About four years ago, my husband and decided to retire and purchase a home in Palm Beach.
We were ready to be done with the cold and snow up north.
We were anxious to trade our ice scrapers, snow shovels and wool coats for sandals, sunblock and shorts. However, real estate in Palm Beach and the surrounding areas is very expensive. We were unwilling to settle into an unsafe or undesirable neighborhood. A decent amount of property and privacy were priorities. We toured a lot of homes for sale in the Palm Beach area before we finally found something within our price range. The home was built in the early 2000’s and includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms and almost 1,400 square feet of living space. Unfortunately, the house had been neglected for a long time. There were holes in the walls, broken windows and rotted floors. The pipes and roof leaked and none of the appliances were salvageable. There was also a very unpleasant musty odor throughout the house that we suspected was due to an ugly, stained carpet. Since my husband and I were looking for something to keep us busy in our retirement, we were excited to take on the renovation project. The low price of the house left room in the budget for a decent set of tools, building materials and new appliances. While making repairs and upgrades to the house was time-consuming and labor-intensive, we enjoyed customizing the home to suit our needs and preferences. We also knew that we were significantly improving the resale value.