Since I don't have a vehicle worthy of a build thread , I'll attempt to do somewhat of a "rebuild" thread on me and my wifes home. I've have been working on it for the past year so this will be catching up to where we are at now. As slow as I am at most things, this will probably take as long as the renovation did!! I managed to take a few pictures along the way, but didn't document the whole process.
Time for a little side story on what little I know about the "Hunt Farm". The house was built early- mid 1930's by A.F. Hunt. Not sure of what the initial acreage was when he built the house but it was a sizable tract of land. In fact, my great grandpa bought the first 100 acres Mr. Hunt sold off of his tract. Mr. Hunt worked as a superintendent for the Marion Mfg. plant, so I think he stayed mainly in a house near the plant until he retired in 1940. His wife and kids lived in bedroom downstairs, while they rented out the 4 upper rooms to teachers at the local school (as told to me by relative from Greensboro who randomly stopped by while I was working on the house).
They also had a small house on property that they rented out. My dads family actually rented it for a fews years, and it was the house he lived in till he was 2-3 years old. My grandma used to tell the story of my grandpa having to break into the bedroom window because Mrs. Hunt had passed away in the bedroom with the door locked. I'm pretty sure the screen was still off the same window, sitting in the barn when we bought the place, and that happened a loooonnnnngggg time ago.
Fast forward to about 4-5 years ago. Mr. Hunts son, Frank, who was about 95, had lived in the house by himself for who knows how long. Legend tells of his vast wealth and untold riches.......really. It was definitely not spent on keeping up his parents house. I hear stories all the time of how he would get kids to help him pick up hay all day, then give them a quarter and a stick of gum!! Or people would give him a price to fix things on his house but he was too cheap to pay to get it fixed. Anyway, he passed away about 5 years ago and his relatives decided to sell the estate. It was now down to just 50 acres and the house, but at a $500,000 price tag. I would have loved to have all 50 acres!!! But that wasn't going to happen. It sat on the market for quite some time. Eventually they started splitting up the land, and it dropped down to about 16 acres and the house, still around $199,000. Lots of interest in the house, but just too much of a project for most people, and the banks were not going to loan any money on it in its condition. I had told a realtor friend a few months earlier that my house wasn't officially for sale but if she wanted to show it if she thought someone might be interested then let me know. (I don't think my wife was to thrilled about that.) So I get a call from my friend, she has a couple interested in my house. Great!? My wife is like "are you crazy!?! what are we going to do?" About the same time, literally, they drop the price on the Hunt farm down significantly. We go take a look at the house. Pretty solid looking but termite damage in floor joist and just years of neglect are evident. Since the price drop, the house was getting tons of attention. A few out of state folks were getting contractors to give estimates for fixing it up, so we figured we better make an offer now if it was going to happen for us. We make a couple offers, no good. In the mean time, the couple interested in our house agrees on a price and we sign contract on it.....Alright!!! Wife thinks I'm crazy.
We finally decide to offer asking price on the farm and they accept!! So we sold our house and bought a house pretty much in the same week.
So my great grandpa buys the first 100 acres they sell and we buy the last 16 acres.....pretty cool in my book!
Time for a little side story on what little I know about the "Hunt Farm". The house was built early- mid 1930's by A.F. Hunt. Not sure of what the initial acreage was when he built the house but it was a sizable tract of land. In fact, my great grandpa bought the first 100 acres Mr. Hunt sold off of his tract. Mr. Hunt worked as a superintendent for the Marion Mfg. plant, so I think he stayed mainly in a house near the plant until he retired in 1940. His wife and kids lived in bedroom downstairs, while they rented out the 4 upper rooms to teachers at the local school (as told to me by relative from Greensboro who randomly stopped by while I was working on the house).
They also had a small house on property that they rented out. My dads family actually rented it for a fews years, and it was the house he lived in till he was 2-3 years old. My grandma used to tell the story of my grandpa having to break into the bedroom window because Mrs. Hunt had passed away in the bedroom with the door locked. I'm pretty sure the screen was still off the same window, sitting in the barn when we bought the place, and that happened a loooonnnnngggg time ago.
Fast forward to about 4-5 years ago. Mr. Hunts son, Frank, who was about 95, had lived in the house by himself for who knows how long. Legend tells of his vast wealth and untold riches.......really. It was definitely not spent on keeping up his parents house. I hear stories all the time of how he would get kids to help him pick up hay all day, then give them a quarter and a stick of gum!! Or people would give him a price to fix things on his house but he was too cheap to pay to get it fixed. Anyway, he passed away about 5 years ago and his relatives decided to sell the estate. It was now down to just 50 acres and the house, but at a $500,000 price tag. I would have loved to have all 50 acres!!! But that wasn't going to happen. It sat on the market for quite some time. Eventually they started splitting up the land, and it dropped down to about 16 acres and the house, still around $199,000. Lots of interest in the house, but just too much of a project for most people, and the banks were not going to loan any money on it in its condition. I had told a realtor friend a few months earlier that my house wasn't officially for sale but if she wanted to show it if she thought someone might be interested then let me know. (I don't think my wife was to thrilled about that.) So I get a call from my friend, she has a couple interested in my house. Great!? My wife is like "are you crazy!?! what are we going to do?" About the same time, literally, they drop the price on the Hunt farm down significantly. We go take a look at the house. Pretty solid looking but termite damage in floor joist and just years of neglect are evident. Since the price drop, the house was getting tons of attention. A few out of state folks were getting contractors to give estimates for fixing it up, so we figured we better make an offer now if it was going to happen for us. We make a couple offers, no good. In the mean time, the couple interested in our house agrees on a price and we sign contract on it.....Alright!!! Wife thinks I'm crazy.
We finally decide to offer asking price on the farm and they accept!! So we sold our house and bought a house pretty much in the same week. So my great grandpa buys the first 100 acres they sell and we buy the last 16 acres.....pretty cool in my book!
Most of the pictures on on my computer and it took most of my little man's nap time to write that small novel above. It's been awhile since I've strung together any more than a few words so it takes me some time. 
.
, so posting pictures is going to be as frustrating as tearing into an old house....bear with me.
.....not really but it was as black as the floor.
