Houses, real estate, loans, etc.

[Sauron]

In this thread (http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15729), freemonkey was asking about refinancing vs. a line of credit. I started talking about rural properties, etc. and I realized that I hadn't posted pictures of my dad's house.

Dad built hate house himself on approx 3 acres in a little town in southern West Virginia. After living there for several years, he suffered a stroke in 2002. He went to a nursing home for four years before finally passing away in 2006.

After the stroke, we went through the court to petition to be his guardian. I didn't want the state to take away his house, so I also petitioned the court to be able to buy the house outright.

Anyhow, here it is. I've made some improvements - staining the wood, a backyard deck, wood fence, etc. It's now a family asset in case anyone falls on hard times, or just wants to visit and vacation in quiet.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/3/5/9/front.jpg
http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/3/5/9/side.jpg
http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/3/5/9/rear.jpg

[livius drusus]

What a neat, handsome property. I love the trees and the dappled sunlight, the simple, attractive rail fencing, and those great Cousin It bushes.

Way to carry on your dad's tradition. :thumbup:

[ShottleBop]

This is our house, in Virtual Earth.

I guess, more accurately, that's our pool and front yard. When I saved the picture, it came out square, and lopped off the house. The edge of the roof is in the upper left. That's a big oak tree in the lower right, and the driveway snaking up the center, with steps along the right.

[LadyShea]

That's a lovely property Sauron, I am glad you managed to keep it in the family.

[Qingdai]

Did your dad actually build it with his own hands or have builder do the bulk of it? Looks like a nice country home.
I was just wondering because my dad can build things and I was thinking that it was becoming a lost skill.

[Sauron]

Dad designed it and did some of the work himself. But by the time he was building it, he was getting on in years so mostly he just supervised the work crew. He built most of the last 3 houses we lived in though. This one was just getting to be a little too much for him.

There's a small pond with lots of frogs that peep in the springtime, and dad used to build birdhouses for the bluebirds. There are still a couple of them hanging up, although they're tattered and falling apart....:-(

[Pinecone]

Cousin It bushes ... :giggle:

I like them!! Is it you has to do all that mowing all summer Sauron or have you worked out some devious plan to get it done by others?

[Sauron]

Cousin It bushes ... :giggle:

I like them!! Is it you has to do all that mowing all summer Sauron or have you worked out some devious plan to get it done by others?

The bushes are something my dad thought was cool. They're some kind of southwestern arid plant with incredibly hard stalks, almost like bamboo - when they get caught in the mower it's more like grinding up wood splinters. Can you believe they were mowed down flat to the ground only six months prior to these photos?

No, I have family members look after the place. There is a deaf man in the small town who makes money doing odd jobs for people. He comes by and does the mowing and weedwhacking. We leave money for him in an envelope at the country general store, where he stops by to get it whenever he's done.

It's so Mayberry, RFD, isn't it?

[Pinecone]

It's so Mayberry, RFD, isn't it?

Yeah but it's cute! Before we got our drive blacktopped, I had an old retired dude plow me out during the winter, and use to leave him money (in a little plastic snack bag) in the hole of a bird house that was on the fence post out by the entrance. Unfortunately he got hitched and ran off to Arizona with his lady. That's when the blacktop went in and I got a snow blower. His kid took over the plowing business and was unreliable and irresponsible. :sadno: Nothing like the dad. It's great (and getting rare it seems) to have someone you can trust help out with stuff.