The Plan...

I'm guessing if you looked at the "Before Pictures" you are wondering why I would ever buy such a place.  Well, after some self-convincing and thought, I decided it does have potential, the price was right, and the location is pretty nice too!

The Ugly Lake House is located just below and to the left of the thumb tack.

The loan I got for the house allows for money to put towards a renovation or rehab project.  It's called a FHA 203k and mainly used for houses that are foreclosed and neglected just as The Ugly Lake House has been. 

The plan of action is as follows:

• Kitchen renovation including a massive island with a bar counter top
• New first floor windows
• New boiler, water heater, and water softner
• New flooring through out
• Closing off the Den Area with a wall and french doors.
• Bathroom renovations with a new shower, tub, and vanities.
• Addition of gutters for the roof 
• Remove the chain link fence
• Update the landscaping
• Build a Patio
• And a few more projects that I'm sure will come up

The Before...

Apparently The Ugly Lake House was once a one story cottage.  At sometime a second story addition was added giving it that signature Mushroom shape.  An uninviting front porch was also added.  I can only assume it was an afterthought.

The back of the house with another great looking porch. 

View of the Kitchen from the front door.  What does 191 E. Lane (house I lived in during college) and this place have common?  Yep, that's right, a carpeted kitchen!!!

View of Den Area and Kitchen

View of Kitchen from Dining Area

View of Sitting Area and Kitchen from Dining Area

View of Dining Area from Sitting Area

Staircase and Mudroom/Laundry Room

Mudroom/Laundry Room.  Note the awesome drop ceiling!!!

Hallway leading to Den.  First floor bathroom is the door on the right.

Go up the stairs and turn right and this is what you get.  I'm not even sure what to call this.  We'll go with... Upstairs Landing.

Upstairs Landing

Second Floor Bathroom

Clean shower?!

Second Floor Hallway/Upstairs Landing

Second Floor Hallway

First Bedroom

Second Bedroom

Third Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Master Bathroom.  And, yes that is Duct Tape in my shower.

Closed on the Ugly Lake House

A little history of The Ugly Lake House.  I decided that if I wanted to stay in Michigan that I would have to live on lake and this lake must be attached to other lakes.  I may or may not have a short attention span. 

The fall of 2010, my sister Amy began showing me houses around the Portage Chain of Lakes.  For those not familiar it's north of Ann Arbor in Hamburg.  Yes I did say, "Ham"burg.

After looking at a few other places, Amy showed me The Ugly Lake House.  After a brief tour we walked out and I laughed at the mushroom shaped structure.  She tried to point out all the "potential" the place had but I just wasn't seeing it.  As you will soon see it’s a little bit of train wreck.   

A few days passed and I had given it some more thought.  I decided to take a couple of my friends to the house and get some feedback.  Bryan and Roy both said it "may have some potential and would need a ton a work".  

After much internal debate I decided to put an extremely low offer in.  Apparently someone else had the same thought and I was out bid.  The Ugly Lake House was out of my life.  So I thought…

Signing my life away!

In January of 2011 the house came back on the market, my offer was accepted, inspections were completed, and I finally closed on March 28th, 2011!  Hopefully the "potential' is there.