Each new house becomes its own adventure

With any luck my brother, Michael, and his wife will soon be living closer to us. They have been house shopping for the last few months. They think they have found one they like.

On Thursday our brother, David, called me and asked what we were doing. He said he was going to call Michael and see if we could all go check out the house Michael was considering. David said we could all meet at our place and leave from here.

Everybody showed up in the middle of the afternoon. After catching up for awhile, we set off for Lynn. I was surprised that the house was in town as Michael loves to collect what I refer to as junk tractors. The more decrepit, the better. I always figured that he would prefer a place in the country.

We all piled out in front of the place. It looked like a nice neighborhood. From the outside, the house looked like it needed some work. We peered into the windows and although the woodwork was gorgeous, the paint scheme was not. Orange, green and a few other colors were, shall we say, “unusual.”

There were two outbuildings. None of us was sure what their original purpose had been. I think one may have been a garage. Perhaps the other one was a “she shed?” What was clear was that one of the first things that needed to be done was to untangle the electric line that was woven through a tree that was leaning against one of the outbuildings. Then the roof on the house needed to be replaced. Notice I didn’t say it needed new shingles. I’m guessing that it will need new rafters and all the other parts that go on a roof.

We didn’t go inside although one of the windows was open and the back door seemed to be unlocked. We did peek in every window. Michael said it was listed as a two-story but none of us could figure out how that could be. I would love to go through the property with the realtor.

If Michael does get the house, he is fully aware that there is enough work needed to at least double the asking price. As with any project, the necessary time and expense of the repairs will be far more extensive and expensive than it seems.

One of the most important things to consider when purchasing a new abode is what your new neighbors will be like. Unfortunately, that is something that can’t be determined beforehand.

The first house I bought, the neighbor lady on one side came over the first week and let me know in no uncertain terms that she did not want to be friends. This did not prevent her two girls from coming over almost every day. The lady on the other side came over and apologized because her son had snapped the blossoms off of every tulip in the yard. The second woman grew to be close friends with us.

When we finally made our way to our current home it took years before we made friends. The houses in front of us and to the side are rentals. Some of the tenants are quiet, some of them aren’t. A few are friendly and occasionally some of them end up face down on the sidewalk while police cars light up the night.

This will be the farthest apart my brothers have lived since they were born. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. I’m looking forward to seeing them more often.