House #18

OK, I have put off writing about House #18 because I have been (and still am) on an emotional roller-coaster all week. We went to look at this house last Sunday with the perspective (for the first time) of looking for a house that could be moved, and I fell in love with it. Built in 1915, it's just the style I love, and the wrap-around porch is to die for. The interior needs a lot of work, but still has some good bones (the trim work is not as fancy as some, but it's authentic "farmhouse"). And the best part - it's only $50,000! If we bought this and moved it, it would need to be added on to, and I even spent some time drawing up a proposed floorplan. I also called a house moving company to get a ballpark figure for moving it.

So what have been the ups and downs? Well, first we thought it was on a slab (unheard of for a house that age, but we thought perhaps it had been moved previously), and a slab would make it difficult and more costly (roughly twice the cost) to move. Then on closer inspection of the pictures we saw vents in the foundation and decided it was just a concrete retaining wall (relief). Since we don't yet have a real estate agent (since this is the first property we've been serious about), I emailed the listing agent and asked for a showing. I emailed Sunday and again to a different address on Monday, and also tried to call four times on Monday. I have yet to get a response. By Tuesday I decided to "cold contact" an agent in the area the house is located and ask for a showing. When I finally heard back Wednesday morning (yesterday), she said she would be happy to show us the property, but were we aware it would not finance and was "cash only." Crushing blow! I would be willing to take out a home equity loan to finance it, but Mr. Dream House is not on board with that idea. Mr. D.H. is also very leary of why it is not financeable. I suspect it has to do with the fact that it has no central heat/ac and is considered not liveable (although many older houses make do with window units and space heaters so I don't quite get that...). And I thought the whole point of this project was that we were going to MAKE it liveable...so I still want to see the interior and talk to the agent about what the situation is. We have an appointment for tomorrow at 4:00...Stay tuned!

Pros:
Right age
Right style
Good bones
Fair condition but needs lots of work
Wrap-around porch
Fantastic fence
Great price

Cons:
Would have to be moved
Small, would have to be added on to
Cash only
May have other problems