“My mother already had a big section partitioned off, so we figured we’d use this section for the rentals,” Emily said when they came to the wall that split up the house.
“Ayuh. I did that work,” Sally said.
“We want to make it into two separate rental units each with a mini kitchen and separate entrance,” Andie said.
Sally raised a brow and looked at Shane. “What do you think about that?”
Shane glanced around, his gray eyes turning serious. “It’s kind of a big job.”
Andie’s heart sank. She glanced at Emily, who looked equally disappointed.
“But doable, right?” Sally asked.
“I think so. Let’s see what it looks like.” Shane nodded at the doorknob, and Emily opened it, and they all stepped through.
“Now I remember.” Sally nodded her head as she looked around. “Your mother wanted to block off part of the house since it was too big and cost a lot to heat. But she also had me make some changes in case one of the kids wanted to move in so it would be like a separate apartment. I think a lot of what you need is already set up.”
Sally walked around the area, moving bureaus and sideboards out of the way. It consisted of three large rooms, all of which were still crammed with antiques. Andie made a mental note to move them elsewhere before work started.
After she was done inspecting the perimeter, Sally stood in the middle of the space, her arms crossed over her chest. “It’s plenty big enough for two small studios.”
“There’s already an exterior door here.” Shane indicated a doorway that led out onto the end of the wraparound porch near the driveway. “We could make a small vestibule in here and then have two doors each going to the different units.”
“That would be perfect since the door is near the driveway. I could expand the parking at the end, and guests could get right into the unit. I’m not going to have a check-in desk or anything,” Emily said.
“And the back wall is next to the bathroom, and that means easy access to plumbing.” Sally looked at Emily. “That will keep your costs down.”
Emily looked hopeful. “So this is doable for under thirty thousand?”
The loan was for seventy-five, and they’d only budgeted thirty for the renovation, but that was before they knew Sally and Shane would defer payment. They could go a little higher now, assuming they could get the units rented quickly.
Sally nodded slowly. “Might be tight, but we’ll give you our best shot. You can save a lot if you’re frugal with the fixtures. You know, the countertops, appliances, lighting.”
“I know how to get the price down on those.” Andie had shopped for fixtures with Maxi for the bathrooms they’d had to put in at Tides. They’d managed to cut the costs quite dramatically, and she could do it again.
Sally nodded. “Okay, well, if you want to do the sourcing, that’s less labor for us. Saves you even more money.”
“I’d be happy to do it,” Andie said.
“Okay then, I’ll write up a quote with our best price. Now, when would you like us to start?” Sally asked.
Emily glanced at Andie. “I’m not sure. I’ve hired Andie to oversee the whole process… it’s a bit much for me.”
Sally turned to Andie. “Oh? A new venture for you?”
Andie hadn’t thought of it that way, but maybe thiscouldbe a new venture. Were there other people that needed help with their antique family homes? “I’m not sure. I guess we’ll see after this.”
“That suits you,” Shane said.
His words confused Andie. “It does?”
“Yeah. In school you were always helping the other kids who were falling behind on school work. You were smarter than everyone, and you always helped them come up to speed. I think some of them wouldn’t have graduated without you.”
Andie blushed at the compliment. It’d been so long ago she’d forgotten. She rarely thought of herself as a helper, but now that he mentioned it, she had spent a lot of time helping out their friends, and it had been rewarding.
“Okay. Enough of the reminiscing,” Sally said. “We’ve got work to do. I’ll work on this tonight. I think we can get started right away, unless you have something else going on, Shane.”
“Nope. Actually just finished up a job, so I’m free as a bird,” Shane said.
