At least it doesn't have a water garden:)

The house I live in was an estate. The former owner died here (on the john; he was 80 and lived alone). About three months later, the postman noticed the smell...and the rest is history.

Our housewarming invitations had chalk body outlines on them. Thank God for QuarkXpress and the L.A. Morgue's e-shop.

Wowsers on that first one! That's...bright. ;-) It might be worth the effort to fix it, but Eric's not keen on alley entryways and narrow lots. Other than that...wow. :-D

The other one is nice. The backyard scares me a little in the same way our current one does: lots of maintenance required there... But a nice house!

I don't know, Rebecca, we've done a lot of work on the home we already own, but I'd only put that much redecorating work in on a just-bought home if I got a great deal. The cost of the work you have to do should be estimated high--plus including your labor time to make it a worth paying the price.

Personally, I'm not big on ranches, but that one has a nice yard. I've always liked house shopping.

If anyone was looking and couldn't find the link (the MLS number wasn't working when I tried to show it to my husband later), the house address is: 2102 Slauson Ave, Racine, WI 53403-2157

Okay, so my naughty shopping impulses kicked in. I saw a really beautiful custom ranch in the Racine realty pages. It has an amazing fieldstone fireplace, a fabulous backyard (covered stone terrace, huge grassy play area) and an attached garage. In a place where the winters are even worse than Ohio, an attached garage is a very good thing. Having everything on one floor is also really convenient, especially when you're doing laundry for three.

Here's the pin for www.shorewest.com: 35800

I looked at that house, and it might be just the thing. It's in move-in condition, has nice new appliances, huge storage in the kitchen, nicely sized bedrooms (all on the same floor), two full baths, and gorgeous woodwork. I don't think it'd take $20 K to fix the house. If you paint the fence, the hearts will pretty much disapear. If you yank off the 2nd story trellis and paint the house (inside and out), it would be really charming.

Of course, you'd also need to scrape all the wallpaper out of the kitchen and get new countertops (they look like super fugly laminate), but the fireplace and the window over it look really nice.

The woodwork in the kitchen and the cabinets look like new oak. Very nice. Of course, I'd change the pulls and probably pickle the wood to lighten it, but that's just me after watching one too many episodes of Trading Spaces.

The changes you'd need to make would be cosmetic, not structural (the trellis isn't intrinsic to the structure, thank God). I think it could be done for under $10,000, so I'd make an offer of $100K and be willing to go up to $105.

The one thing I liked about looking for a new house was perusing ads online. Maybe I'm a frustrated Realtor at heart:) That, and I love to shop.

Is the book the fish who could wish as one of my children used to love that?

Is the book the fish who could wish as one of my children used to love that?

Working late tonight, saw your entry and went onto a realty website to glance through Racine homes to see how the market is there. Saw this one I couldn't resist: MLS# 672030 on http://shorewest.com (I don't know how to link direct to the house page.)

Beautiful house and old woodwork, owned by people who do NOT understand the concept of decorating in neutrals (inside OR out!) when they are planning to sell. Check out the wacky fence, and the interior shots of the dining room! Hope it doesn't make you smile too much if your jaw is still sore. I seriously think these people should get talked down at least $20 grand for what they did to this place.

Just looked at it again, and now I think it would need to be $50 grand. Do you think the neighbors ran them out?

(Actually, I like individuality in home decorating, but it's just not fair to foist so much off on a new home buyer!)