Tempting Fate

(photo: log house with new paint – awaiting new chink)

Some background about this blog for new visitors.

In 2007 I bought two abandoned, derelict houses in Powell Wyoming. I work in Powell but I live an hour’s drive away, so I thought if I could flip one house, I’d end up with a cheap house in Powell where I can live during the work week. But by the time I finished reconstructing the houses, the market tanked. This blog is a chronicle of the experience … which is still ongoing.

Which Is Which

The older house, 1937 vintage – very sweet place, great light, good energy, is the house I wanted to keep. So I put most of my effort into it, but eventually decided that it would be easier to sell so it was the first one I put up for sale.  I call it the ‘blue’ house because it was blue-green when I bought it.

The little  log house was built in 1945. I upgraded the interior and it’s now very livable. But the exterior is discouraging.

After trying to sell the blue house without success, I put the log house up for sale too. Let fate decide which to keep, which to sell. The log house has been on the market for the last 6 months and the ‘blue’ house for nearly 2 years without any serious offers. The blue house sat empty for  months while I  ‘staged’ it for sale. I’m only asking $129,000  – newly remodeled, new roof, siding, kitchen bath, etc etc etc. But no reasonable offers. So I’ve rented it to a young family.

I was asking $99,000 for the log house. I’ve been using it as my second home, but the outside of the house is in such bad shape that nobody has even looked at it.

I’ve taken both houses off the market.

Tempting Fate

The blue house wont sell for even that cheap price … I honestly don’t know why not … it’s probably too small for most people? 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, but a lovely living room and kitchen. ??

So I decided I’d try to fix up the log house exterior and maybe  it would sell. Chris Taylor from Cody Wyoming is a log home builder. His crew came out and ripped out the bottom rotten logs, reinforced the foundation, and removed all the old chink. Sean stripped the logs and I repainted. Chris will put in new chink and my sister, Teresa, will install a river-rock skirt around the foundation. All this in hopes of making the log house more desirable to sell.

So guess what happens? I got a good offer on the blue house today.

Fate has a mind of her own.

Trusting Fate

I’ve put the log house up for sale. I’ve been trying to sell the ‘blue’ house but the market has tanked and I can’t afford to lower the price any further. So now they are both for sale – let fate take one and I’ll take whichever one is left.

See the listing for the log house here. And the blue house is here.

2010 Calendar

A combination of digital and letterpress typography. 5.5 x 8.5 on 28lb white bond. This is the first project completed at r t press!

Life within the Logs

It’s cold. December is cold and nasty with a bitter wind, below zero, and no snow. In Montana it’s just as cold but at least there’s a decent amount of snow to make it seem worthwhile … but here, no skiing. No snowmen. No pretty snow-covered scenes. Just dry bitter cold. Oh how I [love] Wyoming.

So. I’ve been living in the Log house since August and it’s a sweet little place. But the kitchen stove needs fixing and I can’t find any appliance repairmen who are willing to fix it so I’m cooking on a hotplate. The pipes froze again. I’ve unfrozen them and I’m going to apply heat tape to the pipes, but I have to get an electrician to bring an outlet to the crawl space so the heat tape can be turned on. grumble and gripe.

The floor and the walls are buckling in a few places because the foundation is rotten. But hey it hasn’t fallen down yet! So all is good. I’m grateful for the heater – it works well!

Cooking with gas. (Not)

The hotplate chef

The great old gas stove in the Log House needs repair. It began to leak gas from the burners, so I called the gas company to check it out, and the guy red-flagged it and turned off it’s gas supply. I found a place that will repair the valves, but in the meantime I’m cookin on a hotplate. (note the hotplate in the middle). I’m trying to decide if I should spend the $300-400 to bring it up to code or just get a new one. The cheapest new ones cost $400 and aren’t nearly so cool.

The only constant is change

Sally is moving out of the Blue house. She needs to settle into a place that is not for sale. Meanwhile, I’ve been staying at the Log house and have become acquainted with it’s topsy turvey crookedness. Every room is crooked. The kitchen floor is springy-soft in places. The windows would rather fall out than slide up, and nothing is level. The cool old vintage stove leaks gas, and … well, aside from that, its a cute little cabin!

So, do I rent the Blue house again, even though it’s for sale and the market seems to be turning? Or do I move out of the log house and rent it for the long term. The thought of schlepping my mattress and couch and dishes from Blue to Log and back again is sooo tiresome.

If only someone would buy that Blue house, my life would be simpler … http://wrensoldit.com/PropInfoDetail.cfm?PropID=10003109

chchchchanges

I said that if the ‘blue’ house doesn’t sell by July 1, something would have to change. It has.

I lowered the price on the ‘blue’ house to $135,00 and rented it to a woman who was just hired at the College for a professional position. I like Sally and know she will be happy in the house. She knows the  house is for sale and that she might have to move when (if) it sells. Sally is moving in on Wednesday.

The log house renters have moved out – sorry to see Jed and Naomi go, they are

a sweet couple and great tenants, but they are adopting a child and need a bigger place. So I’m moving all my stuff from the blue into the log house. Finally taking possession of the log house. It will be the house I keep for many years – for now, it will be a second home that I can use during the work week. After I retire, it will provide rental income.

It’s a funny little house, crooked floors and walls, pleasant feng shui.

Letting Go

This blog was supposed to be about the log house but it’s morphed into a chronicle about the ‘blue’ house. I suppose that’s because the log house is rented and I haven’t had to do much to it since last year. This past week, my sister and I laid a 12 x 12 foot patio at the log house, and I cleaned out the rain gutters. The patio will be a nice place for the renters to hang out, and someday it will be mine to enjoy.

But really, the active news remains about the blue house. I’ve fallen in love with the blue house (I call it ‘blue’ because it had  blue/green siding when I bought it 2 years ago). We finished the remodel last fall, and I’ve been staying there during the week because it’s close to where I work. I’ve fallen in love with the kitchen – it’s got great storage and counter space. I’ve fallen in love with the natural light in the living & dining room. I love the airy-ness and clean lines. I love the colors. I’m sad to have to sell it.

Which doesn’t seem to be happening – it’s been on the market for 7 months. I told myself that if it doesn’t sell by July, I’ll have to do something different, like refinance, rent it out, lower the price …. I don’t know what the right thing is, but something needs to change. Click here to see the listing and photos.

Still Waiting

Sitting here, hoping the house sells before I have to start mowing the lawn.

Waiting

The Blue house is for sale. The weather is beginning to warm. People are beginning to look at houses again. Its only a matter of time. When it sells, I’ll have money to repair the Log House exterior. Click here for a reminder of what the Blue house looked like before (and why I call it Blue).

aint she pretty