Monday, March 23, 2009

To Grandmother's House We Go...

I went out with my father and step-mother to take a look at my grandmother's old house. Wow, it's still really full of her stuff. I had understood it had been mostly vacated, but in reality my brother and aunt removed all the furniture and just left all the stuff behind. Ugh. So it's going to be a while before we can get it cleaned up and ready for occupancy; probably at least 3 months.

The house itself has a few issues:  
* It has settled and there's a fair amount of cracking in the sheetrock or plaster. The master bedroom was built over an old septic and has actually sunk enough that it should get jacked up and the support repaired.
* It only has a 50 amp electrical box, and should really be upgraded to 200, especially if we plan to upgrade the HVAC.
* It doesn't have central heat or air, and I desperately want AC; the summers are too hot down here in California. 
* It needs insulation.

Now, if we were buying the house, fixing any of the problems wouldn't be a big deal. But the house belongs to my Dad (and Aunt) and he doesn't want to put much money into it because he's expecting that when they sell it, it's going to get torn down and the lot rebuilt. So, if we want to move in and have him fix some of these problems, we're going to have to commit to renting it for a year. That's a hard commitment to make, because I have been looking out for a house to buy. With our luck, we'll commit to taking this house for a year, and then our dream house will get listed in our price range in California or Oregon.

I'm adding a few pictures below, primarily of the kitchen and hallway, because Jeff didn't take any pictures of the bedrooms or bathrooms. I'll add a few more photos tomorrow, as I'm planning to go out again and try to help sort through some of the stuff for a garage sale.

My grandmother liked elephants and over the years everybody gave her elephants for gifts. I've never seen so many elephants in one place in my life. We need to find an elephant collector to find a good home for these.

1 comment:

  1. Ya know, I'd go ahead and agree to rent for a year. Start the repairs, and if the dream house pops up during that time, you may be able to sub-let the house when the new house closes. In any case, the repairs will have to be made before anyone buys it anyway. In this buyers' market, people have the option to be choosy. The cabinets and counters look nice, and some updated drawer pulls, it could look really great! Sorry, no elephants needed here.

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