I had my JD for about 7 years and stood on my head to do things under the tractor just so I did not have to take the mower deck off. Then one day I the repair was such that I had to take it off. I was surprised how easy it was. I don't know about the JD 125 but assume it is similar to my JD LT155 but a few years newer. There are two pins that hold the mower, and a pin on the shaft that controls the mower belt. Remove them and the mower can essentially be rolled from under the tractor. I raise the mower put four three wheel castors under the deck, lower it on the castors, take the three pins out move it forward to disengage the front yoke and roll it out. It can be done in less than 10 minutes. It goes in just as easy. You may wish to jack up the front of the tractor to help clear the pulleys and the like.

Thank you WoW (I've heard good things about you in this forum multiple times...). I understand what sister means when it comes to joists, but are you talking about adding a sloped piece of wood to fill the void, or cutting off the nose enough so you can fit a piece in vertically?

IMO those windows do not suit this house. I am glad you are removing those silly shutters. What are the larger windows going to be like? I can’t see that there is much space at the top of those windows for larger trim on the main floor but you could add some to the upper windows.

You are not the owner of this home so the 'try it and see' approach won't work. When purchasing a property, the old adage comes into play: "Location, Location, Location". Everything else can be fixed but you can NEVER pick up your piece of land and drive it to another neighborhood. Money can fix everything but the location. So the question, always in realestate is which is more important, the HOUSE or the LOCATION? If the LOCATION is ideal and the FOOTPRINT of the house is ideal (right size, right amount of rooms, right components are fully usable, etc) then the 'surface stuff' is always doable. Always. The fun thing about home ownership is you discover how many things you CAN DO all by yourself. If you are a renter and have NEVER had to fix a dripping faucet (super easy to change out washers...you just need to know they exist), then you have not acquired the skill called 'washer changer'. That's fine. That's normal. If, on the other hand, you have changed out DOZENS of washers (on a drippy faucet) and each and every time it was a complete failure, then and only then can you call yourself 'not very handy' when dealing with faucets. And who knows, you might just find yourself a reno wizard. Some people find GREAT satisfaction when removing wall paper. Not many people have this in their tool box...but there are just enough people out there that love the FEELING of getting all that junk off their walls. The LOVE it (once it is all done). I hate wall paper. Hate it with a passion. I would hit that paper with everything I own to get rid of it (and then go out and buy MORE STUFF so that I could throw THAT at it too!). As a homeowner, I had NO IDEA that I could do SOOOO MUCH. It is quite liberating to find out how handy you are...all on your own.