It has been a long road of many timely rent payments (about 300 payments over the years), but I finally have found a home! I bought it at about 15% less than market value. 6 miles from work in the small historic section of a farm village.
It’s an 1890 Victorian fixer upper with great large interior spaces, tall ceilings, tall narrow windows, and a nice lot right next to a old but active church and it’s associated neatly maintained 19th century cemetery. Spooky!
I can’t wait! No more rent!!!
Lot’s of wire pulling and drywall!
thats awesome blake. we just got our first house in about 10 yrs. weve been living on base for like forever. are you up for the big move that comes with a new house? stressful.
I just moved across the country with a kid, two dogs, two canaries, and a cat in the cab of a Uhaul towing my jeep on a trailer in a heat wave last July. That’s stress!!
I think a local move over the course of a month will be a breeze (knock on wood!)
Actually, I still have much in boxes from my move to this part of the country, so even packing will be easier!
I’m so happy. The kid and I are going out for a late night ice cream celebration.
This was post 600!
I if write a memoir someday, that adventure will have its own chapter. Due credit must be given to the kid, who was happy, patient, made good conversation, and had to use the rest room less frequently than most adults would have. He never complained when the motel that allowed pets didn’t also have a pool or when we passed by another fast food place in favor of the apples, carrots, pretzels, and wasabi peas we had for travel snacks.
I later heard that my colleagues back in Washington had a betting pool on whether I would make it without major incident.
The remodel/fixing up will probablytake 5 years or so because I am so busy and also because I am very tolerant of construction-type messes.
I’ll post more pictures when I get in the place again with a camera. The first priority will be getting rid of the 60amp knob&tube and modernizing the wiring.
Nice house, it’ll be really great when you’re done with it.
I just came back from helping my sister and her family move, so here’s a bit of advice, in case you’re going to move out of the house again at some point:
If you’re hanging something on the wall and two screws are enough to hold it, DON’T USE 14 JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I’m fine now. Really.
Congratulations Podzol, that’s a cool house. It looks pretty huge, plenty of room for more unicycles:)
Does it have a garage or anywhere big enough to practice indoor in the winter?
Good luck with the move!
The foundatation is stone and has done all the settling it will do. the house is all plumb and square, no sways and sags.
It has a garage, but indoor practice will be done on the first floor, which largely open w/o walls and pine wood floors, well worn, so Unicycling won’t damage them. If I put in new oak flooring down the road, that plan may change. We are almost right across the street from the elementary school playground that has plenty of places to ride in its yard during spring summer and fall.
Can’t wait! It is 50 and sunny here today, so we’ll be out at the park afterlunch riding and celebrating for certain!
Congratulations on the new house. Sounds like you have many years of weekend projects ahead of you to keep you busy. Love to see more pics of the place. I love old houses. Always reminds me of the house I lived in during 1st and 2nd grade. Good times.
