Since I am in danger of losing track of this project's history, I decided to start a blog to document it. I first became aware of a listing for this house on MLS in March '10.
I made an inquiry, looked it over, and made an offer. After several rounds of counteroffers, I gave up.
The $6000 tax credit deadline had expired, and my last offer had been within $4000 of their asking price. So after waiting a month, it went to public auction. They were taking prebids online, so my dad put one in to see what would happen. Even though it was well below what I had offered before, they quickly accepted his offer.
During this long process, some vandals kicked in the back door and smashed two windows.
That big one is expensive, too. The house looks pretty good on the surface, but as we dug in, we found that it was built in the mid 1950s and had been extensively remodeled more recently. Unfortunately, nobody bothered with insulation in the outer walls.
Plus, the previous owner gutted the kitchen and took it with him when he was evicted.
Luckily, the bank made him return the cabinets, which he dumped in the garage.
The basement is partially finished, with a recent master suite featuring a glamor bath--missing a few pieces.
And what's up with the different sized vanities? Whoever did the work in this room must not have had a tape measure, much less any amount of skill. It's a shame to waste this nice tile, but this room will need to be redone. But that's way down the list. The old '50s wiring and galvanized plumbing needs to be replaced first. The wiring makes me nervous, so I turn off the breaker whenever I leave. I'll document the first work next time. I've already got some going, but let's stick with the storyline here.
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