Maybe we are crazy
Most likely you read my first post and saw the pictures that explain why we bought this property, looks like a pretty amazing spot right? It is, AND we have to keep reminding ourselves of that because here comes the “Are we Crazy!” part.
We really got serious about finding a property last Fall after the Glass Fire. It was a great time to sell our house but not such a great time to buy with a crazy housing market and inflated prices everywhere we looked. Our house sold right away, even in the burn zone, and the clock started ticking on our eventual move. We looked at a lot of properties, mostly online. Almost all of the properties that we were interested in were in escrow before we could even look at them and most sold for well over asking - after bidding wars, accepting offers on certain days at certain times and selling with no inspections or contingencies - Crazy! We had to be sensible and really didn’t want to play the game but we did need to have a place to call home come Summer 2022. My saved list on Zillow changed daily as anything I marked went into escrow almost immediately. I searched mainly waterfront listings on the Sound and had passed over “our new home” many times. Most listings entice you with the best picture and go from there. The main photo for “ours” was far from enticing and kept showing up, a sure sign something was wrong with it. One night in frustration I clicked on the listing. It was listed with a realtor, not for sale by owner, hard to believe you would put something on the market with these pictures, definitely not for the faint of heart ( I did throw in a few more from when we first saw the property in person) -
At first it was too overwhelming to even consider, but after spending some time zooming in on pictures and the location, we decided it was worth looking into. Too big of a project for the average buyer and overpriced, which bought us some time. A major project for sure but that glimmer of potential drew us in and it’s almost an acre on the beach, not easy to find. The house was built in 1961 and still owned by the family that built it. Not much had been done since then and what had been done wasn’t done well but it did seem to be structurally sound and the location couldn’t be beat.
Other than the location, the barn, that isn’t really pictured here, was the best part. It was packed full of a lifetime of treasures and garbage but we could see it definitely had good potential, as did the completely overgrown landscaping - both stories to come.
After some serious compromises on our part, As Is, no inspections and being willing to deal with “some” of the garbage (a whole other story), we had a deal. Luckily our realtor, Scott Ahern, had our backs and helped us manage a challenging seller situation with patience and kindness, which wasn’t easy. SO, after some serious “what are we thinking!” moments, we bought it - by far the dumpiest property on the beach, hope that’s a good thing.