New digs on the lake

[Koz]

I had been renting a cottage out in farmland for a few years, but recently the owners quickly sold their main house and the cottage and I had to move. I was close to buying one home, but a last minute bid knocked me out of the running. I pegged the the value of the home $55k below their asking price and they agreed but they got a last minute offer before we put it on paper. I chose not to counter offer because I was confident of teh value and the home needed about $30k in upgrades.

 

Meanwhile, interest rates climbed and there was very little inventory. Homes are now selling at nearly twice what they did just two years ago. My personal opinion is that the housing market is due for a major correction within 2 years, and I don't want to be upside down by a few hundred thousand so I decided to rent instead of purchase.

 

In the meantime, my son and I have been living in my hotel which absolutely stinks. Home rentals are massively overpriced in my area and inventory is almost non-existent. I was prepared to move about 70 miles away when a home popped up for rent yesterday and I managed to snag it today. The good news - it's right on the lake with spectacular views. The not so good news - it needs some work on the inside.

 

The owner is an older woman and bless her heart she was trying to fix it up herself after some fly by night handymen took advantage of her. I told her I would take over, have her approve the spending beforehand, and then deduct it from the rent so she doesn't go out of pocket. It's all cosmetic stuff, but there's a lot of it. But my son can help me out.

 

But best of all, I wake up and come home to this every day:

 

[MN Fisher]

Nice find....and big...I think that back deck alone is 1/2 the square footage of my house.

[Koz]

53 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Nice find....and big...I think that back deck alone is 1/2 the square footage of my house.

It looks much bigger than it really is. The listing said 3,500 square feet but the property records show 2, 600 but I think that may be overstated by 200-300.

 

It has some very oddly shaped bedrooms that will make furniture placement a challenge.

[TnRiver46]

Awesome!!!!

[MN Fisher]

8 minutes ago, Koz said:

the property records show 2, 600 but I think that may be overstated by 200-300.

And the wife and I are 'shoveled' into 850 FSF....

[casts_by_fly]

Very awesome. You don’t have to lug the kayak up and down the hill anymore. 

[Koz]

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

And the wife and I are 'shoveled' into 850 FSF....

At my age, I actually prefer smaller homes if there is a garage and storage space. I was actually about to sign a lease on a much smaller lakefront home, but there was evidence of pest control problems. That one had both a dock and a boathouse, but the house was set back about 60 yards from the lake. That meant still hauling my kayak.

 

That house also needed some work. But we saw a few bugs in the house and when I looked under the kitchen sink the previous tenant had left 3 different cans of bug spray. I hate bugs.

[TnRiver46]

Bugs love a lake, the way I got rid of termites at our place was to eliminate any moisture by modifying the ground to where it ran around the house and downhill. Apparently most any insect requires a little bit of moisture. I still get some bugs in the basement but I don’t spray anything at all until my wife insists. Once I got the basement all dry the majority of the bugs left

[roadwarrior]

Congrats! 

Looks like a great find to me.

[Bankbeater]

Nice find!

[Koz]

The movers deliver the furniture tomorrow, but my son and I started bringing over small stuff tonight. Needless to say, we took a couple of casts (no bites) but we just sat out there on the dock and watched the sunset.

 

I've had some very good days since I moved here, but they invariably revolved around work. And for the most part, I haven't really enjoyed living in this very rural part of the country. But driving back to the hotel tonight I realized I was truly happy for the first time in a while with something that did not involve work.

 

This is a game changer for my mental health. I can't wait to get moved in tomorrow and get my kayak out there. I did not realize how much I needed this. I'm thankful beyond words.

[GreenPig]

Excellent. Very happy for you and your son. Hurry up and get moved in and get us some fish pics.😄

[GRiver]

9 hours ago, Koz said:

I realized I was truly happy for the first time in a while with something that did not involve work.

This maybe what the soul needs, It looks like a great place.