When I bought my house in Texas in 1995 I had friends stand at the back of the lot, look up at what appeared to be a crack house (peeling paint, decks rotting off the house, the only thing missing was boarded up windows) and ask me “What are you thinking?” 
After living there 17 years, last month the buyer raved over the condition of the house and the high level of maintenance. It made me smile. Except for new siding, windows, and roof I had done all the other work myself. People said the three-story Victorian ended up looking like a doll house.
So now I’ve moved on to a foreclosure in Tennessee and I’m thinking crack house again. I got a hell of a deal — I was able to pay cash and have no mortgage. But there are definite issues that I will be writing about.
There’s a whole lot that needs to be done and I will be hacking my way through as much as I can by myself, but I’m going to need help on some things so I will be asking around for recommendations and will let you know how that goes.
I will keep working to make this house no longer look like a crack house too.
