'DREAM garage' + 1850's vintage house = ?

[HoleshotHolset]

From Hartford, CT to Madison, WI - MapQuest sez:

Total Est. Time: 16 hours, 5 minutes

Total Est. Distance: 1038. 11 miles



Beer involved? Um, yeah... when is there not beer involved?



BTW, if anyone's keeping score - I found another place ~30min south of Madison in Rock county with a 38x40 (!!) garage. It's yet another old house - probably in need of similar 'help'. At least this one has a bigger lot... and a HUGE garage.



MMMmmmm... . big garage...



Matt

 

[MKoth]

What you need to do is just buy a chunk of farm ground and put up a nice big Morton building.



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[HoleshotHolset]

Now THAT's a garage!



I went and looked at the place with the 38x40 garage last night. No way, man. That place needs WAY too much work... it would be nice after it's all fixed up, though.



Matt

 

[RHARVEY]

Matt,

My dad grew up in a house that was built somewhere around 1900 out in the country in Arkansas. It has the stone foundation and wood beams for joists. I dont know of any work that was done to the foundation in the last forty years(my age). Yes its an old house and has the orginal wood frame windows,doors. . It dont have central heat or ac. .

Would I buy this house... no... because its too far to drive to work. . If it were somewhere close to a big city. . yes! There is something about old homes that is classic. But there is a lot of work when you have to update all the stuff. Like windows,doors,insulation,HVAC... How much time and energy do you want to invest in the place is maybe the main point. It could be free and still not be worth the time and effort that you would need to bring it up.

Also... as far as crawling around under my grandma's house in the summer... No chance... That would be a prime place for one of those Arkansas Copperheads to be resting...

Snakes causes people to run... and soil clothes



Rick

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Hi Rick,



Thanks for your input.



Well - I don't want to drive more than 1/2 hour to work... so I'll be living somewhere within that time frame to Madison (~206,000 people).



I'm thoroughly impressed with the beams used in these older places. I looked at an older house last night that has been gutted and all re-done and needs to be finished. I really liked this place... a lot. It has an offer on it that is being rejected by the seller... maybe I can get in on the action. If not... there's more where that one came from.



Matt

 

[jtisdale]

... what do ya'all think?



Matt

I think your being blinded by the nice shop. I guarantee the basement-replacement would/will cost more than it would to build that shop.

Is the foundation shot or just leaky? If its just leaky, you could have it dug around the outside and jet-creted. As far as the mud basement floor, that could be dug and poured.

Gimmie a call, I would gladly come look at it with you.

Jim

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Hey Jim,



Yeah, I was totally blinded by the SWEET shop/garage. If you saw it in person, you'd know where I was coming from. I have since taken the place in question that started this whole thread and sorta put it on the back burner. Like you said - it will probably end up costing me buckets of money.



I've looked at a few more houses since then - although, none of them have garages that even begin to compare to the other garage. But, they all have significant advantages over the property as a whole.



Thanks, Jim - I may take you up on your offer. Maybe a trained set of eyes could reveal that the place with the sweet shop isn't so bad afterall...



Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.



Matt

On Edit: I even looked at a modular/manufactured house last night. It was a turn-key operation... everything included. Had a ~28'x28' garage too... it's tempting, but the pre-fab stuff scares me a bit. It's pretty cheaply built... plastic hot/cold water lines, cheezy wallboard type stuff, cheezy furnace setup/brand, etc. It would probably be okay for quite a while... until the cheezy stuff starts breaking down.

 

[jtisdale]

Geez Matt, thanks, I think. I feel like I just shattered all your hopes and dreams. It is your money, and forbid me for trying to talk you out of [or into] something. If a nice shop is the priority, the more power to ya.

I am kinda going through the same thing. We sold our house several months ago, and now we are starting to look. If I build a house, I dont want to have to borrow the extra coin to build a shop (that I really need). But its like looking for a needle in a haystack to find the right place with a decent shop in the area we want to live for the price I want to pay. ARHG!!



I FEEL YOUR PAIN!! :{

 

[Champane Flight]

Keeping Maw happy

I had to settle for a vintage 1919 one car garage, with a ten foot extension on it for the last twenty years. Before that, it was mostly working on the dirt. Well, it was plumb full of tools to the point of only fitting a sports car (Triumph Spitfire) and my ATV. After stuffing these in, you then have to squirm along the walls to get in or out. New shop will not have this problem, finally after thirty five years.



Before---- #ad






After---- #ad








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Oo.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Jim - thank you in advance for agreeing to help me out tomorrow. It means a lot to me. I need to be set straight when it comes to houses... I don't know much about 'em besides the mechanicals...



CF: You just HAD to remind me about your shop... I saw that picture in the other thread. Man, that's SWEET! I'm glad you got your DREAM garage... enjoy it!



Matt

 

[Champane Flight]

Just be pateint

It will happen for ya. .

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

As a small tutorial, consider viewing the Tom Hanks movie "money pit"...

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Jim: You 'da man! I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your Saturday to look at that place with me.



I wrote up an offer last night with my agent. We'll see if it goes through or not...



The place might not have a DREAM garage... or a big lot - BUT, I think I can get some pretty quick equity with it; as opposed to everything else I have seen in this price range. Every other property has needed all the stuff that this one already has...



If this one falls through - I'm tempted to make an offer on the modular place... it's a turn-key operation that I can make into a less cheezy place over time...



Matt

 

[jtisdale]

Hey, no sweat. I hope I was some help, and that I didnt confuse your decision process.

Thanks for the "gift".

 

[HoleshotHolset]

You were a big help - you pointed out stuff that I didn't notice when I was there the first time around and lots of other stuff I didn't even think to look at.



I'm glad you liked the "gift"...



Matt

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I got some news to share with ya'all...



I got a call today saying that they accepted my offer... but they countered based on my closing date. So, naturally they want to know if I can close a month sooner than I had anticipated.



I have my TIG welder and plasma cutter up for quick sale... gotta liquidate some assets quick so I can make this happen. I hate like heck to sell my metal fabrication stuff... but I gotta sell something to make up for the difference in my original plans to these new altered plans.



I'll keep ya'all posted...



Matt

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Well, I closed on the place yesterday. In hindsight... I didn't have to sell my metal fabrication equipment. :{



The closing process wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be... I may have to go back to that title company, though... they had some absolute dolls working there.



So... now I'm a homeowner. I'll send out an invite for the first party at the bachelor pad when it's semi-ready for people to see it. :-laf



Re-cap of today: I moved in some boxes, got the central A/C working and somehow managed to fix the lights in the basement that didn't work before. I can't seem to get the furnace to light off, though. Look for another thread related to that soon if I can't get it running pretty quickly.



I want to thank all of you for helping me out with this process. I learned a LOT from you all. Special thanks to Jim Tisdale for taking time out of his busy schedule to come on out and inspect the place for me... I owe you one, Jim.



Matt

 

[Jengle]

Welcome to home ownership, Matt. Congratulations. The funs only starting, hope you get the furnace going soon, you'll need it up there.

 

[jtisdale]

My busy schedule... :-laf :-laf Thats a good one Matt. Congrats on your new Casa. If you need any help, just gimmie a call.

 

[Kernel]

Got any pics?



Scott