Now that the housing market is slowly clawing its way back to some sense of normalcy after all these years we find ourselves rushing to find a place that's right for us. Problem is our price range is limited and the last thing you want to do is jump into something that may cost you way more down the line. Of course leave it to us to lean towards much older properties - yeah we like places with personality. And when I say older I mean "19th century older." Colonianls, New Englanders with stone foundations, dutch doors - my kinda house. I grew up in a town where many of the houses in my neighborhood were from 19th and even 18th century - great big old houses with lots of history. Fantastic.
They look good and remind people everyday of how far we've come. Newer houses need lots of work every decade or so, but I feel that these houses from the 1800s, if built really solid in the first place just don't need much. Just enough love and care over the years to keep them lasting forever.
It's an exciting and very scary time for us. We've decided to leave the city and find an area a little more removed and quiet. So we've turned in our city spurs for rural America instead and I think we'll manage just fine. Taxes are a bit high, but for good reason: a fantastic school system, which is one of the best in the state. With the prospect of children in the near future I'm doing my best to think ahead. Knocking up the wife will be a planned endeavor, not an accident - just saying.
And as of now we're working back and forth with the seller and listing agent to get a price that's just right considering that the roof will need work soon and that the 50-year-old oil furnace needs to replaced almost immediately. If you know anything about house ownership neither of these expenditures are simple or cheap. But with over an acre of land to play with and a great overall house I think it'll be worth it in the long-run, especially before the housing market picks up again this Spring.
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