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I think she meant the dust and asbestos will literally take your breath away.
That is a possibility that I hadn't considered. If the OP decides to return to this thread, perhaps she can clarify exactly what "breathtaking" meant in this context.
I want to see what a breathtaking attic looks like.
In my mind, it contains a mysterious steamer trunk full of antique treasures, a dusty brocade chaise lounge, various large furniture covered in white sheets (a grandfather clock, a Bombay armoire), a haunted rocking chair, a large empty wrought iron bird cage, an old timey dressmaker dummy, a whimsical rope swing hanging from the rafters, faded drawings on the wall from brooding children of yore, a hidden door leading to secret passages, an enchanted cheval mirror, a spooky phonograph that spontaneously turns on and off, playing tinny sounding music from the 1920s, creepy Victorian dolls that come alive at night, ghosts, clues to a mystery, and at least 1 portal to another realm.
And high end wood flooring, and tasteful baseboards, wainscoting and crown molding.
Uggh. I’ve literally been in the housing market for 13 months. Like the average NJ resident, I live in NJ and work in NYC. It’s literally “hell on wheels” to find a New Jersey home. It’s frustrating, depressing, demoralizing, and any other adjectives you can think to describe the New Jersey homebuying experience.
Each time I found a home, I find something highly unappealing. I have made offers for homes in Manville, Howellx2, Netcong, Hackettstown, even far as Phillipsburg and now recently Woodbridge. I’ve been through 8 real estate agents, 3 attorneys, and 2 inspectors. All of which are dishonest and motivated by greed.
Manville-The house I saw in manville was beautiful with a basement. problem- Flooding issues;
Howell- beautiful 3200sqft home. Problem- couldn’t get permit for new septic tank and front porch was settling
Howell 2- 2500sqft home, on 0.7 acres. This was real estate agents fault. Stupid woman didn’t know there was an upstairs. The seller made an offer 2 days later with another buyer.
Fired her right away.
Netcong- the attic was breathtaking. Ample room in the house. Except, I’m not really a fan of well water.
Hackettstown- beautiful home with an HOA. Problem. Too far from nyc. Overpriced. Cost too much to travel from New York to Hackettstown. It was a homepath property. Dropped $25,000.00 after I saw it.
Phillipsburg- again beautiful home. However, i recently discovered that Warren, Hunterdon, and Sussex counties are on the list of counties with very high radon counts. The house I saw had no radon mitigation unit. Levels were quite high. Stupid agent didn’t know what a radon mitigation unit. Couldn’t purchase this home.
one can be purchased for <$1500. Spend more money and get something nice.
In my mind, it contains a mysterious steamer trunk full of antique treasures, a dusty brocade chaise lounge, various large furniture covered in white sheets (a grandfather clock, a Bombay armoire), a haunted rocking chair, a large empty wrought iron bird cage, an old timey dressmaker dummy, a whimsical rope swing hanging from the rafters, faded drawings on the wall from brooding children of yore, a hidden door leading to secret passages, an enchanted cheval mirror, a spooky phonograph that spontaneously turns on and off, playing tinny sounding music from the 1920s, creepy Victorian dolls that come alive at night, ghosts, clues to a mystery, and at least 1 portal to another realm.
And high end wood flooring, and tasteful baseboards, wainscoting and crown molding.
I want to see what a breathtaking attic looks like.
I have no idea what the OP meant, but it's worth pointing out that many older homes (mine included) have full walk up attics that are often converted into bedrooms. The "attic" in my house is my master bedroom. The room itself is hardly "breathtaking", but since I live on a mountain facing East, I have quite a breathtaking view of the NYC skyline from that room.
I have no idea what the OP meant, but it's worth pointing out that many older homes (mine included) have full walk up attics that are often converted into bedrooms. The "attic" in my house is my master bedroom. The room itself is hardly "breathtaking", but since I live on a mountain facing East, I have quite a breathtaking view of the NYC skyline from that room.
Yup. The house I grew up in and where my mother still lives was built in 1957. They moved into it in November of that year, and I was born the following August. Do the math. Yours truly, Master Bedroom Housewarming Baby.
It was a ranch, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor and an attached two-car garage. When you go up the stairs to the second floor, you can open the door to the right and be in a walk-in attic over the garage. When I was a kid, if you went to the left, there was an unfinished dormer room that in a few years would become my older sisters' bedroom after the sister behind me was born, and then a short hall with closets and the rest of the huge walk-in attic. I can still remember playing in there on an old iron bed and with old clothes we used to use for dress-up.
By the time I was twelve, the three kids my parents had when they'd built the house had expanded to seven, and my paternal grandmother was moving in. Most of the rest of the upstairs attic became two more bedrooms and another bath, but there is still a remaining section of walk-in attic in the front of the house, as well as the attic over the garage.
We never had an "attic" we had a "third floor". My wife and I went to the Vermont Country Store in Weston Vt and the first thing my wife said this place is like your mother's third floor.
In my mind, it contains a mysterious steamer trunk full of antique treasures, a dusty brocade chaise lounge, various large furniture covered in white sheets (a grandfather clock, a Bombay armoire), a haunted rocking chair, a large empty wrought iron bird cage, an old timey dressmaker dummy, a whimsical rope swing hanging from the rafters, faded drawings on the wall from brooding children of yore, a hidden door leading to secret passages, an enchanted cheval mirror, a spooky phonograph that spontaneously turns on and off, playing tinny sounding music from the 1920s, creepy Victorian dolls that come alive at night, ghosts, clues to a mystery, and at least 1 portal to another realm.
And high end wood flooring, and tasteful baseboards, wainscoting and crown molding.
I like it! Would you happen to be either an antiques dealer or an interior designer? I'm not sure too many people these days know what a lot of those items are. I know the younger ones don't, anyway. We hide our advent gifts and give the kids clues to help them find the location. I soon realized my kids had absolutely no clue what a soup tureen is. I suppose it would help if I ever actually served soup in it.
I like it! Would you happen to be either an antiques dealer or an interior designer? I'm not sure too many people these days know what a lot of those items are. I know the younger ones don't, anyway. We hide our advent gifts and give the kids clues to help them find the location. I soon realized my kids had absolutely no clue what a soup tureen is. I suppose it would help if I ever actually served soup in it.
My son would get everything but cheval mirror, but he's in his late twenties.
That point about "more solidly built" is debatable because the construction methods used in most older homes would not comply with modern building codes. For example the roof trusses on many homes built in "The Good Old Days" are now sagging, leading to the sway-backed appearance of their roofs.
I know a couple who own a NJ farmhouse that was built in the late 1700s. When one of the exterior walls began to buckle and sag a few years ago, they called-in a reputable contractor, and after looking at the portion of the foundation underlying the sagging wall, the contractor concluded that whoever had built that part of the foundation "must have been highly inebriated at the time" because it didn't even line-up with the wall that it was supposed to be supporting. Yes, the wall--somehow--seemed to last for a few hundred years, but the bottom line is that the house wasn't well-constructed in the first place.
So... charming and more stylish?
Yes
Well constructed?
Maybe yes, maybe no
You’re going back to a 400-year-old house? That is hardly typical to be able to find a house that old, and anyone who did and didn’t expect major problems is a fool. I believe most of us when we speak of older stock are speaking of homes from the past century. Ours is from the 50s, and while it still needs work (roof and septic) we got it for a steal and it’s a great house in a great location.
I will say however, that I agree with the poster a few pages back who questioned why a single woman would want such a large house on such a large piece of property. I would not want to have to maintain our house and property alone, there’s a lot of work involved in maintaining even a new property when it’s that large.
Last edited by ocnjgirl; 02-02-2019 at 09:38 AM..
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I'm not sure too many people these days know what a lot of those items are. I know the younger ones don't, anyway. We hide our advent gifts and give the kids clues to help them find the location. I soon realized my kids had absolutely no clue what a soup tureen is. I suppose it would help if I ever actually served soup in it. 
