Pretty is NOT Affordable!

I went looking at houses today. A cute neighborhood close to work seemed like the perfect spot to raise my daughter. I have been talking to my realtor about the area and we decided to go look at some of the houses I thought would be perfect for my budget. We went. We looked. We smell.
Yes, the houses smelled so bad. MOLD!!! In Colorado? Yes! The first house was in the worst shape, and yet I saw the possibilities. Beautiful floor plan, 5 bedrooms, and a gorgeous yard. It looked like the neighbor kids found out the house was vacant and decided to do some remodeling. There are holes in every wall. The windows are all busted. Believe it or not, it is actually a nice neighborhood. Probably some good kids that don't realize how their actions will affect the sale of the house. Even if the walls were in perfect shape, there is still a ton of work to be done. I am hoping to either find something better that needs fixing up, or being able to make a low enough offer to fix this place up exactly how I want it.
As bad as it is, I see the beauty that could come out of some major TLC. Maybe in the next couple of months I will be posting a series of blogs about the fix-up of my new (old) home. I have a vision and I think it could be possible. So, as much as I wanted to surprise the family with my home purchase, I might be giving them more of a surprise when I ask for help in fixing up the place.
If any family or friends would like to come visit for awhile this summer and help out, I'm sure we can set up more tents in the back yard. One day I'll have the home of my dreams. Until then, I'll just keep searching and hoping I find pretty and affordable together.