No-Go on the Houses

The two homes we looked at today were both huge disappointments. The first, an old rambling two-story that's going for $138,000, was so full of stuff that we couldn't really get a feel for the place. I'm happy and willing to overlook boxes and furniture and clothes, but there was just something sad and foreboding that made it impossible to see myself living there.

The second house, for which the owner is asking $129,000, has been rented to college students for the last year, and, boy, does it show. Besides being small, right on the edge of a busy street, and in immediate need of a new roof, the students have destroyed all of the woodwork and doors. I did find a nickel in the driveway, though! And I could probably go back and make a small fortune recycling their beer bottles and cans.

I understand that if I am able to look beyond the disrepair and visualize my own furnishings, I will be in a better bargaining position than if I try to buy a property that's in tip-top shape, but neither of these houses was appealing to me or my husband on any level.