Well it didn't take us long to decide not to pursue that house (in fact, it's still on the market and down to $45.9k).
There was a house for sale just down the road from our apartment that had been listed with a Realtor for quite a while, but hadn't sold. I looked at it online, but didn't really think too much else of it because the price was higher than what we were looking for (and it also looked kind of modern). The seller is an elderly lady who has known my dad's side of the family for many years.
Anyway, my mother ran into the owner in town one day, and the owner said she had some issues with her computer she wanted me to look at. So we decided to make it a dual-purpose trip: fix her computer and get a tour of her house. And as it turns out, her one-year contract with the Realtor was over that very day!
I'm not kidding, the second she opened the front door I was in love. I saw plaster walls and wide old trim and was SOLD. We sat and talked for hours that night, about the house and its history and all kinds of things - and she gave us "the tour". At this point, we hadn't gotten pre-approved for a mortgage yet so I couldn't make any kind of offer or commitment, but I said I was very interested and would get back in touch once we were pre-approved.
Later that week, I was pre-approved for a mortgage for just $4900 shy of her original asking price ($79.9k). I made my offer of $75,000 and she accepted!
To make a long and boring story short - fast forward to the present and we are about a month away from closing. Our sales agreement states we must take possession by 30JUN but her moving company comes 13-14JUN so we will be moved in sooner.
Here are just a few of the extremely awesome facts about the house we bought:
- 3 bed, 2 bath, ~1500 sq. ft. (our apartment is 1 bed, 1 bath, 753 sq. ft.)
- Current owner moved into the house with her late husband in 1955. Apparently it was starting to get run-down but they got it for cheap and brought it back to life.
- Current owner is only the 2nd family EVER to live in the house since it was built (she estimates 1880).
- A huge cistern and an old well with an antique well pump are in the basement.
- The house underwent a huge renovation some time before 1921 when the "master bedroom" and living room were added on, and the back porch was enclosed into a kitchen.
- Much of the original hardwood baseboard trim, door trim, and window trim is still present through the house.
- The current owner renovated the old kitchen in 1955 when they moved in, and all of the 1955 cabinets are still present. The cabinets were built in-place and they wrap entirely around the kitchen (even above the doorways). There are something like 47 doors in that kitchen, and it's not all that large. Some of the vintage chrome hardware is still on the cabinets.
- Gas lines are still located in most of the downstairs rooms (from gas lights). Unfortunately, no fixtures.
- Two of the original turn-of-the-century 2-over-2 windows are still present in the living room.
- Tons of insulation has been added over the years.
- Modern plumbing (all copper and PVC) and no asbestos coated plumbing.
The house also has all sorts of modern amenities like 200A electric, city water & sewage, 6yr old HVAC with central air. Includes all appliances, and some furniture. It is truly move-in-ready.
There are a few negatives, but NOTHING we can't live with for a few years.
- Vinyl siding, asphalt roof, and cheesy looking exterior window trim w/ shutters makes the house look very generic.
- All but 2 of the windows have been replaced. However, NONE OF THEM ARE VINYL! Some are Andersen insulated wood windows and some are an unknown brand of insulated wood windows.
- Wallpaper all over the place.
- 1970's paneling in 2 of the bedrooms and the room which will be my office.
- Wall-to-wall carpeting everywhere except the bathrooms and kitchen (no hardwood).
- No interior access to the basement (this is both good and bad).
- Some of the outlets are still 2-prong ungrounded but there is no Knob & Tube.
- The upstairs bathroom was destroyed by plumbing failures in 1993 so it was completely rebuilt at that time. The old cast iron tub is still there though - and it is a decent '90s bathroom - just not period-appropriate.
I don't want to make this first post too long, but I will definitely add to this as time goes by. I know how everybody here likes to see pictures, but the owner still lives there so all I can give you is the Google Maps images. Remember, it is a generic vinyl box on the outside, but it's a real old house with lots of history and character!
What does everybody think? We are excited beyond excitement.
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