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I was appalled at the condition of the property. The beer cans strewn all over the lawn should have been a good indicator of what we could expect inside the house. Most people trying to sell a home would attempt to make it as presentable as possible, but this seller is the exception to the rule.

The inside and outside of the property has been so neglected that it’s virtually unlivable. The bathroom sink has been removed and is lying out in the driveway. Buckets are positioned to catch rainwater that seeps through the ceiling, and large sections of the bathroom floor covering have been ripped up. Central heating and air conditioning registers are missing from the ceiling and cover plates are missing from electrical outlets. It reminded me of the homes that get flipped on HGTV.

I know the house still has potential, but it would cost several thousand dollars to bring it back to life. It needs a new roof, new central unit, complete bathroom remodel, new appliances, paint, and who-knows-what-else.

On the plus side, it has a great location, three acres of land in the county, a full basement, and real hardwood flooring. The lawn would be beautiful with some TLC and I would thoroughly enjoy working on it.

When I called my sister to tell her about the condition of the house where we spent most of our teen years, she reminded me of all of the bad memories associated with the place. My parent’s marriage was crumbling, our parent-child relationships were tumultuous, and it was there that I overdosed and subsequently came out to my family. The few good memories have become cloudy over the years.

Part of me feels a need to save the place, since it was the site of so many important events in my personal history. The other part wonders if looking to the past is really the best way to achieve a happier tomorrow.

Honey actually kind of likes the property and thinks it has a homey feel. He said if we bought it, we’d make our own memories.

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The house is quite small, but sits on three acres of land in a rural location. I imagined how we’d add onto the existing structure, landscape, even dig a pond. I was so swept up in my fantasy that I was certain Honey would feel the same way.

After arriving home and telling him about my amazing discovery, we drove out for him to see it in person. Where I saw potential, he saw a mountain of debt. As we discussed the amount of work and money it would take to whip the property into shape, I realized that he was right.

I seem to have an emotional attachment to houses or neighborhoods where we lived while I was growing up. Maybe that is why I currently live in the house that’s only two doors down from the home my parents lived in when I was born. It was over eleven years ago that I discovered this house was for sale, and I couldn’t buy it fast enough! Perhaps my eagerness over the house we looked at today is more a testament to my sentimentality than anything else.

Sitting at home with my dreams dashed, I began to pout a little. Then the phone rang. The neighbor’s son was calling to ask if we could get his mom up off the floor. As familiar as this scenario has become, it never fails to elicit feelings of panic and dread. We scurried over to find her in the kitchen floor, wincing in pain with blood dripping from two open wounds.

We cleaned and bandaged her scrapes and helped her into the recliner – reassuring her and her son that they can call on us anytime they need help. That’s when I realized that we’re probably right where we need to be – at least for the time being. The dream house will just have to wait.

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On the way to the restaurant, I pointed out a delicious-looking pool behind a very attractive new home. Honey proceeded to show me the “For Sale” sign prominently displayed in the front yard. After realizing that the house wasn’t occupied, we stopped and took a stroll around the yard, peering in windows, checking out the crawl space, and lusting after the turquoise waters that beckoned from the backyard.

Needless to say, we fell in love.

The house is just about perfect in every way. Nothing fancy, just a really nice home with three bedrooms, two baths, an open floor plan, and a jacuzzi tub in the master bath. The outside is beautiful with a large front porch, and there’s a set of glass doors that look out on the pool from the living area. It was easy to imagine that this could be a place we would enjoy living. I spent the remainder of the afternoon daydreaming about entertaining our friends with pool parties and how much fun I’d have whipping the landscaping into shape.

Even with all the fantasizing about the property, I became somewhat depressed in the knowledge that no matter how much I loved it, there was a very small chance that we would ever make it ours. The reason – there is a house behind it (see pic). That might not sound so bad, but the front of that house faces the backyard of the house that we like. I have no idea why anyone would have built the houses like that, and even though there is a tall privacy fence between the two houses, it just feels strange.

So, after talking it over, we realized that no matter how much we loved the house, the pool, and the location, it simply wasn’t going to work. Instead, we’ll carry on with our plans of getting Honey through school and into a better job, and then we’ll either build the house we want or find one that doesn’t have someone practically living in the backyard.

And it better have a jacuzzi tub and a swimming pool.

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