Chronicles of an Airbnb Hopeful- #1

We did it! We pulled the trigger and bought a home on Newfound Lake. The dream was to have a place for our family to create memories AND to have an Airbnb to generate income when we are not there. While we couldn’t quite afford to be on the lake, we found a home just up the hill from a lake with deeded beach rights. Special thanks to my mother for helping to make this dream possible!

Newfound Lake is said to be one of the top ten cleanest lakes in the country. It is located in central NH and borders the towns of Alexandria, Hebron, Bristol and Bridgewater. The house we bought in Bridgewater is a 3 bed, 2 bath, just over 2,400 sq. ft. with an oversized deck, 2 garages, and a shed. It is surrounded by trees, offering both privacy and tranquility. Situated high on a hill, it is prime real estate with the perfect “could be” lake view, if only it were not for about 30-40 overgrown trees that sit on the property in front of us.

Closing day was just as seamless as you might imagine. The sellers left a boatload of their belongings in the house. It took roughly two hours for three of us to go through their belongings and pile them up outside. I won’t bore you with the details of the heated “discussion” we had with the sellers or a later encounter we had with a local cop on closing day. It certainly made the day memorable. I will save that story for another time.

To say we have our work cut out for us is an understatement. Our goal is to renovate this home and have it up and running as an Airbnb in two months. This renovation will include two gutted bathrooms, new hardwood floors/carpet, new roof, new light fixtures, deck reinforcements/staining and a kitchen facelift.

As luck should have it, it seems it’s nearly impossible to find good help in the remote area that our house is in. Bridgewater, NH is home to 1,143 people, of which only 2 are contractors. Just kidding, but it sure does seem that way. But really, if you know a great contractor in the area, let me know!

Thankfully, I hit the jackpot when I married this man. Say hello to my husband Scott, our contractor, plumber and electrician and painter. You can tell its Day 1 of the renovation since he is smiling here.

Sleeping on a futon and working inbetween his two jobs, my handy husband will do most the work himself along with “a little help from our friends”.

To truly appreciate where we are going, it is important to know where we came from.

Stay tuned for more photos and details of the renovation to come.

The photos below were taken from the listing. Anyone like their staging? Believe me when I say, these photos made the place look good. Undernearth it all is more grime and filth than you can imagine.

The photos below were taken on closing day.

On Day 1, we cleaned, decluttered, ripped out carpets and popped in a new smart lock. Stay tuned for more updates on our renovation journey and like my page at Kara Trombly Homes on Facebook if you have not already.