I saw all the potential with it.
- Wide plank hardwood floors
- First Floor open floor plan
- Vaulted ceilings in the dining room
My husband saw everything wrong with it.
- Stone basement walls that weep moisture
- Needed an all new kitchen
- Hardly any yard
- The list goes on...
So we brought in my mother's contractor to see what he thought of the place and how much it would cost to get it fixed up. So then reality hit. He said we were looking at $40k-$60k. Not in the budget. Remember that wonderful open floor plan, yeah the previous owner's made that by removing supports they shouldn't have. That weepy wet basement - not included in the cost listed above. It would stay weepy and wet unless we paid a lot more for a waterproofing system. So needless to say my dream home was out of the question. So I moved on. OK I kinda moved on. Someone else bought it and is fixing it up. I still refer to it as my house when I drive by. They painted it green, how could they get rid of the beautiful yellow.
My newest favorite is this beautiful little 1910 ranch with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. I was even repainting the rooms using Photoshop. She is about 1,200 square feet and comes with a different set of problems.
The second bedroom doesn't have a closet so it shouldn't really be a bedroom. The bathroom is completely remodeled, so that is a plus. Most of the issues are outside and in the basement. The home needs all the major repairs - Roof, Windows, and Boiler. The basement is one scary place. The only entrance is from the exterior through a bulkhead. It is a combination between a basement and a crawlspace. I'm only 5' 6" and I have to stoop. The floor is dirt and the walls are stone. It had a water issue because one of the other exterior issues is the are missing and damaged gutters and downspouts. Also the sump pump was not installed properly. Because of the dirt and the moisture and the house being empty the basement is dripping wet. Someone thought it was a good idea to try to insulate the basement ceiling, which is the floor of the first level. Well now that insulation is soaking wet and moldy. Well my contractor liked this house better than the first. We were looking at only $20k-$25k to make this home livable. Hubby thinks it is too small and we'll out grow it too fast and then not be able to resell it. And when I almost got close to talking him into it after the price fell a few times now it looks like someone else beat me to it. The listing was removed on Thursday. So back to the drawing board I go.
