Back in 2015-2016 we started our search for a property. We had several criteria for a new place, it had to be at least 5 acres, zoned for horses and farm animals, preferably with a barn, pastures and a riding arena. It also needed to be close to Disney so Paul’s work commute didn’t change much. We zeroed in on an area that met most of these criteria. The area was still in Winter Garden where we had put down roots and it was still close to grocery & shopping areas.

Our search brought us to a beautiful house that had just been listed that morning. We drove by to see the house and it was amazing and perfect. Actually it seemed too perfect for the price! Long story short, it was a divorce sale but there was some funny business going on between the seller and the real estate agent and we were outbid. Ok, so I believe things happen for a reason and maybe it was because something better was in store.

We changed our focus and found an empty lot and decided we would just build new but building new would push us out of our comfort zone in regards to price. The area we were looking in was in high demand and anything decent was going fast. So building new was seeming like our only option. As we were making plans to build we were talking about the barn and what we would want to build for ourselves.

Paul asked me to envision my dream barn and I told him I had always loved the barn where Payton had her 6th birthday party. It was a huge, beautiful barn with pavers and chandeliers, the whole 9 yards. So we set out to do a drive-by for inspiration. As we pulled up to the property it was clearly abandoned and no one was living there so we walked the property to take a closer look. We saw what was once the beautiful barn, still in good shape but neglected and empty. We took pictures and some notes so we could replicate some of the things in our new barn.

Later that day we decided to see exactly what was going on with the abandoned property. Low and behold it had gone through foreclosure and was owned by an investment company. We contacted them but weren’t able to get much info. Miraculously, the next morning my phone dinged at 8am notifying me of a new listing in Lake Avalon, it was THAT house! No freakin way! Paul, paul, wake up! The birthday house, Jewel Court as it was once called, just listed! We contacted the realtor and immediately went to see it.

The house was icky and outdated. The lot was a weird pie shape wedge. It had mold damage in the bathroom, likely a leaky pipe, it even had weeds growing in between the glass of the double pane windows! The layout in the main living was choppy and disconnected. It only had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and was smaller than what we were looking for, needed loads of work but that barn…oh…that barn…it was amazing! It had a full size riding arena and the pastures were all fenced. It also had a pool but the house would need a lot of work. A lot. Of. Work.

We decided to crunch the numbers on purchase price and what it would take to renovate. They worked! They kept us nearer to where we needed to be in price and it was 20 minutes from Paul’s work. We decided to make an offer and keep the empty lot idea as a backup. In hind sight, we probably should have just gone with the new build it probably would have been easier and definitely faster in the long run, but this property gave us much more.

Once we were under contract we decided to surprise Payton with the news. We were able to keep the details under wraps and had actually fooled her into believing we weren’t going to be able to buy this property…hehehe! Yes, I know we’re evil parents!

On September 16, 2016 we closed on the property we affectionately named ‘The Farm’. We were excited to start our new family adventure!