Amen to that, Carol! I have had to live off of the government for short times in my life, but I've paid for others to do so when I was working, so I don't feel like I'm so bad. I HAD a retirement account, but then the stock market crashed, and then I got injured and had cancer and couldn't work for two years, so there that went. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but for people to feel superior because they have a 401(k) is just laughable. Look at all those people at Worldcom who thought they had it made. My sister worked for them. She is frugal to a fault, and she believed in them so much that she put most of her retirement savings into their stock. She lost it all, and it was a considerable amount. She's not stupid. She scrimped and saved for 30 years, and it was all gone, overnight. To give the impression that people who have savings accounts are somehow smarter than those who don't is snobbery, plain and simple. But that's o.k., because I truly believe that what you put out there comes back to you, and that if you have what the bible calls "ill gotten gains", which can just be money stashed away for your own benefit instead of giving to others who are in need, it will be taken away from you. You cannot hold on to ill gotten gains. Go read your Bible. My father once told me I would never have money, because I would give it all away. He was right. I'm sort of proud of that. Even in my current financial plight, I am thinking of going to help those who are worse off than I am, NOT about what the interest rate is on my IRA or 401(k). I'm telling you, it comes back on you 7 fold, so be careful! I've seen it time and time again. And BTW, my isp is only 5.50 a month!

"I was wondering why I was having trouble figuring out what material was used to make countertops 100 yrs ago...there were no countertops!" Welllllllll, not exactly! Get yourself a copy of Catharine Beecher's "The American Woman's Home", written in 1869, in which she advocated the fitted kitchen with "continuous work surfaces" (aka countertops). (Do ignore the religiosity and "moralizing", she was a woman of her time.) Find the version with the illustrations, you'll probably have to get it used. I was STUPID and lent mine out, and of course have never gotten it back! There are actually quite a few good books on kitchens and baths from ~100 years ago... Jane Powell's "Bungalow Kitchens" and "Bungalow Bathrooms" are very informative and cover a much wider range in time period and housing style than just bungalows, so the titles are deceptive. There are some fantastic photos of unrestored rooms, too. One of the great things about those books is that she has both "obsessive restoration" and "compromise restoration" options. Esther Schmidt's "Victorian Kitchens & Baths" has a couple of "slave to period" kitchens/baths, some "interpretation" kitchens/baths, and some "you gotta be freakin' kidding me" ones. :-) It's mostly just for the pictures though, there are some serious factual errors. Old House Journal and Old House Interiors often feature kitchens and baths as well. Sadly, the previous owner of our ca. 1900 millworker's house was a flipper who did some dreadful things in the name of "modernizing" so we're actually going to be going backwards on many things - the house is not really "worth" an all-out restoration (it would cost far, far more than the value of the house could ever be) but bringing back the charm and personality is important to us. As for what to live without that many people consider "mandatory" these days, speaking only personally... I can live without glassed-in showers big enough to wash an entire football team at once, steam showers, body sprays, jacuzzis, multiple sinks, more cabinetry than the average kitchen, the notion that there must be a minimum of one full bath per resident. I do admit that I miss the warming mats under tile floors, but that's a completely invisible addition if one is already remodeling, and it's not a catastrophic loss. I miss a separate shower and tub, but again, it's a luxury rather than a necessity. I can live happily without commercial appliances in the kitchen - I have to laugh at how many of those gigantic kitchens with $25,000 in appliances are used for little more than reheating takeout, and how many people insist they absolutely must have such lavish amenities to cook a decent meal when many of our grandmothers turned out delicious Sunday dinners for a dozen with a four-burner range and a tiny fridge with a shoebox-sized freezer compartment. (I have cooked professionally in a kitchen smaller than 10x10 furnished with home-sized appliances!) Granite countertops, enough lighting for a surgical suite, breakfast bars make my "why bother" list too. I can live without the oversized two-car garage I had in my previous house, although I miss its convenience and not having to scrape ice off my car; our Model-T-sized garage is being torn down (too expensive to repair) and being replaced with a small garden shed because that's really all we NEED. What I can't (or rather wouldn't, I've done so when I had to) live without in the kitchen is a dishwasher, a microwave, enough electrical outlets (and the capacity to have both the toaster and coffeepot on at once without blowing a circuit), a fairly basic stove and fridge, sufficient storage for basics and a functional layout. In the bathroom I absolutely require a tub in which one can take a decent bath, an adequate hot water supply and water pressure, a reasonable level of lighting and ventilation, and perhaps more important than anything else, a really good toilet! When we were househunting I did not consider any houses with only a single toilet - after one household bout of food poisoning, I required 1.5 baths!

I think your only long term option, and probably the cheapest, to to regrade the yard and create a swale. I would create it on the right of garage (as seen in picture) and run it on the left side of the green square from about the patio? to about 5 feet beyond the back of the garage. It should end so the water drains between the back of the garage and the out-building Assuming the lot drops of to the right from the green square, the swale does not need to be deep. About 8" lower and sloping from the garage. It should drain to the back of the garage, and move the water to the back, to the natural drainage. I suspect you could cut it through the green square, but you would have your leach bed to consider (How deep are the lines) The swale could be create with a sod cutting machine. Cut the sod from about a six foot wide section the length of the garage. Once the sod is remove dig the right three feed down about 4 to 6 inches and stack the dirt next to the garage. once you have all grades correct and flowing correctly replace the sod. I think you could cut it across the drive way, but I think that opens a whole knew set of problems. Also you could run a pipe from the house along the left side of the square, but the swale would be the less maintenance in the long term.

In some areas, a large building lot alone could cost you $50,000. Is this a case of a RENTED lot and you're only buying the home BUT renting the lot from a power company that makes use of the lake/dam for power production? If the land is for sale, How much is the land itself worth per acre in this same area? How large is the lot? Whether you're renting or buying the lot, would local building codes give you have the option to tear the house down and build another house from scratch or significantly alter this one ... or is this a case of imposed decisions and very limited options because of ... what ... historical society or home owners association? Does the lot and/or the house have a view of the lake it's near? How close is the house/lot to a town and the kind of shopping options you want and school and entertainment options and hospital and medical care? Is it where you want to build your "forever" home -- (if this is to be that)? Are you considering flipping this house or is it the right size for your family -- are you interested in the potential resale value but only years or decades from now? Does that garage to the left behind it go with it and what kind of shape is it in -- does it have plumbing such as utility room for a washer/dryer? Some people are building tiny homes from single car garages -- smaller than that one which appears to be a two car garage. What utilities are readily available to home and/or garage? Electrical pole nearby? Natural gas? Water: City water access w/meter already in place or will you need to bore/drill a well? Is the "new well" bored or drilled and does it already have a pump? Is there a septic tank or sewer lines? If you find that it is already stripped down to the studs -- are the rafters and floor joists visible? What kind of shape are they in? Is the chimney safe or would it be lined with triple wall pipe and/or add gas logs or would you be better off removing chimney and fireplace? Any heating system would likely need to be replaced for safety and efficiency. If there are new windows or other new materials that will be sold with the home, are they the kind of windows, etc., that you want ... and/or could you, if you chose, buy the home for less without those material choices of someone else? What side of the house is North, South, East, West? Will the windows and natural light be where you want them or, if not, could you change them? Do you specifically want this style of house or is it the location and price that interests you? If the rafters of the entire roof are good but the porch has problems, have you considered removing/replacing those porch supports, enclosing the porch and building another porch? (While you have the roof off is likely when you need to make any alterations to any weight bearing walls you intend to make.) If the foundation of the porch has problems, does that mean the entire foundation has problems? Is that pale color stucco or paint put over brick and why -- are there hidden patched foundation cracks? While I like the large old tree in the right side yard, your insurance agent may not. If/when you have a chance to go into the home, take a tape measure and camera with you. You want to be able to draw the floor plan to scale as is and draw some basic ideas as to what you want before talking with an architect and any other pros to get cost estimates. Would you be able to store your possessions in that garage and park a small (rented) trailer beside it on the property to live in while you rebuild the house or will you be paying rent/mortgage elsewhere and commuting while renovating this one? How much of the work could you do yourself ... do you intend to do yourself? All these things matter and affect value/price and what your offer, if any, should be. Do post pics when you can get inside. Do keep us abreast of your progress if you do buy it.