I Bought a House

I have several posts queued up about some ongoing home improvement projects, so I wanted to begin with one that shows the house in its initial state.  At right is the realtor photo from the listing when I was shopping for houses.  It is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath with a gameroom.  I liked this house because of the neighborhood, the great view from the balcony, and its potential for a lot of great projects, many of which I've started already.  The house is quite tall, with the first floor sitting at least one story above the street.  I closed the day before Halloween and did most of the moving myself that Friday afternoon.  The next evening I was sufficiently moved in so that I could hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Project Ideas Already
As soon as I had a look around the house while it was on the market, I was already making a mental list of things that I would like to do with it.  In addition to some minor maintenance projects, the carpet throughout was not in the best shape (although probably better than what was in my apartment), so I wanted to replace it upstairs, and put in hardwood flooring throughout the first floor.  The lawn needed care and the rest of the yard some landscaping work.  There is also an attic room that had been partially finished out but that isn't quite usable as a room.

Here you can see the backyard in its initial condition, which will be the focus of an upcoming sprinkler system project.  It is pretty overgrown and full of weeds.