December 2009 - we find the one. In early December we find a house that is totally over priced (the reason we hadn't looked at it sooner). We end up touring the place just before a massive snowstorm. There is not one room in the house that I don't burst out laughing at the sight of. From the rock textured wood paneling in the living room to the giant (circa 1980) floral print wallpaper in the bathroom to the little bunches of wheat circling the kitchen. This was definitely a house in need of help. As we made our way to where we thought the garage was we came upon the backyard. Opening the back door of the house, we entered what looks like a small courtyard nestled between the steep bluff and terraced hillside behind us and the house itself. A small ladder allowed us to explore the garden that had been terraced into the hill behind the house. The view was amazing. From that location, looking at the other homes in the valley that would soon become our neighborhood, I knew ML was a lost cause. He was sold. We came back to the house with a pen and paper in hand. I began pulling up the corners of carpet to check for wood floors, knocking on the paneling to see if there was a lath and plaster surprise waiting for us, checked for updated electrical and plumbing, and felt around the windows and doors for drafts. I created my list of alterations and their expected costs, used my price cheat sheet provided by my contractor uncle and subtracted the necessary upgrade costs from the price of the house. That was our offer. We went back and forth with the seller over christmas, and by new years, I was setting up the inspections and radon testing.
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| aerial view of my little house that could and backyard woods |
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| front view of my little house that could |
