My 4th house (eventuall flip) and how fate played into its purchase

I call this house my destiny home. Read on you will see why.

While in the middle of a divorce and living in my first bought house in Niagara Falls NY(see "my first house" on my blog here) i decided i wanted a change.

My credit was fair this was around 1999. My hvac business was doing really good and i had some cash lying around and wanted to buy a house for me.

At the same time i was also helping my cousin try to find a home in Long Island via the internet.

I spent a lot of time looking at properties in the Newfane NY area in a location thats very close to lake Ontario.

Whats unique about that area is that its fairly expensive and in some areas its very reasonable. I was spending a lot of time looking in the Olcott area. I found a few fixer uppers that were in the 15k range,,,, yet thats no typo, but they were beaters and a little to much of a project (probably a good investment though)

And I really did not like that area because there were to many stray cats romping around.

This is going on 4 months of looking and not really finding what i needed or wanted.

I was having moderate success helping my cousin find homes in the long Island HUD section of the hud website.

Sipping coffee one morning and looking at the HUD website section of "long Island NY" I spotted a house that might work for my cousin.

It was priced at $34k !!!! Wow on the Island thats un heard of.

What neighbor hood and location is this house? Its on Ridge Road? Wait there is no ridge road in long island you say. Well thats what i was saying

However there is a ridge road in Western NY area that runs from Lockport NY all the way to Rochester and beyond.

Could it be ? NOOOOOOO

Yes it was , this home was mislisted and in my target area.

Jump into your car and drive out there while you are calling your realestate agent I said to my self.

She meet me there 1 hour later.

Here are some details about this little gem of a home

1. Price was 34k and fha loan was available
2. Built in 1876 the first school house in the region (how cool is that)
3. Painted red brick, was a double walled brick home with sand in the middle of the two brick walls
4. Walk out basement
5. Septic
6. Well
7. Hardwood flooring
8. Two bed one bath
9. 1 acre of land (very fertile crest in the area called the ridge)
10. Payments were only $300 per month
11. Country living
12. Motorcycle trails everywhere and great neighbors
13. 1 car garage

Now the realtor comes over and cannot believe her eyes. The house was in pristine shape, mid 60's appliance and kitchen meticulous maintained move in ready.

Move in ready ,,, are you kidding me?

She tells me that its been on the market for a while and that i should bid $27 k for the property, I would more than likely get it.

I shunned her advise as i never looked a gift horse in the mouth and know that Pigs get feed and Hogs get slaughtered.

My offer was $34,001.00

Next day we were in the process of setting up the loans and paper work.

There is a moral or two in this story, but the most important to me was to not be greedy and get the home. Heres why

There was a guy that meet me out there a week after we were signing papers. He was a handy man for the government, the caretaker of hud homes in the area. He seen my truck and needed someone to help him with hvac in the homes he was maintaining for the government

When he meet me i was informed that the same day that i put in an offer someone else had put in an offer. Their offer was $34,000.00

He and i laughed because i nailed that dang home for the extra $1 bid.

I added a fireplace and shed to that property and sold 2 years later for $57k.

The location and age of the house had some great side effects that were not anticipated. One was that i had to keep some fresh beer and lemonade in the house at all times.

The reason was the older folks that went to school there would just pull up to the house and want to come in and have a look see.... So many awesome conversations with the elders of the community

The highlight of owning that home was marring my wife in our living room there. Heres a pic of me, Peg, and my Uncle John standing in front of the fireplace i built in that house

Tony