The tear down

11 years ago I purchased a home that was a bit out of my price range. It was the cheapest in my luxury neighborhood by $500,000 and was being sold as a tear down by the listing agent. I,however, fell in love with the house that was basically untouched since the year it was built- 1960.

An elderly couple had designed it and still lived in it. The house was about $200,000 over what we wanted to pay. When I toured it the elderly lady who owned it asked me if I planned on having children and raising them in the home. I said yes.

I told her I loved the house and just wanted to freshen it up a bit and not tear it down. She whispered to me to make an offer and she'd take it. We came in $250,000 less than asking price and she accepted it. I moved in and have been here for 11 years now.

Not that long ago the elderly woman's daughter knocked on my door and told me her mom had passed away and that she used to drive her mother past the house and she was so happy that the house looked the same as when she had owned it. It meant so much to her.

I wish they had knocked on the door as I would have loved to have shown them how I kept the house much the same. My house is now worth 4 times what I paid for it and I am grateful every day for having it.