extreme makeover - row home edition

for those of you who don't know, sean and I own a row home in a philadelphia suburb. it is our first house, and we'd never buy it again today if we knew what we know now about it. as you do know, we just got a new heater, which is a nice thing for when we want to sell. it got us to thinking about all the other projects that we want or need to do in order to maximize our living arrangements and, ultimately, to sell it to some other unsuspecting yahoo.

we know we need to get some sort of home equity loan or line of credit in order to finance everything we want and need - a new stove (a need), a new deck (a want), to finish the kitchen, etc. and when it comes to matters of the wallet, specifically having to do with our home, we pretty much have to consult with my father. not because he holds the purse strings or anything (I wish) but because that's the way it has to be done.

my dad and I have a great relationship. now. growing up, let's say we didn't see eye to eye. not that I had alot of interaction with him. he and my mom were usually too busy with hating each other, loudly, or ignoring each other, pointedly, to have much to do with me. he has always been very opinionated and very controlling, and though he's softened quite a bit, there's still a little of that mean old dad in him. and of everyone I know, he knows the most about how to handle money. he'll definitely want to help us figure things out, but only if he's ultimately calling the shots.

(and by the way, that is the nicest, most understated paragraph about my father and his termperment and my childhood that I think I could possibly write. I'm kind of proud of myself.)

so I figured I'd broach the subject with my dad over the phone when he called - again - to ask how the heater was working and if I got my money's worth. I knew I wanted a deck and a new stove so I told him that sean and I were thinking of looking into home equity loans. and then I braced myself. I quickly added, "ofcoursewewanttoaskyouropinionfirst" before anything bad could be said. he did agree and then said something really quite extraordinary. he suggested that we put a new addition on our house.

I was floored. I mean, I always wanted to do that (we have room to build overtop of our kitchen - we'd have to bust out the back wall of our house and move our bathroom but it so totally could happen) but I honestly thought he'd laugh at me if I mentioned it. and I'm positive that he would have if I did, as this kind of thing usually has to start with him or it's not a good idea, if you know what I mean. but having his support of it without my even bringing it up was really exciting.

sean's not quite on board, and we'd have to make sure that we weren't fixing our house up so much that we'd never recoup our investment, but I can't tell you how great it would be to have a bigger, newer, more non-life-threateningly-wired bedroom than the extremely tiny one we have now. and a new bathroom? fageddaboudit. I'd be in heaven.

anyways, this weekend, we're going over to my dad's to discuss the pros and cons. I put together a list of all the things that need to be done to the house - it's 35 items long. I categorized them as big ticket, contractor, and DIY. there's not a ton of big ticket stuff, but a nice amount of contractor (ie, we can't do it ourselves) stuff and a long list of DIY (meaning I have to do it.) but when it's all done...we'll be living in paradise.

I can dream.