OHW

We'd be a lot more game to deal with this, but our original plans were based on an incomplete understanding of the financial situation. When the truth came out, my DH merely buried his head in the sand. Now we're stuck. Plus, as I've said before, this property is not worth restoring. It's old, it's ...

Yes, well. More consultations, shade thrown on the job done by the original fixer-upper fellow (which is too bad because we liked him), angst. $10,000 has already been spent, so nobody likes to just write the thing off, particularly in light of the fact that we could never rebuild anything comparabl...

I once considered this, when my city offered a house for $1 to anyone who would move it. One of the things I discovered was that each time they have to move wires or traffic signals, it costs. The house was downtown, so that meant a 95% chance of shelling out for each block it would move. (I decline...

Two of the best rental neighborhoods in my town also are two of the best old-house neighborhoods, for what that's worth. I read somewhere (in a planning-related document as I recall), but cannot now find, that a neighborhood is healthiest with a percentage of rental property within a certain range. ...

Fabulous un-screwed-up I-house. I just don't see any violence done to the dignity and grace of the original, you lucky dog. Windows original to my house were 4 over 4 (replaced with swankier 1 over 1 in the 1890s), so if that was the basic equipment for a substantial family home with no pretensions ...

Snort. Did he go so far as to actually offer grief counseling to help you deal with the pathetic state of your house?

My own fantasy answer: "Why pay you to install that stuff? If I wanted to ruin my house, I could do it myself for a lot cheaper."

Latest news on my garage: The building inspector met with my parents on the premises and said dire things about the walls and foundation (i.e. all the parts not totally replaced three years ago). This is all going to be over the heads of the likes of us. I'll still keep you up to date, though. :) Me...

Some of you may remember that one of the first things we did to our property was replace the garage roof (including most of the rafters). Well, the time has come for us to do something about the walls, floor and foundation. All three are shot to heck. My mom probably will have some questions, but I ...

Property tax records Property taxes go back much farther in history than income or other taxes. They were paid on all real property, whether any house had been built or not. Since they were based on property value, periodic assessments were necessary, and those records probably still exist for your...

County histories Compiled by assorted amateurs and semi-pros, these typically included profiles of prominent citizens, a rundown of civic organizations, lists of statistics such as population, elevation, and principal industries, an account of the county's founding, and other historical sketches. A...