The Flungalow: The Beginning of Our Story on Sanchez Ave
- Andrew Grunther
- Oct 11, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 20
In late 2019, just a few months before the world basically ended temporarily, we bought our very first home in Ocala.
We called it The Flungalow, a mash-up of “Florida” and “bungalow,” and the name just stuck.
It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t in the “trendy” part of town. In fact, it was in a neighborhood that most people warned us about: the Tuscawilla Park Historic District. Just a few blocks northeast of downtown, this neighborhood had a long history of not being the most desirable. To be honest, a lot of locals had written this part of town off altogether and hadn’t even driven through it in years. But we saw something else.
We saw potential.
Charm in the historic details. New life in the old trees and sidewalks (that needed pressure washing badly). But most importantly, we saw a 300-square-foot guest cottage on the property that, even then, we knew was something special.
Little did we know what that tiny cottage would become; not just for us, but for our entire journey into short-term rentals, historic preservation, and a newfound sense of community.
The House No One Wanted
This house sat on the market before we stumbled upon it. When we first toured Sanchez Ave, we were met with polite skepticism; from real estate agents, future neighbors, and even our friends.
“You’re buying north of the wall?” was a common refrain. This was peak Game of Thrones era, and the joke landed exactly how you’d expect.
At the time, the Tuscawilla neighborhood had a reputation. Despite being one of Ocala’s four official historic districts (yes, there are four and most people—ourselves included—don’t realize that), this area had long been overlooked when it came to investment, cleanup, and the city’s attention. The Southeast Historic District was polished and as picture-perfect as you can expect in Central Florida, with stable home values and absolutely nothing in our budget.
Tuscawilla, on the other hand, offered us so much more.
We didn’t expect polished. We wanted character. We wanted something we could pour ourselves into, even if it meant being “house poor” for a bit. And this 1908 bungalow, in all its baby-poop-brown chipped-paint, questionable layout, and creaky-flooring glory, had it.
We had no idea just how much work was ahead of us over the next five years; but we also didn’t know just how much it would give us in return.
That Darn Little Guest Cottage
From day one, that tiny guest cottage in the backyard had our full attention. It had once been used as a small home base for traveling Jehovah’s Witness missionaries, but by the time we got our hands on it, it was in dire need of an overhaul.
Still, the bones were there. Private parking. A separate entrance. A questionable mini-split system. Just enough space to make something work.
Even before we moved in ourselves, we joked, “One day, we’ll put it on Airbnb.” It was a goal spoken half-seriously at first, with a hope that maybe we could cover our electric bill when we finally pulled the trigger. Boy oh boy, did we underestimate the potential.
We cleaned it up, researched everything we could about short-term rentals, painted, scrubbed, thrifted, maxed out a few too many credit cards, and DIY’d until that little space transformed into something we could actually see our friends and family enjoying when they visited. Again, we really didn’t know many people would pay actual money to stay with us.
But when we finally listed it on Airbnb, the response blew us away.
The Beginning of Everything
We had no idea what to expect when we listed the “Pet-Friendly Historic Downtown Guest Cottage” for the very first time. We priced it low; really low. Not out of desperation, but because we truly didn’t know what the demand would be. We were just excited to get someone through the door. The listing went live, and less than 24 hours later, we had our very first booking: a professional coming for a week of training nearby who booked it for $20 per night. No cleaning fee. No questions asked.
We were thrilled and absolutely terrified.
We spent days preparing for his arrival. Cleaned every inch of that cottage (twice). Bought fresh pastries. Left a bottle of wine and some chocolate. Lit the bougie candle we splurged on to make the space smell heavenly. We wanted everything to be perfect.
And then? Silence.
He came. He stayed. For an entire week. And we never heard a peep from him. Didn’t run into him once, even though he was staying on our property. No response to our welcome message. You get the gist.
Then came the moment we were both dreading and anticipating: the first review.
We were convinced it would be five stars across the board. After all, we had bent over backwards, right? But instead…
It was four.
He said he liked the place overall, but took off a star because one day he noticed a smell coming from the bathroom.
We had left clear instructions in the guidebook to place the drain cover back on the shower if it wasn’t being used for an extended period, which he didn’t do. He did compliment the candle, though, so there’s that? It felt like a slap in the face. After all that effort, to be docked over something that could’ve been easily avoided with one sentence read, one call made, or just one drain cover put back in place? It stung.
That moment taught us two very valuable lessons:
One, guests don’t always read the instructions, no matter how clearly they’re written.
And two, no matter what you do, you simply can’t please everyone—even if they’re getting a place for cheap, cheap, cheap.
Those lessons stuck with us. We’re actually grateful we learned them right away. That first four-star review shaped how we approached every guest after that; not with fear, but with clearer systems, more realistic expectations, and a tougher resolve.
But that’s a story for another post…
Chapter 1
Looking back, it’s funny how something so small could change the entire direction of our lives so drastically. That first house on Sanchez gave us more than a place to live. It gave us a purpose. Taught us how to trust our instincts. And it became the foundation of what would eventually grow into Book’d.
This is just the first 'chapter' of our story. We’ll take you through the years of work, the big transformations (and mistakes), the things we learned, and the incredible people who helped along the way.
But for now, this is where it started: with one house, one cottage, and one wild leap of faith.
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