Big Red

Back in 1979, Big Red was born. While he was modern in his day; he just doesn't make the cut today.

The Negatives:

• A foreclosed home that was left abandoned, stripped of appliances, and left to the prey of the wild ants/large rodents (ok...squirrels) for 2 years.
• Previous owners tastes have covered ceilings to base boards of their nature-loving-outdoorsy lives. This includes: 4 layers of wallpaper in the living room, 2 layers of paint (one on the wall paper); a full wall portrait etched into the basement family room (did we mention the portrait is WALLPAPER photo of their favorite water rapids? Side note: Leo thinks this is so cool. Maria says no.); two layers of border pasted paper in the main floor's bathroom; and kitchen cabinets that to die for... I mean, to die over. Literally. They may contain poisonous gas AND they look like they were taken from the laminate woods of Driftwood city.
• We have found some lovely neighbors/tenants in the house... these "friends" include: a plethora of insects and creepy crawlers inside the house and voles that fall into our window wells on the outside of the house.
• The previous owners also left us a wonderful parting gift of wretched smells all throughout the house. Especially in the garage, where they left the rotting refrigerator door wide open to welcome us.
• Although they were generous to leave us a dog cave, I mean outdoor kennel, they took all the appliances, including the central air unit!
• Just in the upstairs, we found that there is no lights in the living room or bedrooms (anyone selling lamps?).
• Doors, toilets, and flooring are all a blast from the past and show the original 70's vibes.
• Last, there are two small leaks. One in the bathroom and the other in the kitchen. They have been fixed, but you will hear more about that in our next post.

So why Leo and Maria, would you buy this place for your growing family? You might be asking us. Well, here are the positives:

• Roof, foundation, and siding are in great condition! This is a huge plus when living in the north where snow loves to engulf your house.
• 4 good sized bedrooms. All of them have windows and wonderfully semi-large closets.
• 2 full bathrooms! Gotta love spreading out to get ready in the mornings.
• A spacious kitchen!! A major upgrade from our current apartment situation... we will have more than enough space to add more to accommodate for our family's needs.
• Wonderful backyard space; with space to run, and beautiful massive trees that shade the surroundings of the house, we love this gorgeous space.
• A deck (although needing some TLC), nice and big, and no rotting boards. Leo will be able to have lots of fun getting this deck up to date in love.
• A relatively new furnace... to help keep us nice and snugly warm during those icky winter months.
• No asbestos or lead paint found in the home!
• A 200 amp service panel, leaving lots of potential for new appliances and wiring that can eat up a lot of energy?
• A heated and insulated garage! YAY! Major bonus for someone working on lots of fun projects during winter.
• No water damage to the basement, even though there is no sump pump currently.
• Spacious ceilings including large vaulted A-frame living room/kitchen.
• PRIME LOCATION! This sold Maria: it's 3 blocks from the Catholic Church that we attend. 8 blocks from the Lake. Close to work places and living in a nice neighborhood on a not-so-busy street.
• Most importantly, all this great potential for a great price.

While the negatives and positives were pretty level, it fit our family's exact needs; and now we get the fun of working on the future wants. Plus, it gives our family room to grow and space that is much needed with two active toddlers.