Episode 12: Where are they now?
Episode 12: Where are they now?  
Podcast: Abandon House! How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco
Published On: Fri Mar 20 2026
Description: March 2021: After five years of leaks, pirates, and silver-tongued bandits, Kenny and Shari are finally dancing in their finished kitchen…and hot on their heels, two internet home-buying companies want to buy the Castle - SIGHT UNSEEN. Welcome to the bonus episode that wasn't supposed to exist, where you finally get to hear what happened next...The real estate auction begins with the two iBuyers throwing out escalating offers. Four short days later, the Castle sells.But just when the Rudolphs thought they were free from timelines, a new 90-day clock ticks off as they race to enter the hottest real estate market in Texas history. Exhausted and half checked-out on a Sunday night, they make a hail mary offer - and luck out on a house that matches their 90-day-get-out-of-California timeline perfectly.The tightly orchestrated moving day arrives. A company that looked above board in the sales process arrives six hours late with an undersized truck, no inventory list, and a demand for a 20% premium payable by bank draft: cash only, take it or leave it. The Rudolph's belongings disappear for weeks, and when they finally arrive - mangled, missing, and late - they’re told to begin the arduous task of triplicate documentation for an insurance claim that will amount to almost nothing.And then, finally: Texas. New friends, family close by, and Lily Von Schnauzer surviving coyotes, mountain lions, and brutal summers with enough attitude to send the wildlife packing.As a full-circle moment to close out the series, Kenny and Shari introduce their current general contractor, Corey Brannon of C Brannon Construction in Calgary, who represents everything their California experience was not.Kenny, Shari, and Corey discuss:What it actually took to buy a house in Texas in 2021 - the letters, the earnest money, the above-asking offers, and the one thing that finally workedThe moving company playbook: how a respectable front, precise timing, and full transparency about your circumstances can sadly hand them all the leverage they needWhy they walked away from the money Lawyer RIP said was rightfully theirs (and why they don't regret it)Borg’s hilarious and equally bumbling resurfacingThe three-step philosophy behind C Brannon Construction - collaborate, communicate, construct - and what it actually looks like when a GC does it rightThis podcast is the official companion to the book series of the same name Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco. Book 1 is available wherever you buy books, and at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Abandon-House-Survive-Repair-Fiasco/dp/B0FJYRFYKTAbandon House! is produced by Jess Schmidt: https://www.jessdoespodcasting.com/Our editor is Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/The Abandon House! theme song and Go Sell Crazy Somewhere Else were produced by Jeff Gerke with music and lyrics, vocals and guitar by Kenny Rudolph: https://abandonhousepod.com/Additional music graciously provided by Eden's Journal: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC28z4W9e04lGdr0GWL-DK2A