June 26, 2019
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becca mclagan
where the heart is
on the lake
buying + selling
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on the lake
buying + selling
design consulting
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Real estate
I am a licensed Realtor and DIY home makeover-er with a background in teaching everyone from 6-12, university students, and adult professionals.
I am here to empower YOU to make your design a reality! I teach you how to make the best financial and aesthetic moves for the scope of your project. We will maximize your ROI. Even if you aren't planning on selling your home, think of the equity you will gain in a short time!
I have spent years obsessively watching shows about home renovation. Hometown, Fixer Upper, Rehab Addict, Grand Designs, Income Property, Property Brothers, House Hunters Renovation, Beachfront Bargain Hunt, Stone House Revival, oh my god all the things. The amount of life I’ve exchanged for this kind of television is outrageous.
For me, it has never been enough to watch. I wanted to DO. Maybe you can relate?
After years of renting, my husband and I finally got the chance to buy and renovate a home. The minute I saw our Little River House (if there’s one thing I’ve learned from HGTV, it’s that you name your homes), I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to flip it.
This was two years ago in 2017. We were newly married, new to the area, and somewhat unemployed (more on that later). We had never owned a home or power tools before. Why did we feel so confident about this house and its potential? Naivete. Plain and simple. Not knowing anything about anything, our only decision-making process was to “go with our gut.”
God, intuition, beginner’s luck- whatever you choose to call it. These things definitely played a hand in our first renovation and house flip.
The face of blind optimism — one bottle of champagne on the new deck, and then we got to work.
THAT CARPET — it was the first thing to go. Seeing an immediate change was a huge mood-booster!
Matt’s brother, Nate, tackling the kitchen renovation. He had the tools, the skill, and the knowledge– a key player.
I remember walking in the front door for the first time. The tenants who’d been living there for a decade had packed the house to the gills. It was tough to navigate the 800 sq. ft. of living space. It smelled like smoke and we could see nicotine stains on the walls. The carpet felt original (note: “original hardwood floors” is cool, “original carpet” is not. The cabinets and counters were sticky.
And yet, the view of the river was special. That’s all we noticed. On the spot, we offered over the asking price. A few hours later, we got the call- the house was ours!
I’ve been waiting to write about our first house flip for a few reasons:
With a little hindsight and a successful sale, I can’t wait to share everything about this flip! Look for upcoming posts detailing each project.
But this is POST #1 (woo!) and it’s not meant to be a tease.
The view of our kitchen/dining room, shortly after renovations began.
The finished kitchen, looking out towards the river. My favorite features: the 9′ island, beam, and chalkboard.
Matt and I both worked full-time jobs. I teach middle school English and Matt drove for FedEx, meaning all renovations were done on nights and weekends. And because one side hustle wasn’t enough, I decided to also get my real estate license.
That’s four jobs between the two of us.
Much of the time, we were tired and crabby. We often felt like we didn’t recognize our own lives. Sometimes, we honestly weren’t sure if the grind was worth it. I mean, what had happened to our free time? What was “hanging out with friends?”
We had an end goal in mind, but we didn’t let ourselves dwell on it. Our dreams are big and scary. Matt helped remind me that while it’s great to have vision, it’s necessary to get work done. So, we put our energy into making small progress each day.
There will be many more posts about the Little River House flip. You can also hop over to the Renovations page to view the full gallery. You are welcome to share this content, contact me with questions, or leave comments below.
I’ll end today’s post with two questions to consider:
What is your biggest, scariest dream? And what in the world is holding you back?
Much love,
Becca
It’s great to have vision; it’s necessary to get work done.
June 26, 2019
peaceful waterfront vacation rental in shawano, wi
real estate services for buyers and sellers
Love, love, LOVE!!! Can’t wait to read more.
Thank you, friend! That means a lot 🙂 Hopefully lots more to come!
P.S. Have we thanked you enough times for finding us LRH??
Super Job Becca! Keep em coming!
Thank you! My goal is two stories a week- hopefully I can get faster at the whole process. There is a lot to learn about website design!
Good for you! I look forward to reading more of your posts. Perhaps you can take on another job (author) in your spare time. LOL You have the gift of writing.
Cindy, that is so nice of you to say! Thank you for the kind words. I will hopefully have a lot more writing to be doing 🙂
Love reading about LRH!!!
Thanks Bab!! I’ll hopefully keep them coming 🙂
I’m feeling inspired! LRH is the perfect example of good bones + great location + inspired vision + lots of muscle = DREAMY. The before/after pictures are astonishing. Great work!
#leftmewantingmore
More before and afters to come! As soon as I figure out a faster way to edit and resize photos :-/