This is the first time I've ever heard anybody refer to a crepe myrtle as ugly or as a beast.

I'd caution any new homeowner against destroying *anythng*, in the garden or in the house, for a while;
you don't want to destroy an asset just to prove your ownership of the territory.

Gardening in the ground utilizes much more space & takes much more in the way of plants, paths, & diversity than container gardening.

It looks like there's plenty of room for a sun garden, &, although your profile doesn't indicate what state you're in, I think in zone 8 you'll be grateful for a little shade as well as for the chance to do some shade gardening.

The main thing to remember with crepe myrtles is not to butcher them;
in the past, people have amputated the limbs, thinking that they're 'pruning' the tree.

Well, what you end up with is something that looks like amputation followed by re-growth, sort of like the tree has fingers growing out of its wrists!

google 'crepe' or 'crape' 'murder' to see images.

If that were my crepe myrtle, I'd remove the suckers that are growing out of the ground at the base of the trunk, & then 'limb up' the tree:
Start with the lowest branches & remove them near the trunk, leaving the branch collar (iow, don't flush cut against the trunk, it makes the tree susceptible to infection).

Do a little at a time, & then back away & look at it before you do more.

One great thing about crepe myrtles is that, even if you take a little too much, they'll recover.

& the other great things are that they're nice medium-sized ornamental trees & that they bloom, ravishingly beautiful, all summer, when most flowers are resting.

I hope you give yourself time to observe this beautiful ornamental in all its phases, & I wish you the best.

We have one in our front yard, and I do love it's shade. I wish it's flowers weren't so pale. There are two in the back that show brilliant red and purple. If the front one wasn't so huge, I'd try grafting a prettier color on to it. But we inherited ours too, and it is what it is. It is a little messy with flower's falling on our driveway and planting beds, but it's staying!

I planted 8 of those in my yard - all a beautiful pink. You shape them by trimming out crossing branches and clearing the middle some. They give so much color for many months of the year and birds love the seeds in winter. You don't have to cut the seed pods - and please don't cut the limbs back to commit crepe myrtle "murder". Then they are so ugly after that. I've only got a few things to snip off with a lopper this year to keep mine in shape. Beautiful trees and you can just mow the volunteers down when you do the lawn if any appear through the mulch.