Regular readers will know that we have been looking for a retirement home for the last two years. After several trips and many house visits, the search may be over.
The last house we looked at on our most recent trip (July 4 – 8) may be “The One.” We have contacted the realtor to enter a bid.
More photos, including interior photos, can be found on the listing. (Note: Link does not open in a new tab.) This home has a bed and bath on the main floor as well as more bedrooms and a 2nd bath on the top floor. The back door enters into a mud room complete with washer and dryer. A detached two car garage begins to take care of auto storage. The corner lot is larger than most city lots and backs up to an alley, which provides garage access; this means no in-your-window neighbors on three sides. The remaining neighbor is separated from the house by the side yard. Two porches, both shown above, add some outside seating.
Pet Problems
The trip did not start well. Barely two hours on the road and our pet caretaker called to inform us JoJo had jumped into a pile of weeds that also has some fencing in it and had cut her inner left upper leg. Eight stitches were required to close Jo’s skin, but luckily no muscle tissue was damaged. Shortly after that, another call let us know that one of the cats, Velvet, had problems with a tooth that must have become infected and the abcess had broken open. Other than dosing with antibiotics and cleaning the gums, little else could be done for Velvet until Pam returned home and could make a vet appointment.
On The Road
The trip went OK. Total mileage was 2,746 and about 300 of that was driving around looking at homes in several communities. We based out of Oelwein, but visited Decorah, Spillville, Elkader, Elma, Harpers Ferry, and many other small towns in the area.
We were surprised at the amount of standing water in Nebraska and South Dakota. This trip we chose the “northern” route, turning on Hwy 83 North out of North Platte, Nebraska, and crossing South Dakota on I-90. Hwy 83 had a surprise; part of the route was under water! Here is a photo Pam took out the window while we drove through the low spot:
By and large the trip to and from Iowa was uneventful but contained miles of repair work, a few one-lane sections, and some rain showers.
Other House Hunting
We looked at a few other homes this trip. The Bridge Street home in Elkader had been the prime candidate, based on Pam’s previous visit and on-line pictures, but the lot, very small, ruled it out. The house had other issues as well, including a non-functioning fireplace and severe in-town restrictions on building a garage (impossible) and was located on one of the busiest roads in town.
We really tried to like this place as it had historic features as well, but, in the end the lot (both size and restrictions) took this one off the “possible” list.
Next up was a “For Sale By Owner” home and, as a bonus, had an ex-corner service station as part of the deal. While the house was tidy and updated inside, the small size would not have accommodated us and the pets.
Just for fun, we drove by a home situated on a ridge near Harpers Ferry. Out of our price range, the home featured draw-dropping scenic views of the bluffs and valley around it. Photos really do not do it justice.
Discouraged
By the time we were ready to head to Elma, we were pretty discouraged. The Bridge Street home was out, the Spillville place was out, the ridge home was yet to come but one we knew was over our budget, and we were getting tired. Elma was next on our list, but we had previously driven by the house on the incoming trip and were not terribly impressed. However, we had an appointment and we intended to keep it.
Pleasant surprise
When we arrived in Elma we met with the realtor, Phil, and started going through the home. It soon became apparent this place met our major checklist of desirable features: full bath and bedrooms upstairs, full bath and bedroom downstairs, mud room / laundry room on the main floor, large (for a city lot) open spaces, two car garage, utility shed that could be utilized for the outdoor cats, and Victorian styling. No air conditioning, but the place had been upgraded for a 200 amp service, also rare, in expectation of adding an a/c unit to the existing forced air furnace. Elma is not much of a town, a bit more rural than we would like, being about 30 minutes from four different county seats and about an hour away from several large metropolitan areas.
We would be comfortable here. There was no “Eureka!”moment; it just became obvious that this could be our retirement home.
After discussing our options during the return trip, we decided we would contact the realtor and put in an offer once we returned home. We also looked up the local bank and are in the process of submitting a mortgage loan application. After this flurry of activity there will be a quiet period as the process continues, assuming our bid is accepted. (There may be some back and forth on the price before we come to an agreement.)
We are both excited and relieved that our long search may finally have borne fruit. Now, for the next few days, all we can do is wait and see!
Miscellaneous
Here are a few other photos taken along the way. They don’t really belong in any of the narrative above so I’ll add them in here.
Home again.
On return home there was a lot to do. A priority: fixing the washing machine which was not draining water. A plugged discharge hose was found to be the culprit.
There was laundry to clean, lawn to mow, groceries to buy, and stuff to put away. I have a Colorado-based motorcycle rally this upcoming weekend so needed to go though my motorcycle camping stuff and trailer to get ready for that trip.
In addition, we finalized our paperwork for the bank application and real estate offer. Busy!
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Hallelujah – could this mean I no longer have to review For Sale listings every day?
Deciding on a home closes one door, but opens a list of moving parts, all of which have to be managed to get the entire retinue from here — to there.
One thing I’m sure of – I don’t like driving on a road where the car has to become a boat. The Midwest humidity was oppressive, especially the morning where a person could almost reach out and grab a handful of fluid air. We kept the car AC on mainly to dry out the air so our Colorado noses could breathe. There will be an adjustment period.
Happy Trails.