The House Always Wins

The closest we’re coming to a house move in the immediate future is a planned second cross-country trip this fall. I’m still another 3-ish years from retirement, much as I’d like to turn in my equipment and go off to play tomorrow.

However, my younger daughter and I are having fun looking at what you can get at our price point in the midwest, in the general area where we want to be. And we’re both, still, after all these months, mind-boggled at what you can get at our price point in the midwest.

Case in point: (sorry for the oversized patchwork image. Trying to avoid the need for a magnifying glass. Click the photo to embiggen. Click the back arrow to come back and read.)

This house. I want this house, and it fits comfortably into the budget at under $100,000.

Yes, it has stairs. No, I haven’t lost my mind (at least not beyond its normal state). This house is a duplex, upstairs/downstairs. And that, boys and girls, is a win-win of epic proportions. I believe I mentioned before, Younger Daughter is also in need of a place to stay. She’s welcome here and she knows it; but it would be challenging for all concerned for more people holed up in our current itty bitty house. But put us into a house where we each have our own independent space, yet are close by in case of emergency on either side, and you have a big ol’ win. Daughter wants the upstairs space, which would leave us down. When granddaughter’s there, visiting grandma is a quick stroll down the staircase. The space is adequate in each of the two units, while still manageable for people with physical limitations.

The real estate is located in a small town, under 10K people. The house sits a block from the library, about three blocks from the downtown square, and 30-40 minutes from where my older son lives. The town’s big enough to have all the basics covered: grocery, gas, repair services, and fast food. It’s about 10 minutes from the state’s biggest lake, situated a safe distance from the river banks. Check, check, and check for diminished risk of flooding.

While I didn’t see anything scary in the home photos, there’s always a risk of 1) lead paint; 2) asbestos; 3) lead pipes; 4) invisible issues like mold or termites, etc. 5) It might need a roof – I haven’t physically been there to see if there are stains on the ceiling which never made it into the photos, missing shingles, etc. 6) It might need HVAC. 7) It might have a hundred-year-old oil boiler original to the house. 8) It might have more drafts than the army in the Vietnam War. 9) It might have a basement that turns into a swimming pool at the first hint of a cloud in the sky. Risks come with buying any house, anywhere, and one or more of the aforementioned issues most likely applies here.

The building itself is 100 years old. That’s antique in American terms, still somewhat modern if it were in Europe. Sadly, it looks like some of the original Arts-and-Crafts details may have been stripped out by over-zealous and under-taste remodeling a few decades ago (see: wood paneling circa the 1970s.) However, the photos make it look reasonably sound, the price is right, at least some of the original character remains, and the location would be near perfect for us.

At this point it’s merely a dream. I’m not ready to make that kind of gamble – yet.