Anyway, all that to say that I went house shopping with my good friend, who could be like my sister, Kathy T. Yes, the very same Kathy T that you read about in posts about the Middle Tennessee Blogger and Podcaster's Group Meetings, which, by the way, is July 22nd at 11:30 PM at Mothership BBQ. Not only does the awesome Kathy T. blog on all things La Vergne, TN but also does Real Estate when she is not being super mom, super blog lady.
I could not let this day past without putting into words my experience today. I'm not wealthy by any stretch and so I'm trying to be frugal and make wise investment choices. I've been listening to Rich Dad's Guide To Investing, which I highly recommend, and figured I have to make some smart money decisions. Real estate is a pretty good return on your investment these days.
So, I set out with two places in mind today. The first house on my list of house priorities sat on 2.5 acres and was built in the 1930's. It is going for $83k. The acreage alone perked my ears up. There were also over 2,000 sq. ft. of living space in it. So I had to see if it was livable. Driving up the gravel roadway, I thought, this may not be so bad. It was indeed large. Stepping out of the vehicle, I tried to keep optimistic.
Our entry into the building was greeted with an odor that seems to permeate old houses. It is like must or something, probably black mold and asbestos... Strolling around the large rooms, I took note of all the work that needed to be done. Kathy took calls as she showed me around. I proceeded to climb into the attic and as serious as she could be, told the caller that she had to keep the line open in case she had to call 911.
We ended in the kitchen. I have had a few rare moments in my life where I was frightened. Kathy frightened me with a shriek from the corner of the room. She had gone to lay her business card down and a large, but debatable, number of cockroaches came running out from beneath the card.
Well, I think that ended my dreams of revamping that place. Below are some pictures.
The funniest thing about this house is that the shingles on the roof appeared to be new and there was a satellite dish on top.
But now, the picture above absolutely takes the cake. This is a picture of the floor of another fixer upper we went to today.What do you think that is? Would you be surprised to learn that this is carpet? Carpet that was designed to look like wood planks. How hilarious is that? Not only was this carpet on the floor but wonder of all wonders, it was on the wall for heaven's sake. Now, when I was a kid, I had this notion that wall to wall carpeting meant that you had carpeting on your wall. Now I've been vindicated!
In all, however, the house with the wood carpeting (ha!) was really a diamond in the rough. But in its current condition, it is not livable. I've no real notion of what it takes to refurbish an old home but this is one that I would love to be a part of.
Anyway, talk at me. Let me know your experiences. Got good recommendations on contractors? Drop me a comment here. Stand up and speak out for crying out loud!
Also, get the full effect at Kathy T.'s personal blog.
On a side note, Kathy says that if we were in Thailand, we could sell them. I guess she must've read Rich Dad's Guide to Investing.
1 comment:
I heard on the radio the other day that they were assessing the value of homes in Smyrna too high to drive up taxes, have you heard anything about this??
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