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MASHANDA: Oh, what's going on up there?
This place is gross.
NARRATOR: First-time buyers Ben and Mashanda
are looking for a house as unique as they are.
Let's get something old and crusty.
[ Laughing ] All right.
It's a rude awakening
when they see how far $600,000 will take them.
TY: Here's your little, cute backyard.
I can't hear you over the noise.
What?
[ Train whistle blows ]
We're right by the train tracks, huh?
Really close.
NARRATOR: Which house will this quirky couple choose?
[ Laughs ]
I actually love it.
It's a dump.
You have to think about this one.
And think fast.
NARRATOR: See their renovation...
I feel like we bit off more than we can chew with this house.
This is a little more than I signed up for.
Oh! Look at the skeleton!
It makes me wonder what's in the other walls
that we're not demolishing.
NARRATOR: ...and the amazing transformation
of the ultimate fixer.
MASHANDA: Perfect.
[ Doorbell rings ]
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Take your pick. Which one do you think you got?
All right.
Oh, I've got a Choco.
I'm Mashanda. This is my husband, Ben.
These are our two dogs -- Kip and Choco.
Of course. [ Laughs ]
There we go.
All right.
BEN: We live in Glendale, California.
I work as a sound engineer for television and film.
MASHANDA: And I am an artist.
We've been together two and a half years,
been married for a year and a half.
I always said that I would probably never get married.
Imagine my surprise
when I met a man and got engaged
within about three months of meeting him.
We met at art school.
I was going for film,
and she was going for illustration.
I thought she was cute.
She had really short brown hair.
Am I not cute anymore? [ Laughs ]
[ Chuckles ] Now she's beautiful.
Oh.
Now we're married with two furry children,
and it's time to get a house.
I've always been drawn to Victorian homes
and kind of old-school vintage-y craftsman kind of details.
I love the idea of living up on a hill
where you can have a view.
I love Eichler houses.
I like how they're walled off from the outside,
but very open and spacious on the inside.
Come on.
BEN: I've lived in this apartment for eight years.
I love the big, open space that we have here,
and this arch overhead sort of divides it in two
so you feel like it's two separate spaces,
and I like this over here.
MASHANDA: We definitely need more space.
At one time, I had a whole bottom part of a loft,
and I could just spread out and work on huge projects.
And I can't really spread out too much
'cause I share a space with someone else.
So I feel pretty cramped over here sometimes.
I would love a dedicated studio again.
And so would I.
I spend about half my time editing sound for film and TV.
I'm making do with a space this size.
Anything bigger than this would be better.
[ Guitar plays rock riff ]
I have never lived in a house.
I've lived in apartments my whole life,
so I'm really excited to have some privacy
that a house gives you
and control over what you can do with it.
we're looking for a house
in the $500,000 to $600,000 range.
Okay, this one's three bedroom, three bath.
I think I'd like to get a house
that hasn't been redone a couple of times already.
It really bums me out when someone's flipped a house
and I don't like any of their design choices.
Turnkey would be great
if we found something as unique as we are,
but I feel pretty confident that we could transform any space
and make it our own.
Yeah, let's get something old and crusty.
[ Laughing ] All right.
The first house they look at
is just a few minutes away from their current apartment.
Hey, Ty.
Yeah.
I drove by this house hundreds of times
back when I was going to college nearby.
And I didn't even know there was a house here
'cause it's so high up on the hill from the driveway.
We got a two-bedroom, two-bath.
It's approximately about 2,000 square foot,
built in 1955,
and the listing price is actually $589,000,
so it's a little bit under your target.
Great.
It's like "The Secret Garden" out there.
I know.
[ Laughing ] Wow. It's kind of dark.
It's big, though.
It's like a ski lodge in here.
I'm definitely concerned that it is too dark.
I'm wondering how it would look with brighter paint,
something to kind of bring it up,
make it cheerier.
Spacious, high ceilings.
And the floors are real.
TY: Yep. Real hardwood floors.
That wallpaper's falling off.
Yeah, it is.
I have loved wallpaper since I was a little kid.
I remember having some with biplanes all over it,
and then we moved out of that house,
and I've missed wallpaper ever since.
I know the driveway's a little hard to manage,
but look what you guys get to look at.
Old windows, though.
Which one of the three curtains do you like best?
Definitely that one.
This one?
Oh, man.
This looks like a prom dress from the '80s.
Oh!
There's another fireplace.
Mm-hmm.
I like the nook.
TY: Yeah, the nook looks good.
Oh, man. We could really have a cool bench right there.
It looks like it used to.
Oh, and there's a breakfast nook.
Yeah, little breakfast nook for you.
I've always been drawn to vintage things,
so the style of this house definitely fits the bill.
It's quirky, it's strange,
it's maybe not something that I would have dreamed up,
but I love that someone else did.
This is the 1955 original kitchen.
[ Laughing ] Yeah, I can see that.
[ Normal voice ] The floor's got to go.
Counter would have to go.
Oh.
Oh, my gosh.
I don't even know if this would work.
Hey, look at all the rodent droppings on the counter.
MASHANDA: Oh.
Gross.
TY: Yeah, don't touch that.
This place is gross.
Yeah.
It needs some TLC, like I said.
[ Laughs ]
Wow.
The lot is more hillside than anything,
so watch your step on the stairs.
I like that it's all overgrown and crazy.
This is really cool.
BEN: Our dogs would love this yard.
They would.
I'm afraid they'd get lost in it.
I'm afraid they'd roll down that hill.
It's very steep.
MASHANDA: So, you said there's only two bedrooms?
Yeah. There's only two bedrooms.
Ty, you're killing me.
MASHANDA: We're definitely looking for three separate spaces.
We need a bedroom, and we need two studio spaces,
so I don't know if this will work out for us.
Oh, I think I found where the rats are coming in.
BEN: Yep, there's a hole in the wall
and a bunch of rat poop on the floor.
TY: Oh, gosh.
There's a hole in the ceiling on the wall, too.
Oh, yeah, huh?
Yeah.
MASHANDA: Wow.
There are three types of wallpaper in here.
I like wallpaper, but this is too much wallpaper.
There's a hole in this ceiling, too.
Oh. I can see outside.
[ Laughs ] Wow.
It's pink.
This wallpaper -- It sparkles.
I actually love the wallpaper.
No.
What does it say?
"Not working."
Oh. "Don't."
Wow, they were serious.
Why not?
So you think it's just the toilet that's not working?
Until we get a plumber out here to assess the situation,
we really don't know.
Yeah.
It could be.
Wow.
Again with the wallpaper.
This is the most intense wallpaper yet.
Man.
How hard is it to take this wallpaper off?
You have to steam it off.
Yeah.
It would be a lot of work to get rid of all the wallpaper.
Ooh.
Best wallpaper yet.
I actually love it.
How about this yellow tile, though?
No?
How about that tile?
[ Sighs ] I'd rather not.
I know this house --
It does seem like the money pit right now.
So it's up to you guys if you guys are up for the task.
It's cool and quirky, but that is a lot of work.
I mean, we really wanted three bedrooms.
That might be a deal breaker.
We each need a studio space.
I wouldn't rule this place out,
but, you know, it's not ideal.
I understand.
NARRATOR: The next house is a great deal, but there's a catch.
Yeah.
We're right by the train tracks, huh?
Really close.
It seems like --
We either got to be willing to settle for less or spend more.
We're gonna have to compromise with something.
NARRATOR: Ben and Mashanda are searching for their first home,
with a budget of $600,000.
I was surprised at what's out there.
There's a lot of places that are really rundown
and don't even look like they're ready to be lived in.
I'm learning to walk into any place
and see how I can make it my own.
There's been a few places, though,
where I walk in and say no with a side of no.
The first house they saw
had some vintage features they liked,
but with only two bedrooms,
it didn't have the studio space they're looking for.
Ugh.
BEN: There is rat poop everywhere.
I didn't know this place was occupied.
NARRATOR: Today they are seeing a three-bedroom
about 10 minutes from where they currently live.
All right.
Yeah.
It is a three-bedroom, two-bath, and it's priced at $455,000.
Oh, wow.
We can afford to do some work at that price.
This house is actually a hidden gem
because it's the worst house on the block.
Putting a little money into it
will definitely bring up the property value quickly.
Yeah.
We're right by the train tracks, huh?
Really close.
Yes, we are in the industrial area,
which can make it where
it's really accessible to the freeways.
That's true. Are we on the right side of the tracks?
All right, great.
Oh-ho-ho!
I like the hardwood floors.
The ceiling sparkles.
BEN: It's like a popcorn galaxy.
I normally don't like popcorn ceilings,
but the glitter kind of sells me on it.
The moment I walk into this house,
I know why it costs
so much less than all the other houses in this area.
It's a dump.
What's going on with this door here?
This is the add-on room that I'd like to show you guys later.
Oh, all right. I'm intrigued.
Why is that door not a door anymore?
What's up with that?
This is a little dining-room area that we have.
I like the lamp. It looks like a miner's lantern.
Yeah, or a spittoon.
[ Laughter ]
Please don't spit in the light. That's disgusting.
I like this big bay window.
I would maybe even take the awning off
to let a little more light in here.
Okay. Linoleum, I see.
Oh, my favorite.
[ Laughs ] Actually, this one is not bad.
It's gold fleck. It matches the ceiling in there.
Oh, I like the pantry here.
We got, like, a little corner cupboard and an icebox.
It's a little dark in here,
but it might just be the awnings.
Let's see if we can turn this light on here.
Uh, no.
No, okay.
Oh, it's an ironing board.
Oh, it's got the ironing board in it.
It might need to be replaced,
but usually they take them out by now.
MASHANDA: This house has a lot of charms
'cause it was built in the late '30s.
I feel like, with the bright, kind of modern colors of paint,
it could be kind of updated.
BEN: Wow. This looks like another blocked-off door over here.
I think it's a utility room that they wanted to cover up.
Hmm.
Just 'cause they sealed it
doesn't mean it has to be sealed forever.
This is a pretty puny kitchen, kind of in a sorry state.
TY: It does look small,
but these walls do not look load-bearing,
so you could make this kitchen a pretty decent size.
Oh.
BEN: Ah.
I like the nice, long hall, though.
TY: And it has one of these little oddities that you guys like,
like a built-in little desk area.
It's kind of cute. I like built-ins.
This could be your vanity, Mashanda.
Yeah. It's really glamorous.
This is the secondary bedroom.
MASHANDA: All right. All right.
I could imagine this being an office, too, you know?
Yeah, it's kind of small for a bedroom.
But big for an office.
I'm hearing a power saw.
Looks like our backyard
butts up against some kind of industrial building.
Wow.
Oh, wow.
Here's your little, cute backyard.
Nice and quiet.
What?
I can't hear you over this noise.
There's a little shop over there.
It's pretty noisy, but there's some stuff
that you guys can do to make it a little bit more private.
You could even put in a row of, like, bamboo.
And that could shelter some of the noise.
Wait, what is this? We didn't see this yet.
This is the third bedroom. It has its own entryway.
Ah.
This kind of looks like a little separate apartment in here.
The extra little studio space seems kind of cool.
It looks like a really practical space.
I don't like the carpet.
That brick thing is kind of weird,
but a separate space in a house can have its perks.
Yeah, it's got its own bathroom, huh?
TY: Mm-hmm.
MASHANDA: Oh, a little pink tiny bathroom.
I could get down with this.
Ooh, what's going on up there?
Oh, my gosh. The sky is falling.
Looks like they patched it with a plastic bag or something.
And then they painted the plastic.
And is this the blocked-off door in the living room right here?
Yeah, this is the blocked-off door.
MASHANDA: So we could potentially open that up again
and have this as part of the house.
NARRATOR: Back inside, they look at a full bath.
Whoa.
[ Both laugh ]
Gross.
Separate tub and shower.
Kind of vintage and cool. A little small.
It does have some charm, though.
Yeah, definitely.
Oh.
This is the grossest carpet I've ever seen.
Water damage?
Fire? Looks a little singed.
I don't know what that is, but it looks nasty.
Oh, there's another bathroom.
Oh, my gosh.
Slightly less charming than the other two.
And here's another one of those blocked-off doors.
This is from the kitchen.
And this is the little utility room.
I would even close it off
and really make it a master-suite bathroom.
Yeah, that would be a pretty sweet master.
BEN: I really see a lot of potential in this place.
I think we could do exactly what we want here
and still be within our budget.
MASHANDA: I don't know. Right next to the train?
Kind of a loud neighborhood?
I'm not convinced about the resale value.
It's really awesome that it's well below our budget,
but it seems like we'd have to overhaul everything,
just a lot of work.
This place is a diamond in the rough.
I'm definitely interested.
NARRATOR: The next house also has its own set of problems.
Right across from a school?
TY: Yeah.
NARRATOR: House hunters Ben and Mashanda
have $600,000 to spend on their first home.
[ Laughs ]
They're realizing quickly
their money won't go as far as they would like.
We're hoping to find a turnkey house,
but so far, that hasn't been the case.
They're in various stages of decay,
and [Laughs] it seems like every house we look at
is going to need something.
We realize, for our budget,
we're gonna end up putting some work into a house.
They've already seen two houses.
One was tucked away on a hillside,
but it only had two bedrooms.
Ben saw potential in the next one,
but Mashanda didn't agree.
MASHANDA: I don't know. Right next to the train?
I'm not convinced about the resale value.
NARRATOR: Today they are seeing another three-bedroom home farther out,
about 30 minutes away from where they live now.
TY: Hey, guys.
Yeah.
Right across from a school, huh?
It happens to be,
but really good for our resale value, though.
That's true.
It is not appealing for me
to be across the street from a school.
We don't plan to have kids, so it's not really a plus.
It's a three-bedroom, two-bath.
It's just shy of $500,000.
Yeah.
After you, lady.
Aw, thanks.
Cute.
This is kind of a puny, little living room,
but it's quaint.
Look at those shelves. You like those?
MASHANDA: Those are great. These could hold so much.
Yeah, well, you can imagine
what, like, three or four more of these would do.
This house is pretty cute. I definitely see the potential.
It's got some weird quirks,
but a lot of the houses in our price range
kind of have that going on.
I like the arched doorway, though.
I think that's pretty cool.
TY: Yeah.
Yeah. It's actually really big.
Looks like they just started painting the cupboards.
Not the inside.
I don't know if I'd stick with the avocado color,
but it's nice to walk into a place that has some color,
and I could see the potential
when they put a little bit of work into it.
This is the first bedroom I want to show you guys.
It's a decent size.
The carpet would have to go, but that's not a big deal.
Think there's hardwood underneath this?
I don't know.
Yeah. There is.
Oh.
This is the bathroom shared between the two rooms.
Cool.
Oh, okay. The built-ins are cute.
Yeah, I like that.
This carpet, again, got to go.
MASHANDA: This is kind of cool.
The den's a little weird.
We'd have to try to figure something out.
It's strange that it has a fireplace in there,
but it would be a nice, little studio space.
Hey, don't I look huge next to this door?
You really do. This might be my studio.
Now, this could actually be a master bedroom.
It looks a little small,
but if you can blow out this wall right here,
there's a lot of potential in here.
Yeah, that back bedroom --
a little too narrow to put a bed in,
but I could imagine
having a drum set in there and playing music.
That would be nice.
Oh.
All right, so, this one is not quite bigger than the first,
and it does not have a bathtub.
Aww.
This is nice.
The backyard here is a blank canvas, and I like that.
There's nothing too much to keep up,
but I can put in whatever I want.
Our dogs would love this.
Yeah, I like the hedge. It looks pretty dog-proof.
Yeah.
So, I think it's got some potential.
At least it's got, you know, studio space.
Yeah, the kitchen's big,
even though the living room's small.
It seems like Ben's kind of into this place.
He was into the arched doorways,
and we both like the same quirky stuff.
This might be something that we could be into.
Might have to knock out some walls.
BEN: Fix the crusty stuff.
I feel like we could make this house work for us.
There's things I don't like about it,
but I've seen a lot worse.
And for the price, you can't beat it.
It's only been on the market for 11 days.
So, it could go really fast,
so you have to think about this one.
And think fast. Yeah.
NARRATOR: Which house will they choose?
So, what do you think?
Do you actually see yourself in any of those houses?
And then the renovation begins.
Oh, nice.
NARRATOR: First-time buyers Ben and Mashanda
have $600,000 to spend on a home.
They've narrowed it down to three properties.
So, which one of these ones
do you think we're gonna be able to fix up?
I think we could probably fix up anything.
I can paint.
I can do, like, light demolishing.
I can wield a tool or two.
NARRATOR: First, they saw a house up on a hill,
listed for $589,000.
I don't know. It's gross. It's pretty gross.
Yeah, there was rat poop everywhere.
That one would take a lot of work.
How about that yard?
That's a lot of yard to maintain.
That seems like a really big, time-consuming job.
That house only has two bedrooms.
What are we gonna do to have two studio spaces?
I don't know, but it's huge everywhere else --
huge lot size, really pretty neighborhood.
That's, like, kind of a really crusty house
in a really great neighborhood.
The next house they saw was under budget at $455,000.
It was right near a noisy business
and close to train tracks.
If I'm just looking at that area --
Like, it's so industrial.
I don't know. That's a big drawback for me.
The backyard was tiny,
but that separate studio space was awesome.
The thing that concerns me, though, is the floors.
I mean, we'd be, like, tearing up linoleum and carpet,
and I don't know what's going on under there.
At $455,000, we could afford to fix that place up.
I think with a little bit of work,
that thing will be worth
as much or more than the other houses in the neighborhood.
Yeah, that's true.
And then they toured a house at $499,000,
20 minutes away from their current apartment.
That one was only $499,000.
That was well within our price range.
I could tell that someone started to make that place cute.
You know, the rooms were a little small,
but at least there were enough of them.
And I like that kitchen.
It was a little on the small side,
but more spacious than some I've seen.
You know that master suite in the back?
Not quite.
Yeah. [ Laughs ]
There was nothing sweet about that place.
It was so weird.
You had to step up to get into the bathroom,
and then there was no shower or tub.
It was a really weird little unit back there.
So, what do you think?
Do you actually see yourself in any of those houses?
I've been thinking about that one up on the hill.
Really?
It's a lot of work, but they all are.
Yeah, that's true.
You serious? You want this house?
I'm serious. Let's get this house.
We're getting a house!
I'm so excited.
The house was listed at $589,000,
and we got it for $569,000 'cause it's in really bad shape.
We need to move in in two months.
They have $35,000 to get this whole house ready to live in.
And to save money,
they're going to do almost all of the work themselves.
Plus, every room needs some help.
BEN: We're gonna take out this wood platform in the garage.
The garage is eventually going to be my studio,
and I'm gonna need that space.
The platform was built over existing stairs
so the washer and dryer could sit on it.
I think the woman who lived here did not like going down stairs.
I think she was elderly.
I got the railings off very easily,
but now the floor has linoleum tiles
that are not coming up.
All the screws are under those sticky tiles.
You want to trade?
[ Laughs ]
I thought if we just unscrewed everything,
the top would just pop off,
but it's still being held on by something,
so we're gonna have to cut it off.
Oh, nice.
Sweet!
Next, they attack the kitchen.
We're not thrilled about the kitchen as is.
For now, we're just going to update it,
paint the cabinets,
and see what we can do with the existing space.
You know, this is like a solid wood box,
and the whole thing's got to come off.
Might as well just [Imitates cabinet crashing]
What the hell is holding this thing on? [ Laughs ]
We have a rat problem.
And ivy is really --
You know, it's where they travel.
And what I'm trying to do
is make it a little less easy for them to get into the house.
Ivy's got to go.
NARRATOR: While Mashanda works on the huge job clearing the ivy,
Ben gets ready
to clean the gutters that are backed up with leaves.
But first, he has to figure out the ladder.
This is my first ladder.
And it telescopes and it folds in half,
so it looks kind of confusing to me.
[ Metal clatters ]
Oops.
This is a little bit of trial and error,
figuring out how to get up to those gutters safely.
BEN: Hey, Mario.
Good.
No problem.
Before we can move into this house, we need to make it livable,
and that means getting rid of the rat problem.
So we have an exterminator coming out today
to give us a quote.
I'm expecting to spend a few hundred bucks.
I will have to look for any little holes
the size of a quarter-inch.
They could get inside and start breeding
and just start reproducing, and it gets to be a big problem.
Could have disease also.
I'm not trying to scare you,
but it's part of the, you know, reality.
MARIO: Rats like corners
because they use their tail and whisker to sense,
and they use the walls.
And then when they hit the corner,
they kind of stop for a little bit.
So this is a good area that they like to hang out.
Sure enough, we have one hole right here
that could be a rat entry point.
This is a good entry point.
This home needs to be sealed off.
I found a lot of places that need to be closed.
There is a good number of holes in the front
and a lot of holes also in the back.
Between trapping, sanitizing, and closing the holes,
it's $3,000.
Oh, my gosh.
BEN: This $3,000 bill for the pest control is bad news
'cause we have plumbing problems, too,
and I don't know what they're gonna cost us.
We'll start with some screening today,
and we'll come back tomorrow to set the traps
and the day after tomorrow
to remove the animals away from your property.
Okay.
And how much to do the closet bend?
And how much for the pipe?
Can you come down to $1,600 for that shower pan?
Thanks so much.
I just talked to the plumber.
It's gonna cost $2,600 to do all this work to the house.
There's a hole in the drainpipe under one of the toilets,
and raw sewage is going into the crawlspace.
There's a piece of sewer line that's cracked,
and roots have grown in.
It's gonna cause a lot of backups.
And we have a leaky shower pan
in the same bathroom with the raw-sewage pipe.
$5,600 just to get this place livable so far.
Yeah, for things we won't even see.
Pbht!
I really was hoping to spend that on cute stuff.
Or a big TV. I know.
It hurts.
Where are we gonna get that money?
I do not have that money.
I don't have that money, either.
I'm gonna have to call my family and borrow some money.
I feel bad. We keep asking them for stuff.
I thought we had this under control.
I did, too, but then we bought
a half-million-dollar house up in the hills.
NARRATOR: Ben and Mashanda bought their first house,
which is a complete fixer-upper.
Home ownership is a big job so far.
This is a little more than I signed up for.
NARRATOR: They want to do most of the renovations themselves,
but it's not working out the way they planned.
MASHANDA: That looks really scary.
Their move-in date is five weeks away,
and the house is far from ready.
Oops.
Hey. Good. How are you?
NARRATOR: To keep them on schedule, they get some help
from a contact they went to art school with.
KATELYN: I feel for Ben and Mashanda.
Being a first-time homeowner
can be very, very stressful.
I'm really excited to be able
to take a little bit of this off their plate.
So, if you guys want to start over here,
we can kind of walk through the house, I'm thinking,
Cool.
MASHANDA: I kind of want grown-up style now.
I want it to look like I've planned this
and we can have sophisticated affairs here.
I think it would be great if we could knock this out
and lower it down, create a bench.
And that way, also, when you're in your living room
and you're entertaining, you have more guests over,
people can sit here and still be a part of your living room.
Perfect.
And then I'm also thinking that,
for this wall right here, we can blast this out,
and then when people walk in your front door,
they have a straight-shot view into your gorgeous backyard.
What do you think about that?
Okay?
NARRATOR: To lighten and open up the room,
all the paneling will be removed.
My concern, once we remove all of this paneling,
is that the brick could end up being too much.
So, one idea that I had was potentially plastering over it.
Yeah, I'm worried about it being too bare, maybe.
I like the brick, personally.
Okay.
Okay.
I want to preserve a lot of the original charm of the place
and still have it look modern,
but I think she's going too modern
by plastering over that brick.
And I would love to build you guys,
like, a nice window bench right there
that you can sit on, look outside.
Yes. I was really hoping for that.
Oh, you're testing it out now.
It's an imaginary bench.
NARRATOR: Katelyn will also add
a matching window bench in the dining room,
and vintage-inspired wallpaper and an antique side table
will add some unique touches to the space.
I would say, on this wall, we should do paint-colored.
Maybe something kind of in these tones, maybe.
A gray?
Kind of like a bluey gray.
I would rather go with a color than gray.
I was a little worried when she pointed out the dark grays.
I'm worried that it's going to look too murky seaside.
You can definitely add a little more color to it.
I just don't want to go too crazy
and have it, you know, clash with the wallpaper.
Cool.
We are starting with demolition today.
We're gonna try to knock down
that wall when you first come in.
NARRATOR: The partition wall comes down easily,
and the crew moves on to the paneling in the living room.
Oh, my gosh.
Dang!
There's more brick in there.
Wow.
What is going on here?
We found a nice little critter for you.
Is that a dead rat?
Oh, my.
Oh, it smells too much. I have to stand away from it.
Oh, look at the skeleton.
That's a rat skeleton.
That's so cool.
KATELYN: Why are you touching it?
Seriously. Oh, God.
Oh, man.
The rats in my wall -- kind of disgusting.
But I'm also kind of a biology nerd.
It's gross, but it's fascinating.
Yeah!
[ Both laugh ]
Look at those teeth.
Rawr!
This is the coolest thing. [ Laughs ]
Wow. Yeah.
It makes me wonder what's in the other walls
that we're not demolishing,
but at least I know this area of the living room
is free of rat carcass.
NARRATOR: Ben and Mashanda get to work on those other walls,
removing the almost-60-year-old wallpaper.
Well, I talked to the guy at the hardware store.
He says we need to soak it
with really hot water and some solution
and just kind of let it start to bubble on its own.
Okay.
With every project that we do,
we're growing more attached to the house
'cause we've put so much work into it at this point.
It's starting to actually feel like our home.
Whoa.
I think you're spraying me.
[ Laughs ] Sorry.
No one said this was gonna be easy, fun, or clean.
So, we have got an issue going on in here
NICK: Okay.
None of these walls were primed
before they put the wallpaper on,
so we've got everything from light gouges
to huge holes in it.
Yes. The best way to deal with it is probably skim-coat it.
You just apply a few thin coats of plaster,
which is a pretty big deal.
You really have to know what you're doing
in order to accomplish a nice and smooth finish.
It's a project.
I wish I could afford to have Nick do this,
but our money situation right now is really tight.
We're trying to stretch every dollar.
I think we bit off more than we can chew.
Yeah. It's gonna take some time.
NARRATOR: Ben and Mashanda get to work
skim-coating the bedroom walls.
Sanding sucks.
It's a lot of dust.
It's dirty.
It's a good arm workout, but besides that, it sucks.
NARRATOR: Ben and Mashanda continue with their renovation,
but Mother Nature has other plans.
MASHANDA: I hope our new house doesn't burn down.
BEN: Oh, my gosh. I can see helicopters.
Oh, God.
[ Coughs ]
I'm Mashanda.
And I'm Ben.
And we just bought our first house.
NARRATOR: Ben and Mashanda bought a house that was barely livable
and decided to do most of the renovation themselves.
They quickly realized they can't do it all.
This is a little more than I signed up for.
To stay on schedule and get out of their rental,
they enlisted the help of some pros
to work on the giant living-room space.
The paneling is gone and replaced with drywall.
The crew paints one bench for the entryway...
...and then frames in another bench to go in the bay window.
Katelyn takes Ben and Mashanda shopping at HomeGoods.
KATELYN: So, we still have a lot of the space to fill.
We have to pick out accessories,
get some of that pops of color that you guys want.
Perfect.
The living room is almost complete,
but I want to get a few key pieces to finish it off.
So, I'm thinking maybe we can get a couple of big pieces.
Adding these bold, colorful accessories throughout the room
creates a more finished and intentional look.
Well, what do you say we grab this?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Cool.
KATELYN: Owls? Yeah.
MASHANDA: I'm cool with an owl.
That's within our palette
and within our animal-loving style.
What do you think about that?
Yeah. I like that one.
KATELYN: We found a lot of color for this room.
Like anything else, moderation is key,
and you have to know when to stop.
And I think it's time to stop.
Now we need to find some neutrals
to balance out all this color.
MASHANDA: That is a cute neutral.
And then a mid-century modern chair
will pair great with it to keep their eclectic style.
Should we go pull the other chair up next to it
Yeah.
That's more like it.
Now we're cooking with fire.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: It's one week until move-in day,
and Katelyn's crew has made a lot of progress
on the living room.
The walls are painted and the floors stained.
The crew has also hung a new chandelier,
and the benches are almost finished.
Meanwhile, Mashanda's still working
on skim-coating the master bedroom.
I do not like skim-coating.
I can do a lot of home-improvement stuff,
but this is just a pain.
I think I've found my limit.
NARRATOR: Back in the living room,
Katelyn works with a pro to hang the new wallpaper.
I try and find something that will make a nice ceiling line
in the middle of that medallion.
Yeah.
So, the ceiling will meet
right at the end of this tape measure right there.
That's perfect.
MASHANDA: Ooh, I like it.
Ooh.
I love crazy pop colors,
so if there is a little wall somewhere
that I can throw some weird color in, I will do it.
It's gonna be so citrusy in here.
Yeah, it is.
Mashanda really wanted a lot of bright colors in the house,
so I'm gonna let her have an accent wall in every room.
Accent walls are a great way to add that pop of color
without going too overboard.
Lots of color.
[ Laughs ]
Color everywhere.
[ Siren wailing ]
Hey, there's a fire going on,
and the cops are directing traffic out of our neighborhood.
Can you smell the smoke?
I thought I smelled, like, barbecue or something.
KATELYN: Oh, man.
That's a big old cloud out there.
Oh, and it's really ashy.
MASHANDA: This looks terrible. [ Coughs ]
Okay, you guys. We got to go.
This looks really bad. Oh, look.
They have the street blocked off right there.
Yeah, there's the motorcycle cop.
Oh, wow.
NARRATOR: Fortunately, everyone is able to safely evacuate,
and Ben and Mashanda hope their new home will be safe.
I'm a little worried,
but the fire station is really close to where the fire is,
and I feel like this is par for the course for these canyons,
and the house has stood there for 50 years
without burning down.
Yeah, I think we'll be okay.
It's just the fires usually aren't this close.
I'm glad it's insured.
I mean, that's some kind of relief, but...
NARRATOR: After a long house hunt,
Ben and Mashanda purchased this home for $569,000
and have spent the last seven weeks getting it livable.
MASHANDA: I hope our new house doesn't burn down.
Their renovation has come to a halt
as a nearby canyon fire forced them to evacuate.
After staying the night in their nearby apartment,
Ben and Mashanda get the "all clear" to come back.
BEN: Oh.
It's still there.
MASHANDA: Yay! [ Laughs ]
The fire got really close.
It was right down the hill, maybe less than a mile.
That was a little too close for comfort.
MASHANDA; Coming close to losing my home
makes me realize how attached I've grown to it.
It hadn't even crossed my mind that we were at risk of fire
before this fire happened.
This is a whole new reality for me.
I know.
BEN: Today we're playing catch-up after the fire,
and I'm painting every room with Mashanda.
This is just a really nice color.
It feels so good to finally be painting in here.
It looked so gross for so long.
For a while there,
it felt like we would never be able to paint the bedroom,
but it actually looks like a livable, beautiful bedroom now.
Yeah, we're good.
NARRATOR: After eight weeks of renovation,
Ben and Mashanda are finally able to move in.
MAN: Whoo-hoo!
[ Laughs ]
Hi!
Whoo!
I have your cushions, finally.
Today the pieces are finally coming together.
All their furniture has arrived,
so we're just putting the final touches on.
Perfect.
That is beautiful.
Nicely done.
This was a good find.
Sweet.
Nice.
I love that it looks like the shape in the rug.
It does.
It's a little crooked.
Of course it is.
How about that?
Beautiful.
All right.
I love the space.
We've kind of been able to tie in all these unique pieces
that we found through thrift stores and flea markets
and tie them in to more modern pieces
that we found from more mainstream stores.
So, this isn't a design that you're gonna find at any other house.
This looks amazing.
It's crazy how different this place looks.
We had some big ideas for this house,
but I could have never imagined what Katelyn did with it.
Yeah, this is so much more
than we could have done on our own.
We got rid of all that wood paneling.
I like that we replaced that, but I'm glad we kept the brick.
Yeah.
I was afraid that me and Katelyn
would disagree on color in the beginning.
She ended up really nailing our color sensibilities.
We did not cheap out on color in this house.
We did the right amount of it
but without being too overpowering,
but it looks colorful.
Yeah. You nailed it.
I love it. It's perfect.
It is so exciting seeing everything come together.
We can fit quite a few people at that table
and the little bench area,
so I'm looking forward to hosting big dinner parties.
NARRATOR: It took a lot of work just to make the house livable,
but Ben and Mashanda finally feel like
they've replaced the creatures with creature comforts.
We really need the other shelf for this fridge.
We ought to unpack that.
Hey, at least we have cold beverages in our house.
Ah.
I had no idea how much work
went into fixing up a house like we did.
Been a long, difficult road.
MASHANDA: Pretty much just done what we can to the kitchen.
We knew we had to keep the tile,
but we were able to replace the floor,
so I learned how to do that.
The house had a lot of character,
and we were really drawn to that,
so we tried to keep a lot of the original things.
BEN: We kept the foil-print paisley wallpaper
in the bathrooms 'cause it's awesome.
MASHANDA: Yeah, we just painted in here.
It's not a lot of renovation,
but it shows what a difference paint color makes.
This bedroom is actually a lot bigger than I thought it was.
It looked small when it had all the wallpaper,
but we don't even know how to fill it.
There are still little things that need to be done.
Ben has taken the second bedroom as his studio,
which means I have to take the garage.
And we still have to turn that into a workable,
spider-free studio area pretty quickly here.
Hi!
Can I hug you all at once? Is it possible?
MASHANDA: Oh, it feels so good to have our first home together.
This is amazing.
It's been such a crazy, awesome journey.
WOMAN: It looks so great! I love it!
You've kept the charm, and I love the colors.
They just pop.
This does feel like home.
With all these colors and this weird stuff,
I can't really picture this being anybody else's home.
It definitely feels like ours.