So, what to do now that I am retired? Why not buy a huge, 120 year old Folksy Victorian home in a small Southern Illinois town for the purpose of complete renovation? It will be an eventual retirement home to live in and relax in, and ramble around through all the space, and remove myself from the hustle and bustle of the mall laden big cities.
The Adventure Begins
I found "The Beast" in March, 2009. He was listed for 29,900. Normally, when I venture out to actually look at a house it NEVER looks like it does in the realtor.com photo offered up by the agent. Usually, in person, the under 30K, in need of renovation, homes are totally awful, or the neighboring homes are horrible, or there is some other deal breaker that sends me away from considering the property. However, "The Beast" actually looked better in person. I waited to make an offer and continued to peruse all other properties in the desired areas until the school year was over and I officially retired. I decided that if "The Beast" was still available when I was ready then it was a sign he should be mine. In May, the price dropped to 24,900. According to the realtor, there were folks showing an interest and looking through him, but no one making an offer. Needless to say, he was still waiting for me in August, causing me to make an offer and purchase "The Beast" for a steal at 16,800.
I figured everyone else looked at "The Beast's" hideous 100 yr. old wallpaper, tons of carpet needing removal, 6 layers of roofing material, and windows needing replacement and could not see the potential beauty in "The Beast".
The Adventure Begins
I found "The Beast" in March, 2009. He was listed for 29,900. Normally, when I venture out to actually look at a house it NEVER looks like it does in the realtor.com photo offered up by the agent. Usually, in person, the under 30K, in need of renovation, homes are totally awful, or the neighboring homes are horrible, or there is some other deal breaker that sends me away from considering the property. However, "The Beast" actually looked better in person. I waited to make an offer and continued to peruse all other properties in the desired areas until the school year was over and I officially retired. I decided that if "The Beast" was still available when I was ready then it was a sign he should be mine. In May, the price dropped to 24,900. According to the realtor, there were folks showing an interest and looking through him, but no one making an offer. Needless to say, he was still waiting for me in August, causing me to make an offer and purchase "The Beast" for a steal at 16,800.
I figured everyone else looked at "The Beast's" hideous 100 yr. old wallpaper, tons of carpet needing removal, 6 layers of roofing material, and windows needing replacement and could not see the potential beauty in "The Beast".
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