Knowledge Problem

The House Curse Is Lifted

The curse is gone. No, not the goat or black cat curse on the Cubs (for all we know that’s still there!) — the KP house-buying curse. In the past two years we’ve tried 3 times to buy a house:

1. 1924 Chicago bungalow, beautifully renovated, 2 blocks from current location. Got a contract. Inspection: termite damage, and evidence that someone deliberately tried to cover it up.

2. 1894 worker’s cottage, beautifully renovated and 2nd story expanded, 1 block from current location. Got a bid in. Got outbid at the last minute, and some of the way it all happened left a very bad taste in my mouth.

3. 1896 Victorian, renovated but needing some TLC and expansion out the back, 4 blocks from current location. Got a contract. Inspection: when the renovation was done, the supporting posts were unbolted from the house’s support beam, and never bolted back in. 7 years later, the support beam has torqued. Run away, run away

So, jaded and tired, we persisted. This house has no structural faults except for still having the original cloth knob-and-tube wiring. It’s a 1929 craftsman/prairie home, 4 blocks from our current location. It will be a lot of work, but it’ll be great. And since we’re doing the wiring, we’ll throw ethernet in there for all three floors while we’re at it …