So, the remodel begins in two days. The appointments with contractors have been set and my mind is all about getting the project started. Am I apprehensive? You bet I am. Does the fact I have been unable to reach my soon-to-be former tenants worry me? You bet it does. It is definitely time for a change!

Up to this point I have been calling myself the reluctant landlord. I found myself in that role as the result of a sluggish real estate market in 2009 ( worse than sluggish). Falling house values and a job relocation led us to renting out our unsold family house. It was the home in which we raised our family–a home my wife designed and I, with the help of family and friends, built with my own two hands.

So here is my current challenge: how to get my house market ready, in the shortest amount of time, with the smallest outlay of cash but at the same time maximizing my equity return. Hmmm, sounds simple, now that I say it out loud. NOT! So, stay tuned for periodic updates. You can follow our not so little first time foray into flipping on this blog. Today is flip day minus two.

For now,  I will leave you with some of my lingering thoughts…. new vinyl or laminate? Remove and replace or just remove?  Then there’s the yard: Do I borrow a mower, hire a service, or buy my first goat? You get the idea. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Stay tuned…