The cast iron railings at the entryway stairs were replaced with wood spindles from Home Depot. Both custom-built and painted by our contractor. Instead of walking into the front door of the house and looking at walls to the kitchen (like it was originally), we opened up those walls. We also built a gorgeous granite bar overlooking the dining room and living room area from the kitchen. The entryway door was in great condition, so we simply repainted the outside of it. Most of the lower level had 1970’s wood paneling, which we had to remove and install drywall. There was a funny looking storage area going across all the walls of the family room that looked like a gigantic continuous toybox. We eliminated that. Also, in the demolition process, we eliminated many shelves and cabinets and closets that were just randomly placed throughout the lower level. Once the lower level was finished, we had created a huge family room, a huge master bedroom suite, and a gorgeous laundry room with tile floors and Martha Stewart storage units from Home Depot. By keeping some of the existing glass block windows in the lower level, it gave some really nice lighting effects in the master bedroom closet and in the family room, plus it saved money from having to buy more windows. Material list: Wall and Ceiling Color – Aged Beige (Behr PPU 7-9) Trim Color – Riviera Beach (Behr PPU 7-7m) Door Color – Rolling Pebble (Behr PPU 7-23) Hardwoods – Tanzanian Wenge (12mm) Carpet – Touchdown Caramel (528-529) Living Room Light – 13″ Bronze 2-Light Flushmount Twin-Pack (790-545) Dining Room Chandelier – 3-Light Bronze Riverside by Progress (661-224) Baseboards – Pro-Pack of 7/16″x3″x12′ (143-210) ...
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I believe that it is important to be thankful all throughout the year. However, I think that the thanksgiving season allows us some extra time to really sit back and reflect on different people, places and circumstances that have helped us this particular year in our lives. As I look back on 2013, and think of the wonderful year it has been for me personally, as well as for my company. I’d like to take a brief moment and share some of those thankful thoughts with you. The most exciting thing that has happened to me this year is that Rebecca and I have gotten engaged, and are getting married on December 31, 2013, in Seattle, Washington. I know that there is no way I would be where I’m at right now without her. Many times along the way in building an education empire, I wanted to stop and just do real estate investing. That’s where my first love has always been. Whenever I wanted to stop building in education and just build houses, her persistence and encouragement would keep me on track; bringing me to today, where we have just finished hosting our first Ignite Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, with over 500 real estate professionals in attendance. Next, I am thankful for my team that works with me. There is no way that one man, or one woman, could build what we’ve built here at Financial Momentum. At least not without a small army of people working together toward a common goal. My dedicated, loyal, hard-working team members are the second reason we are seeing success at this level. I look back, even after the expo last week. Many, many people came to me and said, “However you put your team together is absolutely amazing!”. There was just a constant flow of people coming and talking to me about my team members. They talked about what they saw, what they did, their attitude, their helpfulness and their willingness to jump in and do whatever was needed. Even things outside their role or job description. None of them talk back or fight against their tasks. They put down their pride and egos, put the company first and focus on the bigger picture. Many work long hours, sometimes even “all-nighters” to make sure the show goes on. For an entrepreneur to be successful, he has to wear many hats. For an entrepreneur to grow into a full business, his team members have to be willing to wear many hats at different times. And that is why, in my opinion, Financial Momentum has enjoyed such success this year. Lastly, I would like to thank the other business professionals in the real estate community. This has been a year where we have been tested and pushed. We’ve been in the limelight. Those other business professionals have partnered with...
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At our Ignite Expo this past November 23, 2013 at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA, we were able to have celebrity designer Jeff Lewis speak at our event. We were even fortunate enough to have a Home Depot President speak to the crowd! We knew we wanted to make a lasting impression with those who attended. Therefor, we did our best to pull all the stops! We played a few videos to introduce the Ignite Expo, and played videos for Jeff Lewis and Andrew Cordle. Check out this video that introduced Andrew onto the platform! ...
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“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one”. ― Brad Paisley I can recall when my wife and I first moved into our dream home. It was a modest house with a lot of potential and sat on a large one-acre wooded lot. It had plenty of personality and charm; so much so that our neighbors often referred to it as “The 3-Bears Cottage!” We eventually decided on an inexpensive remodel in the main bathroom…..”inexpensive” being the key word! We figured a new coat of paint, some “border,” and a new faucet-set would suffice. At this point, our story picks up a familiar theme. Work commenced as I peeled off the old wallpaper which in-turn, exposed rotten sheetrock. I dismantled the old fixtures and found corroded piping. I was immediately flustered once I realized that this “new” appearance/design would contrast with the old linoleum flooring, outdated shower tiles, and the well-worn toilet and cabinetry. Reality hit as I suddenly realized that my “cheap fix” was by all accounts turning into a significant (and expensive) remodel! My wife and I sat down and discussed the pros and cons: Sure, we could wait….but this was OUR home and we wanted to enjoy OUR bathroom without having to endure it’s obvious needs. Of course, we could just “bandaid” the problem by doing a cosmetic/superficial fix; the whole time knowing what lie underneath and that eventually we would have to deal with the problems we already knew existed. We could fool the guests who used it, but were we trying to fool ourselves? That last question answered all of the others. At that exact moment, we decided that any future remodels or repairs to our home would be done the right way. We would take the temporary hit to our pocketbook and to our schedules to ensure that the job was completed properly. We could then fully enjoy it and take comfort in knowing that we did not “fool ourselves!” As your reading this blog posting in anticipation for the New Year, may I suggest that you not consider those well-worn cliches and slogans of “New Years Resolutions?” For once, don’t just half-heartedly consider “dropping a few pounds,” begin a new exercise routine, or invest in something new in preparation for your retirement? After all, who are you trying to fool? Don’t just throw a coat of paint on the walls when there is rotten sheetrock underneath it all! Dig your heels in and deal with the real issues! Take a moment to have an honest discussion with yourself, your partner, your children, or your trusted friend/confidant. Get together with those closest to you and ask them to help you do a personal inventory and analysis of your life. Offer to do the same for them! If that doesn’t sound like...
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