I've gotten the suggestions that the best time to buy is in the fall so people don't have to winterize for Minnesota. I have been told that people put there houses on the market in the spring when there kids are done with school and they have the summer to move and not worry about changing schools in the middle of the year.
The problem is when is the best time to look at a house. It may be rough and sloppy, but I think the best time to look at a house is when the weather is bad. We had a week of below zero temps and if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have found out that the pipes were frozen. It also gave me a chance to figure out the difference in temps from one room to another. You go after a rain storm and you find out about leakage problems in the house or puddling problems in the land.
This may save you money on an inspector.
Friday, December 20, 2013
124 S 3rd St, Virginia, MN
This house made me want to cry. I fell in love with this house. It's 120 years old and has great character. Two sets of steps leading upstairs. Large basement with Sauna and 2.75 bathrooms. Set of stairs leading to the attic. New insulation, furnace, and several new windows.
The part that made me want to cry is no one has been in the home since June of 2012 and no one winterized. Two years in a row the pipes have froze. I predict that when it thaws this year the pipes will break, the boiler furnace will be wrecked, and great damage will be done. A great house that has withstand decades ruined because someone didn't take care of it for two years.
The part that made me want to cry is no one has been in the home since June of 2012 and no one winterized. Two years in a row the pipes have froze. I predict that when it thaws this year the pipes will break, the boiler furnace will be wrecked, and great damage will be done. A great house that has withstand decades ruined because someone didn't take care of it for two years.
1130 Lincoln Ave, Eveleth, MN
Eveleth is a town of awkward streets and I say this because it took me awhile to figure out what was road and what was driveway. It has some businesses but not much.
This is an old 7 bedroom home that has a single bathroom. I was expecting a home that would have rooms chopped so a large family could make do with what they had, but it actually started out as seven bedrooms. Actually the one on the main level could be questionable. It has no closet and no heating source and it's kind of just there. It claims a .25 bathroom in the "walk-out basement", all it is is a shower that I wouldn't want to use. The basement is a dirt floor and it looks like the walls don't go all the way to the floor anymore.
The house is cool, but it needs some fixing. It has had some water damage from possibly the roof at some point and the walls were in the process of being repaired but are incomplete. Although there is only a shower stall in the bathroom, there is plenty of room to place a sepearate soaking tub, which would have been my plan if I had the money to renovate the rest of the house. It looks like whoever owned the house first was going to renovate it, but never finished it. The kitchen looks amazing and the house has great potential for any size family, but it is definitely a fixer.
This is an old 7 bedroom home that has a single bathroom. I was expecting a home that would have rooms chopped so a large family could make do with what they had, but it actually started out as seven bedrooms. Actually the one on the main level could be questionable. It has no closet and no heating source and it's kind of just there. It claims a .25 bathroom in the "walk-out basement", all it is is a shower that I wouldn't want to use. The basement is a dirt floor and it looks like the walls don't go all the way to the floor anymore.
The house is cool, but it needs some fixing. It has had some water damage from possibly the roof at some point and the walls were in the process of being repaired but are incomplete. Although there is only a shower stall in the bathroom, there is plenty of room to place a sepearate soaking tub, which would have been my plan if I had the money to renovate the rest of the house. It looks like whoever owned the house first was going to renovate it, but never finished it. The kitchen looks amazing and the house has great potential for any size family, but it is definitely a fixer.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
608 N 2nd St Tower, MN
Tower is a little busier town then Soudan with a few more things to offer like a grocery store, thrift store, and gas stations. It offers central location of being only thirty minutes to Virginia, Ely, Cook, Aurora, and Biwabik. You have the small town atmosphere of everybody knowing everybody. I lived in my trailer for seven years on Main Street, so it wasn't hard to notice it was gone, but still people were concerned and asked me what was going on. Even ones I didn't know the name of.
This house has not been lived in since, I believe July 2012. I got close enough on the purchase that I was going to have an inspection with contingency of utilities turned on. The water was turned on, so don't know what happened once they were turned on to take care of them for winter because never got to the point that the furnace was turned on. The electricity inspected fine because the power company required it to be inspected before they would turn on electricity. The seller would only put in 50 gallons of fuel and the delivery company had a 100 gallons minimum and it was causing delays. Mostly the seller was "dragging his feet" because I was asking a lower price and wanted utilities turned on. I signed agreements beginning of September and cancelled the papers middle of November without the seller ever getting a fuel delivery to the house. Passed the seven day deadline from signing papers to get inspection because of waiting for the delivery.
The seller is more of wanting to sell it "as is". He doesn't live in the state and all the appliances are there (some aren't in the correct location, like the fridge is in the garage) and he doesn't know if they work). So, he won't remove anything and I swear it looked like things appeared in the garage from the first and second time I looked at it.
The garage is cool because it is actually a carriage house with the swing out doors. The basement is half cemented and half dirt. It is cemented enough to house the furnace, fuel oil tank and for you to walk to them minus abou two feet from steps to the cement that you have to walk over a wooden board. The two bedrooms are good sized, but no closet in one (there is an armoire in there) and the other has a half closet with shelves under it. Huge laundry area because it used to be the kitchen and the kitchen is an addition, just don't know how old it is. Nice size pantry with a built in apothecary style drawer system.
Recommendations: Make sure you get the utilities turned on. I know the electricity was inspected, but know how anything worked in the house. Saw some sockets painted over, but don't know if they were properly capped off. This place has some charm and space for a starter home, but make sure you get it inspected and that you aren't in a hurry to move.
This house has not been lived in since, I believe July 2012. I got close enough on the purchase that I was going to have an inspection with contingency of utilities turned on. The water was turned on, so don't know what happened once they were turned on to take care of them for winter because never got to the point that the furnace was turned on. The electricity inspected fine because the power company required it to be inspected before they would turn on electricity. The seller would only put in 50 gallons of fuel and the delivery company had a 100 gallons minimum and it was causing delays. Mostly the seller was "dragging his feet" because I was asking a lower price and wanted utilities turned on. I signed agreements beginning of September and cancelled the papers middle of November without the seller ever getting a fuel delivery to the house. Passed the seven day deadline from signing papers to get inspection because of waiting for the delivery.
The seller is more of wanting to sell it "as is". He doesn't live in the state and all the appliances are there (some aren't in the correct location, like the fridge is in the garage) and he doesn't know if they work). So, he won't remove anything and I swear it looked like things appeared in the garage from the first and second time I looked at it.
The garage is cool because it is actually a carriage house with the swing out doors. The basement is half cemented and half dirt. It is cemented enough to house the furnace, fuel oil tank and for you to walk to them minus abou two feet from steps to the cement that you have to walk over a wooden board. The two bedrooms are good sized, but no closet in one (there is an armoire in there) and the other has a half closet with shelves under it. Huge laundry area because it used to be the kitchen and the kitchen is an addition, just don't know how old it is. Nice size pantry with a built in apothecary style drawer system.
Recommendations: Make sure you get the utilities turned on. I know the electricity was inspected, but know how anything worked in the house. Saw some sockets painted over, but don't know if they were properly capped off. This place has some charm and space for a starter home, but make sure you get it inspected and that you aren't in a hurry to move.
12 Church St in Soudan, MN
Soudan is a sweet little town that originated as a mining town. There is only one store in Soudan with gas pumps, ice cream shop, and small general store type. This originated from the 1800s when the town was created and the buddy town, Tower, has the stores, bars, community store, and cafe.
This house from 1900 has a crawl space accessed from outside for under the house, but unfortunately it was not well maintained. You could possibly keep a large portion of the materials when you demo the house and one or two of the out buildings. I say this because the house is not very habitable, but the location is absolutely perfect to live in Soudan. It is right next to the park and walking trails. The lot is huge and extremly level. The best part is that even though you are living in the town, it is a wooded area behind you and is an excellent view for a morning cup of coffee from a brand new home.
FYI: Make sure you save the doorbell because that is a charming piece of character that needs to stay on the property. If you don't want it, I will take it.
This house from 1900 has a crawl space accessed from outside for under the house, but unfortunately it was not well maintained. You could possibly keep a large portion of the materials when you demo the house and one or two of the out buildings. I say this because the house is not very habitable, but the location is absolutely perfect to live in Soudan. It is right next to the park and walking trails. The lot is huge and extremly level. The best part is that even though you are living in the town, it is a wooded area behind you and is an excellent view for a morning cup of coffee from a brand new home.
FYI: Make sure you save the doorbell because that is a charming piece of character that needs to stay on the property. If you don't want it, I will take it.
Fresh Start
Any posts from this point and later were required for a class for my Master's Degree that I completed in 2011 (hence the long time between the last one and this). In August of 2013 I was told that I had until May of 2014 to remove my mobile home from the land it was resting on. I decided to sell the mobile home and buy my first home. Well, being in Northern Minnesota, I thought that even though I had until May, we have had snow still on the ground up to the end of May and no one was going to want to have to move the trailer then. I decided it was time to move into a house and some place with my own land. I thought I had a house before I sold the trailer, but the deal fell through. So, living with family, but looking at houses with a budget of $50,000 max in the Iron Range of Minnesota with min. 2 bedroom & 2 bathroom. After looking at some homes, I started wishing there was a way to let people know what they would be getting into before they visit the home and vice versa. Well, I'm giving it a try.
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