With any luck, part II

You may recall that I started looking at houses in August. I was convinced in my price range I'd be "buying a tin shack next to a crack den." Well, I sure did see some real gems.

At one viewing, I was peering into a little sunporch attached to a garage, when I noticed a pile of what looked like clothes or blankets on the floor. At first I thought the previous owner had just forgotten some stuff. Then I realized it was a homeless person sleeping. Scared the living daylights out of me! I was practically on top of the guy. We left quickly.

One of the houses had the strangest, most unexplainable damage ever. The wood floors were so warped they literally had waves the size of speedbumps all the way across the room. In some spots you could see through to the basement. The entire house was like that. And strangest of all, the blades on a ceiling fan in the dining room were hanging down like a wilted plant. What could possibly have happened in this house?

At another house, we stepped over a used condom on the front porch. Here I was thinking some stupid teenagers were using the space, when my realtor, a sweet little blonde-haired mom, says ever-so-gently, "so there's been some prostitution here...."

At one house in the Corcoran neighborhood, we found an air mattress, toothbrush, contact case, and remnants of a couple blunts on the floor. When we called the realtor to let him know someone was squatting in the property, he said he had been staying there. I guess times really are tough for realtors. So tough he couldn't even clean up his drug paraphernelia before we came to view the place. I was even willing to forgive this indiscretion and made an offer on this house, and the guy took his sweet time responding, finally letting me know he wanted about $13,000 more than I offered. Funny, that house still has a for sale sign in front.

ANYWAY, long story short, I have bought a house! Or rather, I will buy a house on January 11. There is certainly some work to be done, so keep an eye out for HGTV-style DIY projects in the near future. Oh, and the best part: my new house will have a craft room!