Where the Wild Things Are
"Where the Wild Things Are" is one of Jack's favorite books right now and that's what I'm calling the house we're looking at. We're going to talk and pray about it tonight, but it looks like we'll be putting in a real offer in the morning. The owners of the first house we looked at aren't getting back to us so we're moving onto greener pastures. By greener pastures I mean larger, woodsier, stinkier, filthier pastures. Really really filthy. The pictures don't do it justice; it's much, much worse in real life. The owners had dogs, evidently lots of them, and they were allowed to run amok in the house with no heed to regulating bodily functions or traditional dog etiquette; every single room(there are six) of the house has its own unique animal odor, some of them smelling more pungently of urine while in others the wet dog musk dominates.
So WHY are we considering this house? For starters, it's cheap for the neighborhood. There's a house a block or two away worth $1 million and next door to that is an $870,000.00 house. Also it's 3,000 square feet of stinky filth, but the lot is just under half an acre; it's not often you find half-acre lots in Lynnwood. So the potential for increased resale value is pretty amazing. The back yard needs to be totally cleared, it's virtually unusable as-is on account of the giant trees every six feet and incredibly uneven terrain. There are, however, some very pretty rose bushes in the front yard, which help draw attention away from the rotting porch and overly-rectangular architecture typical of late 1960's construction. Just take a look.
The other end of the kitchen. The area off to the right actually gets good light and with a lot of work could be a cute little study nook. At the top of the stairs are two rooms where I think the dogs would get together at the end of a really hot day and see who could get the carpet the smelliest by rolling around on it and then peeing on it. They marked every square inch of their territory. Minus the carpet, it could be a cute den with a nice craft room next to it.
Bathroom in the basement, also the laundry room. I can't see anything getting clean in this room.
The basement fireplace. Heavy dog musk, very damp aroma.
The kitchen. There's actually some potential here. What doesn't show up in this picture is the fact that the linoleum is covered in a dingy gray coating and along the edges of the wall on the right hand side beyond the range of the camera it's peeling back from the walls due to water damage. It's also not this warm-looking, the fluorescent lighting doesn't do it any favors, nor does it stay on in any sort of steady fashion. The window over the sink looks out onto the forest backyard so not very much light gets in. I'd like to make the wall on the left a half-wall so it connects more to the living room and add some more counter space along it. The cupboards are disgusting on the inside, but the wood on the outside is in reasonably good condition. Probably because the dogs couldn't figure out how to pee on it.
The main bathroom. Love the hot pink counter top, and the shabby-chic look of the peeling, molding pink paint.
This is the living room. Mostly wet dog smell.
The other end of the kitchen. The area off to the right actually gets good light and with a lot of work could be a cute little study nook. At the top of the stairs are two rooms where I think the dogs would get together at the end of a really hot day and see who could get the carpet the smelliest by rolling around on it and then peeing on it. They marked every square inch of their territory. Minus the carpet, it could be a cute den with a nice craft room next to it.
Bathroom in the basement, also the laundry room. I can't see anything getting clean in this room.
The basement fireplace. Heavy dog musk, very damp aroma.
The kitchen. There's actually some potential here. What doesn't show up in this picture is the fact that the linoleum is covered in a dingy gray coating and along the edges of the wall on the right hand side beyond the range of the camera it's peeling back from the walls due to water damage. It's also not this warm-looking, the fluorescent lighting doesn't do it any favors, nor does it stay on in any sort of steady fashion. The window over the sink looks out onto the forest backyard so not very much light gets in. I'd like to make the wall on the left a half-wall so it connects more to the living room and add some more counter space along it. The cupboards are disgusting on the inside, but the wood on the outside is in reasonably good condition. Probably because the dogs couldn't figure out how to pee on it.
The main bathroom. Love the hot pink counter top, and the shabby-chic look of the peeling, molding pink paint.
This is the living room. Mostly wet dog smell.
No comments:
Post a Comment