Finding "the one"

When I began looking for a house, I looked at every single house in my price range in my target area... and even a little bit out of my target area. I put in an offer on a house that was outbid by $10,000, and hadn't found anything that I was even slightly interested in that I would be able to buy. One house I looked at before buying my house had water in the basement... in the finished basement. I wasn't going to be able to afford to rip out the entire basement and refinish it, so I decided to pass up the house. I was feeling discouraged, when I got an email from my agent about a house that had just come on the market that day. It was an estate, and as is. I saw the pictures of the outside, and though I wasn't too impressed, I was feeling depressed and was willing to look at ANYTHING in the hope that it might be "the one."

I met my agent at the house that same night after work, and had one of my friends from work and her boyfriend meet me there so I could get their opinion on the house. Obviously, from first glance, it needed some updating, but I thought it had some serious potential.

These are the pictures I took the second time I went to come see the house. My parents drove down to see the place after I looked at it with my friends from work, and they loved the 2 car garage and the fireplace like I did.

Here is the house! You can see the length of the house. It's a shotgun style house. My mom, dad, sister and selling agent are in the picture.


Another shot of just the front of the house. This place has absolutely no curb appeal!


This is the back of the two car garage! Unfortunately, the door didn't close and there is a panel of glass missing...


This is the back of the house. The windows you see are the windows in the kitchen. I really hate the bricks and wood that outline the back porch!


Besides the front of the house, this was my first glance of the house... not very impressive, I must say! I love that the drawer front is held on with electrical tape!


The other side of the kitchen. It's really a shame you can't see the ripped linoleum under the table.


One of the chairs is broken... we discovered this another day. :-)


Personally, I despise the icky brown tile color in this bathroom, but the worst part was that nasty vent going across the shower!!! Who does that?


Underneath the large white square is the drying rack full of their underwear! They are showing the house, but they hang their underwear in the bathroom for the world to see? Maybe it's a new kind of staging!


This is the room they used as a living room, right off the kitchen.


This is the bedroom. I especially love the different paint colors on the wall and the beautiful curtain on the window. :-)


Bedroom #2. I just LOVE that the closet doors are falling off! We couldn't even get the closet open without the doors falling off any of them.


The other side of the second bedroom. Love the dirty walls!


This is what they used as another bedroom, but is actually the living room. I really hate when people do that in shotgun style homes! I really love the curtains... lol.


This is, hands down, the best part of the house! I am shocked that it is so nice looking when the rest of the house is such a mess!


Even though we all agreed that the place was a MESS, we thought it had a lot of potential! And the two car garage (with automatic opener) was definitely a huge plus! After my parents came to see the house, I treated them to some ice cream and they helped me make a decision about putting in an offer. I put in an offer that night, and another buyer had put in an offer as well. However, mine must have been better, because by 4pm the next day, I had an answer from the seller! I was a homeowner! That's when the real work began!