Down to the Studs…Let’s Renovate

March 18, 2020.

I walked for 40 minutes this morning, I’m struck by the total disconnect between what is happening here in beautiful Lake Tippecanoe and what’s on television and social media. It’s 82 degrees, bright sun, birds singing, and except for the absence of folks on the roads…seeming normalcy. I’m sad that the Governor of this state has not yet taken the threat to us seriously. Despite the Federal Government recommendation that all folks shelter in place, he’s only ordered the closing of bars, not restaurants. I fear that history will judge elected  leaders who fail to take their responsibilities to us seriously…very harshly.

So here’s our experience buying and renovating a condo in Southwest Florida.

Our superstar realtor, Judy Del Viscio,

introduced us to the planned retirement community, Lake Tippecanoe (our little slice of Sarasota paradise) last January 23. On that date there were 5 condos for sale in this  46 (yikes!) year old community … all within the same general price range. We focused on two. Sparing you the boring details, I did my research, found that the owner of 4603 inherited the place from her deceased step-mother and had been paying the condo fees, utilities and taxes for 9 months. She’d dropped the price 3 times in 9 months. We negotiated hard and simultaneously began  negotiations with the owner of 4405, who was moving back to Minnesota (are you kidding me?) to be near her children. Finally, I  told both owners that we were set on buying a place in Lake Tippecanoe…cash deal, no contingencies…and it was just a matter of who gave us the best price. 4603 came down 12% and the rest is history…we now had a fixer upper!

 

One evening, while waiting for my  yoga instructor to arrive, the only other early bird said to me “How’s it going?”  I replied that we’d just purchased a tiny condo;  Andy replied “Us too!”

He also said something to the effect that if we needed a contractor, he had “a guy” and offered to let us see the work being done at his condo.

We’d heard so, so, so many horror stories about Florida contractors, that I’d thought it would take me months to research and engage a reputable company.

Because Nicole and Andy so generously opened their (under renovation) home to us we found a general contractor: Raffaele Dolgetta.

Nicole and Andy weren’t living in their condo…they took the time on a Saturday evening to meet us there and show us the progress. Who does this? (Hint:Yoga People 😀). Here we are with Andy and Nicole a few weeks ago.

 

Andy also put us in touch with a terrific architect and structural engineer. Because knocking down walls. And sight lines. And moving doors. And all new windows. And ripping out plumbing, and replacing all the electrical …and…and…

Raffaele Dolgetta is a naturalized American from southern Italy.
His entire family have been in the building trades for generations, specializing in Porcelain tile work. Nicole’s floors are what sealed the deal for me.

Why do I love Raffaele? Let me count the ways…First and foremost, nothing is ever a big deal. Me: Can we take down this wall? Move this door? Enclose the screened in patio? Demolish and reconfigure both bathrooms? Raffaele: No problem!

Raffaele also has the most wonderful ideas. He made suggestions that hadn’t occurred to our architect.

The hot water heater had been situated in the kitchen to the left of the washer and dryer, Raffaele suggested moving it to an existing closet on the other side of the condo.

He also found a hidden nook for our washer dryer and closed them behind a pocket door.

Raffaele is also a perfectionist. A stone cold perfectionist. His outcomes are testament to craftsmanship and his absolute love of making things beautiful and perfect.

We closed on March 8. Curiously, folks in Florida do not as a rule engage attorneys for house closings. Because the ownership of the condo was tied up in a trust, and the seller’s realtor was less than competent, I thought it best to have legal representation. Judy recommended Tom Tucker.

 

Demolition began on April 1. I did say to Timmy “I sure hope the joke won’t be on us”. We left for our home in New York on April 6.

 

Pretty brave of us huh? Friends in NY thought we were crazy. “Who’s going to stay on top of your contractor?”
When we rented our cottage on Siesta Key, we rented for 13 weeks, aiming to be back in New York for Easter with our Lovebugs. Here we are at the table after the egg hunt.

 

Claire, Parker, T. Parry and Isabel

Raffaele FaceTimed us every day that he was at the condo. If I wasn’t home when he called, Tim recorded the FaceTime. We had such peace of mind because he showed us every minute detail…the solder on his plumbing joints, the level on the countertop, everything!

We returned to Sarasota for a few days in May, staying at the Sarasota Surf and Racquet Club on Siesta Key. Highly recommend this property. These guys walked along with me one afternoon.

We were beyond pleased with the progress made to date. Those days were a whirlwind as we met with various vendors, choosing doors, windows, countertops, tile, and oh so much more.

So many of these decisions were eased because we dealt with quality folks that Raffaele recommended. He suggested two custom cabinet makers that he had a relationship with…we liked both companies’ workmanship and  went with the smaller Accent Kitchen and Bath, because they are two young men with cool ideas,  located less than a mile from our home. We choose Universal Window solutions, appreciating the designer spending the better part of a morning showing  us  our many choices. And on and on…through it all Raffaele was with us at every single meeting, guiding us through the process, asking the vendors questions we didn’t know needed to be asked.

Returning a month later, we again stayed at the Sarasota Surf Club, this time for 8 days.

We were so excited to see so much progress.

We met with Norma at Florida Design Works choosing a kitchen backsplash. Her colleague, Paul, at the stone yard, had guided us around hundreds of slabs of granite and quartz back in May.

We had so much fun interacting with all the tradesmen. All of Raffaele’s sub-contractors were professional and up to his high standards. Every single one of them: the guys who removed the popcorn ceilings, the spacklers, painters, electricians…simply wonderful.

I’ll continue our renovation story tomorrow. Please be safe and be kind.