Hi!

We are AJ and Hillary, and we live together in central Michigan with our three cats. We have been working on houses in our spare time since 2009, and own multiple residential and commercial properties on the block where we live. Working on houses has taught us a lot about our personal skill sets, about working together as a couple, and in some cases, how to learn a necessary skill overnight.

Our aim is to retire from traditional work early, leveraging our past and current savings, investments, and property income.

This blog chronicles the cleanup and renovation of a house we bought in 2018: the home of a former hoarder. The goal is to perform as much of the work on the house as possible ourselves or with friends, including things we may have never done before. The hope is that someone else can learn from our experiences during the process. Self help on the internet is good in some areas, and poor in others, so any additional information we can add to clarify a process that took us a long time to learn could potentially help someone else working on their own project.

Disclaimer! We are not professional contractors, and all of the information featured on the site is opinionative from our lay perspective. The procedures outlined worked for us, but may not work for you in your situation. We try to aggregate good information for you as reference material, but cannot be held liable for damage, death, or dismemberment caused by following the instructions or recommendations featured on this site. If you have questions or are considering a remodel, we recommend seeking professional advice for your project before starting.