We initially started looking at 1) mostly rural, 2) mobile homes and cinder-block homes (plus a log home), 3) mostly 20 years old or newer for mobiles, 50 years old or newer for "real houses," 4) west of Gainesville, Florida in Levy county.
The home we may make an offer on is a 1) small-town, 2) standard wooden frame house, 3) 104 years old, 4) east of Gainesville but still in Alachua County (fortunately outside of the freakishly high-priced Gainesville Regional Utilities area).
It's not a Victorian type "chocolate box" or anything like that, but it's got nice large rooms with very high ceilings (having been built before the age of air conditioning), a large, lovely screeened-in front porch, and a fairly large fenced lot with lots of live oaks.
It clearly became a hippie/bohemian lair at some point (a tile mosaic on the front step advises one to "BREATHE," etc.), and based on the seller's possessions still inside still is, but that kind of suits us and it's been well-kept/improved. The original bathroom still has what I assume is the original "claw-foot" bathtub. A rear addition to the house (looks like it was built after the turn of this century) includes a more "modern" bathroom with a nice shower.
Other than it needing an exterior paint job, there just wasn't much wrong with it. Central air/heat, fairly new wood stove and (no longer used) fireplace, roof looked good. Various Internet options, including cable and possibly fiber. No HOA, and from what I can tell, the little town isn't one of those with a bunch of nosy people letting you know if your grass is 6.1" high and supposed to be no taller than 6" high.
There's a very good chance that the house we buy will be the house Tamara and I grow old and die in, and there's not really much not to love about this one.
While I would kind of prefer to live about 10 miles from any "civilization," on about 10 heavily wooded (okay, in Florida, jungle) acres, this place is within easy walking distance of a small business district, a plus for us aging people who may need to give up our cars and motorcycles in 25 years or so. Since it's in town, we wouldn't have to worry about needing a new well or septic tank.
The last time the place got really plastered by hurricane action was in 1928, and those trees all looked healthy (and most of them looked about as old as the house).
I don't know if I'm as in love with it as Tamara, but I could definitely be OK living there.
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