Well, actually, I may have a house :)

So here I thought I had my dream house, posted a blog about it, sent an announcement to all my friends, and THEN had the inspection. I’ll never do that again! This is the fourth house I’ve bought, ranging in year built from 1920 to 2000, and I’ve NEVER had serious inspection issues. Of course, I do avoid fixers, and this didn’t look like one. But it is.

It needs 1) a new roof, 2) siding replaced, 3) plumbing upgrades to code in the studio and water pipes replaced to the street, 4) electrical upgrades to code throughout, 5) pest eradication (powder-post beetles and carpenter ants), 6) structural damage underneath the house from said pests fixed, 7) structural repairs from improper framing under the house, and 8) repainting of some interior walls due to past water damage and cracking.

Why, you might ask, would I even consider not just walking away? Well, oddly enough, while I was sitting there getting all that bad news, I still felt good there. I still like the house. I get this odd feeling of pleasure at the thought of making all these repairs and making this wonderful house new from top to bottom. The newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom, he confirmed, are every bit as good as they look. So what they did do, they did well. The garden is still amazing, the location is still perfect, the neighborhood wonderful.

I have the cash to do the repairs if they will accept a commensurately lower offer, which they have agreed to consider (but who knows if they will take). I am also here in Olympia, can keep an eye on the general contractor. I’d get to pick out my own colors and do a bunch of things now that I was planning to do later in the summer, like paint and move the laundry into the house. Plus know that just about every last thing that could go wrong in an old house had been newly replaced and upgraded before I moved in. I could even come out ahead if things go well (a big if, of course).

I still feel pretty neutral about the whole thing. I’ve always been anti-fixer, but the issue is not wanting to do it myself. If I can hire someone to take on the whole job, for a fixed-price bid, that would be different. Still, today we have a whole round of inspections and estimates occurring, and my realtor and I plan to use the time wisely by going to see other houses in the neighborhood :D That should help me decide if this is really worth the trouble. After all, I have been looking for more than six months for just the right house, and thought this was it. But if there is an alternative to all this work, I may take it. Wish me luck, and an easy decision in the end…