Down came the orange and green wallpaper

Sara and Ryan Rosenbaum didn’t think it would be possible for two recent college grads to get a loan to buy a house.

But after two months and what seemed to be miles of paperwork, the Rosenbaums are living in a three-bedroom townhouse in Placentia, for which they paid just under $140,000.

The Rosenbaums, both 23, tore down orange and green wallpaper, repainted the rooms white, installed linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom, and replaced doorknobs.

“It was a fixer-upper, so it was really hard at first,” Sara said.

“It took us a month of just nonstop work on it,” she said. “I saw the potential. I had to convince Ryan, though.”

Ryan’s convinced. Along with friendly neighbors, there’s a golf course and parks nearby. Sara’s been gardening “like mad.”

There are still occasional problems: The garage door broke, toilets have shut down.

“This is all one big adventure,” Sara said, keeping a positive outlook. “Now we’re homeowners; we deal with problems as they come up.”