In Our LivingRoom With Alex and Wen

This "In Our LivingRoom" series is with Alex Lin and Wen Liu at their multi-unit home in Bridgeport that they purchased with LivingRoom Realty's Managing Broker Annie Coleman. Wen is a mixed-media sculptor and her work focuses on reactions to the environments and objects encountered to build her sense of security coming from a foreign land. Alex is a data scientist from Atlanta, GA. Wen & Alex met over a shared interest in Gabriel Garcia Marquez and contemporary art.

They are the second owners of their property, now a single-family home built in 2008 on a double lot with ample space for their pup and their garden. They loved that it had outdoor space, high ceiling heights in the basement for Wen to have a studio. Wen has an upcoming Solo Exhibition coming this November at the Roswell Museum and Art Center and a Roswell Artist-In-Residence Program starting in April 2022

LR: Tell us about yourself
Alex: Wen is a mixed-media sculptor and her work focuses on reactions to the environments and objects encountered to build her sense of security coming from a foreign land. Alex is a data scientist from Atlanta, GA. Wen & Alex met over a shared interest in Gabriel Garcia Marquez and contemporary art.

LR: Tell us about your property
Alex and Wen: Our property is a brick single family home on a double lot built in 2008. It has similar layouts on the first and second floors with a full basement. We’re the second owners of the property and love that attention to detail and thoughtfulness was used in the construction of the house, as well as a side yard for our chocolate lab to run around in and for us to start our small garden.

LR:What were the deciding factors when choosing your area and picking your property
Alex and Wen:We wanted multi-unit property so that we could receive income and use it towards building equity in our home. We wanted a fixer upper so we could put our own personal touches aesthetically, but didn’t want to touch/worry about electric/water/structural renovations. We were also looking for a brick exterior with a yard and parks nearby to take the pup on walks, close to the CTA, and a basement for Wen’s art studio. After going through neighborhoods with Annie and driving around, we focused our search in the Logan Square/Hermosa and Pilsen/Bridgeport areas as they fit our desires & budget.

LR: What’s your favorite thing(s) about your property
Wen: My studio. The basement has 9’ ceilings and good natural light. It was unfinished when we bought it and we spent the first few months finishing it to become the perfect home studio.
Alex: Natural light and our yard. Due to the double lot, side yard, and lots of windows, we get lots of natural light throughout the day which is great for our 30+ indoor plants. Having the yard for the pup to run around in and to have a small garden has made COVID a lot more bearable.

LR: What would you tell someone who is embarking on the buying process?

Alex and Wen: In this process you must be fast and slow. Slow in the sense that you should visit as many neighborhoods and properties as you can to figure out what you like and don’t like and ask as many questions as possible. You also must be fast when you find the right property, especially in this recent market. For us, we visited many properties prior to ours and when we saw it (same day listing became active), we had an offer in by noon which was accepted that evening – and the seller had to cancel almost 20 showings the following day. 
When we bought the property, we weren’t absolutely in love with it, but it ticked all the boxes for what we were looking for at the right price and so we went for it. As we made renovations and lived in the home for a while, that’s when our love for our house grew. As you invest time and efforts into making your house yours, the appreciation will follow.

LR: Tell us about any improvements you made or plan to make and why?
Alex and Wen: We completely renovated the 2nd floor as we would live in that unit. Replaced carpet with scratch & water resistance laminate, added a gas line for the stove, and completely repainted the walls + kitchen cabinets. As we bought our house during COVID, we had lots of free time and decided to do most of the renovations ourselves. After the 2nd floor was finished and we moved in, we then directed efforts into finishing the basement for Wen’s studio.

LR: Can you tell us about that process?
Alex and Wen: It’s a labor of love, and we would probably not do it again by ourselves. There are certain things (such as epoxy floors) where it’s better to leave it for the professionals. Trying to renovate while living in the property is tough, but doable. Luckily, we could live on the 1st floor when renovating the 2nd floor and then the 2nd floor when renovating the basement, but that might not work out for everyone. For example, when we were sanding the drywall in the basement, the entire 1st floor was covered in dust whereas the 2nd floor was okay – there was no way we could’ve lived on the 1st floor while finishing the basement.

LR: What would you tell someone who is embarking on the renovation process?
Alex and Wen: Overall, our advice would be to budget and plan ahead, leaving room for cost overruns which will almost certainly happen. YouTube is your friend - any project you want to do someone’s probably already done it before and learn from their mistakes! Enjoy the process – we got to know our house and grew to love it throughout the renovation process.

Thank you Alex and Wen for sharing with us!