"Honey We Bought The Farm - AND The Dung!"
Hello fearless followers,
I was so excited the day we received the keys! Yes, the property was ours . . . and YIKES, the property was ours! From the pot-hole filled driveway as you approach, to the dilapidated structure itself, and every crack, hole and broken pane in between, it was all ours! Did I tell you one of the grandchildren of the original owners (now an elderly man) was squatting in the main house? By squatting I don’t mean literally, he lived in the house almost as a “squatter” would - for 20+ years. He smoked pot and had somewhere between 9 and 13 guns in the house, one of which was a loaded shotgun at the front door.
The day we arrived to receive our keys, we were stunned to see the elderly man wasn’t even close to removing all of his belongings (a.k.a. crap). The title had been transferred and the money exchanged hands, so we had no choice but to send him on his way, and to take possession of every little dirty detail of EVERYTHING! In an earlier post I showed you a photo of the SITE MAP, do you remember seeing the 2.32 acre property within this property? We didn’t purchase that chunk so it remained on the market for sale. Now, imagine our shock when, on the day we got our keys, we received the news the pot-smoking, hoarding, loaded shotgun-possessing gentleman was going to be our neighbor!!! YES, he had moved on over to the 2.32 acre parcel and took up residence - it was no longer for sale! Double YIKES! Needless-to-say, the interior of the house was disgusting! Words really can’t describe what this place smelled like but I’ll try:
Pot smoking squatter, mixed with power outage at the morgue, combined with burnt coffee maker, to toilets haven’t been cleaned in years! I looked over at my husband who had a horrified look on his face that pretty much said “What are you getting me into? I want to run!!” But he didn’t, and now we are the proud owners of it ALL!
Soup is NOT on! But you do feel like a few little critters hop on when you walk through!
Just in case you thought your eyes were playing tricks on you and you needed a better angle!
My son and I were afraid to open the refrigerator for fear of what we'd find - thus the morgue description! The aroma really did make your mind jump to conclusions!
Living room was sleep central complete with mattress on the floor.
When all the debris and heavy window treatments are removed this room will have wonderful natural light with windows overlooking the portico and the nature infused hillside.
Not much sun amongst a sea of debris. Trust me, this room will be beautiful?
Another view of the sunroom. This angle gives you a hint of the beauty that reigns outside. Imagine new windows with beautiful molding and French doors opening to an awesome courtyard.
Even the closets were full.
I’m glad this blog doesn’t have smell-a-vision because I know a whole bunch of you would be clicking “un-subscribe” right now. You’re probably wondering if I have “buyer’s remorse”. Nope, zilch, nada. I’m actually even more excited to get my hands on it. I love taking old houses and giving them new life. The worse the property, the greater the reward! Now, do I have my work cut out for me? YES! This project is going to take every ounce of creativity and strength I have, but I’m determined. The buying process was so horrendous and excruciatingly long but we prevailed. During the process my real estate agent affectionately nick-named me the “sandstorm”. I won’t need to do a rain dance on this project because there will surely be lots of precipitation forming from sweat and tears, but I will be required to put on my coat and trench through a lot of “ha-il”, if you know what I mean. Wish me luck! The weather fairies are forecasting a beautiful home in the end!
I feel like I may have perpetrated quite an assault on your eyes today so I'd like to offer a soothing solution. One of my favorite blogs I follow is that of a mother and daughter duo called Design Chic. They always showcase such beautiful interiors and offer insight into the latest in Interior Design. So, take one of their tours of an "American Farmhouse" and sooth those tired eyes, and I'll meet you back here next week. Thanks for joining me!
Sandy Sheldon
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