A first look at the house...!

I went home this weekend for the Great Lakes Building ReUse Conference and had my first look at my newly purchased house!

Purchasing a house through a foreclosure auction is kind of crazy--you know which houses are available, but you're essentially bidding on a house that you've never been in before! Taking chances, hoping there's not something seriously wrong with the house. You pay the house in full and then have to wait for the city to process your paperwork before you can get the deed. Supposedly the deed comes within 6-8 weeks of paying, but with these types of things you never know.

It all seems a bit ridiculous to me. The foreclosure auction is in October, so if you purchase a house, you will be working on it in the dead of winter with potentially no heat, no electricity, no running water, etc. You are liable for the property from the date of purchase, yet, you have no deed until months later? The house has to survive the winter when you probably haven't winterized it? Everything about the foreclosure auction seems to set up a new homeowner to fail. Why not make it easier on folks and have the auction in March, speed up the paperwork and provide incentives for people to take on a vacant house?

Anyway, the house looks like it's in great shape. The insurance agent came and took a look around and said the structure is amazingly very sound. Yay!! One less worry on my part. It's great--these old houses last forever. High quality wood, well built...it's lasted a century and will hopefully last plenty years more!