the barkingest dogs. They yapped and yowled at anything and anyone in any yard adjacent to theirs. The garage was unpainted, the shutters frequently fell off the windows, and the place reeked of cat pee and mold.

In June 2007 Brian and I went to San Francisco for a week; when we came back the house was abandoned. Once every two weeks or so the owners would show up with their minivan and load it up with stuff and drive away. About four weeks into this process they showed up and left with a cat. Which had apparently been living there for four weeks, on its own. IN ITS OWN FILTH. It soon became apparent to all us gossipy neighbors that said owners were in some dire financial straits, and while we felt bad for them, we did see this as an opportunity. Perhaps the house would get some owners that would care for its 1800 square feet, ample bedrooms and awesome floor plan. It was like a really pretty house that had been neglected on the back shelf of a thrift store.

Enter my good friends J&L. J&L are about ready to start a family and we would literally kill to have them living next door to us. Kill. They paid almost $200 to have this place appraised after speaking with the owner, who seemed eager to sell to get out from under his mortgage. The place needed some serious repair and remodeling, in the amount again of what it was worth. This still made it a bargain. The plumbing was all effed up, and we learned later that they’d been living there for YEARS without hot water. WITH KIDS. But we’re not here to judge them. Much.

After Jaye forked out a whole wad of cash to have the place appraised, it went on auction before he could move on it. We cursed to the heavens, but when the new owners showed up ready to flip the property, we decided to hold our breaths. That was August 2007.

For about the entire first year the place sat there, and nothing happened. Then, last summer, a crew showed up and began work. It progressed quickly, but just as suddenly as they came they were gone; we were told they’d been fired. Soon enough another crew showed up and they’ve been there ever since, working through cold and rain and awful autumn and winter weather. Now, it looks like this:

I KNOW, RIGHT? How much better is that? I’d love to show you photos of the inside, but I’ve only peeked through the windows and I can tell you it’s going to be fantastic. Check out the garage:

It’s been painted and drywalled. The rotting tree that was growing back there has been cut down. The makeshift housing for the malfunctioning hot water heater that stuck out like a tumor on the back of the house has been removed, and the entire back yard cleared of debris and detritus from a house that was crumbling and ugly.

We must be bad luck. The house on the other side of us almost went in foreclosure and is also now being flipped by a delightful older couple who drive up weekly from Hot Springs, Arkansas, to work on it. So on either side of us, in our awesome 1940’s-era neighborhood, is construction, construction, construction all day long. It’s like living in a brand-new suburban subdivision. But we DO NOT CARE as long as the houses get finished now in a timely manner, which it looks like they will.

Now we’re just hoping we get some awesome new neighbors on either side, people without yippy dogs or horrible taste or drinking problems. We’ve been patient, Universe. Patient and kind as can be, even though I’ve suffered no fewer than 5 nails in my tires because of these endless construction projects. I think some awesome neighbors with good taste in beer is in order.

Casablog, It's Not Right But It's Okay

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