This 71 year old house...

The house my husband and I looked at yesterday is 71 years old, and has had only one owner.  That's right, one owner in 71 years.  

After talking to the neighbors we found out that the previous owner had lived lived in the house til her death at 105 years old.  At that point the house passed to her children, who decided to sell it and split the proceeds between themselves.  

We found the house cute, and quaint.  It is small, but livable, and it has a charm that shines through the neglect.

I imagine that the house has changed very little since it was built.  While it has been updated here and there, much of it appears to be original.  For instance the light fixtures in the living room and dining room seem to date to the time when electric lighting was new.  The picture below shows a more dramatic example in the house's wood burning cook stove.

The biggest update needed is air conditioning!  Despite the fact that we live in hot humid Florida, a central air conditioning system was never installed in the house.  While it is possible to live in Florida without a/c, mold and mildew tend to be a problem (dew to high humidity) if the house is not constantly and forcefully ventilated.  

There are a few other issues to contend with, including tiny closets, a single dirty bathroom, and years of neglect.  A contractor friend will hopefully be able to stop by the house this week to find out just how much this updating will cost.  We may then make an offer on the house, taking the cost of the repairs into account.

We shall soon see.