Jean Writes:
Looking towards retirement in a few years, we were anxious to move to an acreage in the country. WE WERE BLIND. All we could see was open fields and a 'blank canvas' to paint our own picture. Being in a rural area, this house is heated with propane (everyone has their own tank in their yard). The day we took possession, we drove to our new acreage - it was SO cold in the house - the propane tank was empty! Tack on another $400 in unexpected expenses!
The two-stall garage, with 'lean to' was painted hot pink inside - wonder why we didn't see that when we looked earlier! There was only one overhead door, the other stall was just open. One evening after I came home and put my small station wagon in the garage, I pulled down the garage door - it fell off the tracks, flat on to the roof of my car!
We pulled up all the carpets and removed heat registers and cold air return registers to clean - found dead mice, baby bottles with solid-green stuff! a quarter pound of margarine, toys, phone book - but, alas, no money!
The first rain gave us a small lake - right in the middle of the driveway! The second bedroom had one window pane made of a Gateway computer box - but, it was caulked!
In the five years since that purchase, we have put on a new roof, new windows, doors (all exterior, including storm doors and interior doors), totally new kitchen from floor to ceiling, including cupboards, all new plumbing, wiring, water lines, furnace, well, bathroom fixtures, new insulation (after tearing off all drywall - exposing water-logged 2"x4"s and insulation, and 'mouse runs' in the insulation), new drywall... We should have had the house bulldozed and started anew!
We currently have the cement block walls and poured concrete floor in the basement, the studs and the roof joists - those being the only original parts of the house left! What a nightmare - and, as I said, we were just a few years shy of retirement - so we are old enough to know better. We will never be able to tell our kids to 'sleep on it' or 'think about it' - not after what WE bought!
The pink-interiored garage is now gone, and a new one built; our gardens are flourishing, we have added a small barn, chicken shed, and a "Potting Shed" for me! It's been an experience!
Thanks!
~Jean from South Dakota
