North Shore Home & R.E. Talk

A Fixer-Upper – The First House

When my husband and I became serious about buying our first home, we soon discovered that homes in our price range were far from the homes of our dreams.  Since I was interested in showing and raising collies, a good-sized lot in a town that allowed a kennel license was a priority.

A friend of ours suggested we look in Pelham, New Hampshire – just over the Massachusetts’  line.  We were to become part of the migration of Massachusetts residents moving over the border, where homes were more affordable.  The market was hot in the “starter home’”segment and we were outbid on several houses.  Then our agent, a wise woman, took us to an ugly duckling of a house in a pleasant, older subdivision. It was a sad-looking, dark brown Cape Cod-style house, with holes cut into the walls, a turquoise kitchen, a stove which had once caught on fire, and a plywood floor in the kitchen with old glue on top.  Very dirty and very tired.  However, it was also on about an acre of land.  The agent told us that if we just painted and papered, we could easily change the look of the house and it would be a good place to build equity.

She was right, although it wasn’t quick and it wasn’t easy.  Thankfully, my husband was very handy as we did most of the work ourselves.  I loved seeing the results of our efforts as we turned our house into a cozy home.

After four years, comfortably settled in, I began to get itchy to look at houses again.

Stay tuned……