We decided to make a low offer and see what happened. We looked at the potential value of the home after repairs and updates and the estimated cost to make these things happen. If we did it right we would still come out very well.
The response came quickly. They accepted the offer and we were under contract.
Once again my mind was off to the races. Time to design. Time to plan. Time to pack. Time to move. Oh no! Were we doing the right thing? Were we absolutely insane!
During the due-diligence period I had people come out to inspect the home and provide estimates to do the necessary structural work. Because the house was built on 3 separate foundations and was settling in every direction it would be very difficult to stabilize it. Because of the way the structure was pulled together there was also a good chance this movement would cause it to crumble.
The cost to try? An estimated $60,000!
This was only cost to lift the house, pour a proper foundation and lower it back down. No additional renovations and updates included and no guarantees we would even have a house left standing.
Best Case Scenario: Lifting the house would go without any major problems. We would be smart about the other renovations and the project would be completed within budget.
Worst Case Scenario: The lift fails. We are out an additional 60k are left with a condemned old house and no place to stay.
At this point everything screamed to cut our losses and once again RUN. But, as crazy as it may sound, this option still didn't feel right. But what other options were there? Because of the structural state of the home and cost to correct it there was no real value in the building itself.
But the land was incredible. A large lot in the center of town with beautiful mature trees. There was so much potential to create an amazing place for our family to live, grow, and create memories.
What if....? No way, it would never work... Scratch that idea... They would never go for it... It's a waste of time...
What if we were to somehow reduce our offer to reflect only the value of the land?
We could live in the house for a while then demo the existing and build new. It would end up costing less than the possible disaster project and we would have the house we really wanted. We could even salvage the original cabin structure and other materials rebuild it as part of the new home. We could preserve history and have an amazing house with a story.
But could it even be done at this point in our contract?
It was time to ask the real-estate agent (Dad). He said it could definitely be done. It was a long shot but we decided to go for it. We did some digging to determine the market value of the land. We put together documentation from my inspections and construction estimates to support the true value of the property. He put together an addendum to adjust the price and we crossed our fingers.
IT WORKED!
We paid cash from the sale of our monster house and closed on the property.
Over the next month we got the house ready for our family. We cleared out mountains of artifacts from the homes previous life. We swept and mopped and scrubbed out years of nasty. I spent my weekends camped out at the house making small repairs and making 3 bedrooms out of 2 (more on this later).
On December 28, 2013 we once again loaded the 26 foot UHAUL and headed East on I-80.
6 months later we are settling into an amazing new life. We have really enjoyed getting to know our new community and have met some amazing people. I work from home and spend a lot more time with my family. We go on hikes, we fish, we read, we run. We have our chickens, our garden, and a garage that is slowly clearing out (maybe one day we will actually use it for vehicles).
The house is not perfect. It smells weird. There is no storage space. It was drafty in the winter and is getting hotter each day this summer. But it works. It's an adventure.
We will build when we are ready and it makes sense. For now, we are 100% debt free and are loving the freedom of this simplicity.
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