Looking back on 2017 and our first year here as the owners and hosts of The Grand Kerr House, I have to say, it's been an amazing year.
We spent our first year investing a lot of time, money, energy and sweat into this beautiful home. When I listen to Bob telling people about the improvements and changes we have made, I am constantly amazed at his vision and his ability to make his dreams a reality.
Day of the Auction - And Today -
In the past year we have probably doubled our initial investment in this old house - and thanks to the wonderful craftsman that helped us with the work, the house is grand again. We started with the rebuilding of the four chimneys and repairing of the mortar (Eagle Masonry), patching and painting of the soffits and exterior surfaces (Black Swamp Exterior Painting), replacing the roof with a steel roof that will long outlast us (Erie Construction), putting on custom gutters and downspouts (Crawford Eaves), replacing the exterior drainage system, and restoring the beautiful porch (OK, that's still a work in process but at least it is in process). And all that just on the exterior!
Inside we replaced two of the three HVAC's (Kendall Plumbing & Heating), leak proofed the basement, removed the forty-year-old carpet, refinishing the original floors where possible (CJ's Hardwood Floors), and putting in new carpet (Taylor Perz Flooring) in the areas that required it. We had new wallpaper hung in the first floor bedroom (it needed to be replaced due to water damage), added a walk-in shower on the second floor, and are working on putting the first floor kitchen back in it's original space.
And with all that going on, we still opened our doors to House Guests on Memorial Day Weekend, less than a year after buying the house. We have had such wonderful guests come through our doors this past year. As we wrote in our annual Christmas Poem -
Opened up the Bed and Breakfast, lots of work and also, fun
So many guests have stayed with us - we liked them every one!
And that's the truth!
So here it is, the start of 2018 and I am making my New Year's Resolutions -
1. To Blog at least once a week
2. To keep up with the bookkeeping and the paperwork (OK, I admit, I am already behind)
3. To work on marketing and increase our occupancy rate 50% this year (we were blessed with 15% occupancy our first year - better than expected!)
Who knows, maybe you will stumble across this Blog Site and decide to follow us during this year's adventures. It's been a crazy ride so far...
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