Buying A House Sight Unseen

[Hawnjigs]

Couldn't afford a standard size home, so was pleased that a Craigslist offer appeared in May with what sounded perfect - a 1 bdrm in old town Ogallala, NE which is the flagship town for Lake McConaughy renowned for tournament quality walleye and wiper fishing.

The Seller made it sound even better, 4 fruit trees, garden, basement, and pics she sent made it look clean and homey. So, I verbally committed to purchase in June at her price and we agreed to close on Sept. 6. I arrived at my daughter's house in Greeley a week early and bought a car & computer. Called the Seller who said she wasn't ready for my move in & begged for more time to move out her stuff. So, drove to Ogallala on the agreed date of Sept. 15 to move in.

Well, she hadn't moved anything out yet, and alls I got for my use was a small bedroom closet and doggy smelling bed. The fruit trees were a lightening struck peach with one branch surviving, an apple with a dozen wormy misshapen fruits, and two mysterious small trees which hadn't yet produced anything, one planted from a hybrid cross apple/pear or something fruit seed. The basement was piled wall to wall floor to ceiling with hoarded stuff which also concealed 5 cats. Since I was now stuck in NE having sold my HI cabin I had no choice but to close and pay her, on assurance that her stuff would be gone ASAP. We've, since I have to assist, have made substantial progress but here's some pics taken this weekend.

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[Kdog]

I've heard the term sweat equity before but this shed a very bright light on the term and gives a whole new meaning. I sure hope the price was right.

Time to rent a big construction dumpster and call in some local HS football players a busy saturday and couple dozzen pizzas and you will be ready to start cleaning, sanitizing and painting.

Good luck!

 

[JSC]

Good Luck .... With a lot of work You can only go UP with the project.

 

[Jig Man]

Do you get to keep the chickens???
Its gonna be cold soon....

 

[AtticaFish]

Ouch. Looks like at least 2 generations of washer/dryers. Possibility for some recyclable trade of more desirable metal? Hope you do not get any additional surprises. Good luck with the cleanup.

Individual fruit trees have their good and bad years in my experience. This year was the best ever for my pear tree, but have had many years where i was lucky to get a dozen off the entire tree.

 

[Fatman]

Wow that's called taking a big chance!!!!! Tough to hear she didn't live up to her end for the closing though - hope hit works out for you!!

 

[Hawnjigs]

Kdog, new in town don't know anyone cept the Seller.

JSC, yer right, thanks!

JM, huh? Seller will pack the 7 chickens, 2 LARGE dogs, and close to 10 cats into a Toyota van and head to Florida in a few weeks. Actually, thats a pretty dang awesome feat, you think?

AF, under the black tarp in the back of the green washer/dryer set is a Speed Queen roller top.

FM, I might have to reconsider trusting people on their word. Getting schooled fer sure.

 

[Jig Man]

Sorry about the confusion Hawn. The first was just a BS question nothing to it. And the second is a statement. Hate to hear about your deal, goes to show you can't trust them dang liberals.. And I sure hope you get things setup before snow flies. You are in some dang nice country fho sho....

 

[Hawnjigs]

JM, argh! politics. OK, I'll bite. Dunno which way the Seller swings, but its 3x more likely she's a con. This graph didn't copy right, but its the town voting record by party from 2008 thru 2012.

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[LedHed]

Sorry to hear about the raw deal - hopefully you get it turned around soon. I'm going the other way Keith - lookin at real estate on Terceira...

 

[Jig Man]

Just messin with ya Hawn, tryin to help ya thru a difficult situation. I don't mean anything buy it. Welcome to the main land, hope ya find what your lookin for.

But it could be why she is headed to Florida... Then again it is warmer there!

 

[redman]

Keith Sorry for the mess must be really frustrating. I am sure that you will get every thing in tip top shape in a few weeks. We are having to redo parts of our house that have finally gave out do to cheap out to sell this place to us. Oh well as they say let the buyer beware. Just hope that it doesn't get in the way of your fishing. BTW that is a good part of the country for Fruit trees . Plumb ,Peach,and cherry . If you have any room stick in a few raspberry canes nothing better than fresh berries. Wish they would grow down here. Look for wild juneberries,and chokecherries. There should even be wild plumb and grape in that territory.

Redman

 

[Pup]

Don't scrap the appliances immediately. If any of them appear useable or repairable, contact an appliance recycler in the area. They may agree to pick them up from you without charge.

You'll be finding out all sorts of things about your home in the upcoming weeks. Had mine inspected before moving in nearly seven years ago. This year, I finally figured out how to keep the mainline pipe free and clear of tree roots in order to avoid calling the plumber for a yearly snake and cutter. Took a specific combination of treatments. Been fighting off mainline replacement.

Hope your roof isn't too old and doesn't leak. Run the faucets and check below sinks for leaks. You'll find out about any improper plumbing or ventilation right quick. Can't hide water or sewer gas. From your pics, I suspect that the A/C, furnace, water heater, and indoor appliances you intend to keep are likely on their last legs.

Best of luck and enjoy the area. Seems exciting to me.

 

[Kdog]

Kdog, new in town don't know anyone cept the Seller.

JSC, yer right, thanks!

JM, huh? Seller will pack the 7 chickens, 2 LARGE dogs, and close to 10 cats into a Toyota van and head to Florida in a few weeks. Actually, thats a pretty dang awesome feat, you think?

AF, under the black tarp in the back of the green washer/dryer set is a Speed Queen roller top.

FM, I might have to reconsider trusting people on their word. Getting schooled fer sure.

Hawn, you may want to call the local HS. Many of them have Community Service requirements and are always looking for projects. I was talking to friend that before retiring was coordinator at one of our schools. Her opinion was if there is a local program such as ours, this would be an ideal situation. It may very well be worth a call or two. You may need to rent a construction dumpster. But you need lots of young bodies and fresh legs.

If I were close, I would drop by and lend a stong back, weak mind and dead legs for an afternoon or two, but the drive would wear me out. I am sure you can find a local group that would help out and after you get everything done, will probably learn of several.

This past weekend, I was helping my mother-in-law clean out my recently deceased father-in-laws garage/workshop so she can have a place for her car. Hauled all sorts of stuff to the curb and almost as soon as it was there, someone was picking through it. I finally stopped one guy and said got a whole bunch more around back. He took everything... Old Lawn mowers, Old refridgerator (being saved for a paint locker) My father-In-laws project pile was pretty big and I had estimated 2-3 truckloads for another day and time. When the afternoon was over, everything was gone, lean to at back of garage was empty and swept. Inside of garage will almost hold a car and will once we relocate all the stationary power tools. I am hoping some of the grandsons want the big tools.

After we were done, a neighbor had stopped in and told her of a local church group that would have done the clean out for her. Its something that church does for the elderly as a community service.

 

[jiggerjohn]

And please get the furnace checked out before it gets cold !!

 

[Radtexan]

Keith, first off welcome to the mainland.
Looks like you do have a starting point, and will only get better from here. I've had very few problems with my craigslist dealings but hear lots of stories. Hope it all works out well.

Hawaii to NE will be the bigger adjustment . Can you even say 10 below.

I bought a house unforeseen, by my wife,many years ago. She let me live, but wasn't sure for the first few weeks.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Many thanks to all for the replies. I expect adjusting to midwest winters after a lifetime in the tropics will be challenging, but if y'all can survive I should be able to. Too, my ancestors dealt with harsh winters. The furnace has been sitting in the yard for 10+ years and doesn't look too good, as the seller had a space issue since the house is only 378 sq. ft and anyway winters in FL. She left two electric oil filled heaters which seem a bit weak, but I'm having trouble finding a reliable stand alone vented small furnace which I'll need at least as a backup in case of power failure. A woodstove would hog too much of the 130 sq. ft. living room.

Plumbing looks its age (80) but serviceable, except Seller "forgot" to tell me about a bathtub drain leak under the claw foot tub. A plumber looked at it today and said he'll try to replace the rotten pipes and drain, but I'd better be prepared for major renovation if he can't cut out the drain cleanly, which is hard steel instead of traditional for the period brass. Problem is the tub is the 4' shorty so modern tubs won't fit, and the custom enclosure would need to be torn off the walls to install a shower.

Actually, helping to move Seller's stuff out has been somewhat uplifting. We have a dinky waist high hand truck with little solid rubber tires, but whoever welded it together long ago did it right. The tongue is bent out a bit, but I was still able to haul a full size side by side frig over 100 twisty feet across the alley to the Seller's other "house". Her pastor friend was helping out, and we stood there thinking "no way" but took a leap of faith & dropped it on to get er dun. After that, other hefty appliances and stuff were no sweat. Seller made a few $ on metals recycling. So, no need for beefy boys & dumpsters.

Appliances: frig works, stove has 3 working burners, will check water heater when basement is clear. Wiring is old style non-grounded which I expect to update in the future. Roof is cheap shingles but intact, fascias are rotting away.

Come Spring, I'm indeed looking forward to planting vegies and fruits - plum, cherry, and peach sound real good. There was a decade tangled mess of black raspberry which took 2 days to chop out and haul to allow access to the house sides. They'll sprout & fruit next year I hope, since the shaded side "yards" may most closely resemble their preferred understory habitat. With such a small house, even the 50 x 100 lot seems to have lots of back yard planting space. Seller advertised as "1/4 ac".

Since the purchase was my $ and the missus will stay in HI if the lava flow doesn't cut access, don't think she can complain much. But, when she visits, she'll probably start with "I can't believe you did this"...

 

[redman]

Keith the best thing you could have done is to chop off those raspberries. You will not believe how good they will be next year. Got to thin them down in order to get a good crop. I would cut all my old canes off every year and the next year the crop would be bigger and better than the year before.

Keep us updated on the progress. Urban Homesteading is the new pioneers of the future.

Redman

 

[StumpHunter]

Hate to hear of your troubles Keith but Welcome to the mainland. Each day that you work on your place will get you feeling better or at least give you hope that there is an end to the clean up.

 

[goodtimesfishing]

Sounds like you have it under control! With it being small it will take less to get it just how you want it. Before you know it, it will be "home sweet home".
Keep us posted on the progress!