Another Victorian House

Just purchased another, nice, Victorian house. We spent two weeks getting it ready for rental. Plan to rewire it and add central heat this winter. This one has commercial potential since it is on Hwy. 24. Lots of good deals right now.

Mansion Update

The mansion has come a long way. It's amazing what a difference paint makes alone. It still needs to be gutted and completely remodeled, but at least you can see the potential now. It should be worth about $650k renovated. We're asking $199.9k for it as is.

The center part of the carriage house is still full of goodies from the 40's back to the 1890's. I haven't had time to go through it yet. The two end garages are empty. This building would make and incredible studio, office or apartment. It is my favorite part of the property.

My long time friend, Steve Squier, took this picture from my house. I acquired this beauty recently. He calls it "Good livin in Colorado". We skied on about 18" of "good livin" today, it was incredible.

The Avalanche Motel

Purchased a 1964 vintage motel, previously called "The Bel Aire". Not my typical type of property, but what the heck. I run it as month to month, studio apartments. I got this in March, and just bought a five unit with basically the same set up. The rental market here is very busy, with good rents.

'56 Chevy 6400 Dumpbed

1956 Chevy 6400

Just bought a new vehicle for hauling all the "debris" left in the houses I have been buying. It is a '56 Chevy 6400 with a side dump bed. The previous owner put about $12k into rebuilding the engine, brakes and hydraulics. It runs great and should work well. It will also fit perfect in Leadville. I'll have to have something fun painted on the doors.

Leadville's Haunted Mansion

The Carriage House

The Haunted Mansion of Leadville

Bought a supposedly haunted mansion a few weeks back. It needs extensive work but is the coolest house I have ever owned. The carriage house in the back is spectacular. Everyone says it is haunted but that is all I've heard so far.

The place is full of stuff. Old man Schroeder lived in the basement and it looks like he just got up and left one day. Someone noticed a 20 year old carton of eggs on the table. I have found a few cool things in the carriage house but haven't really begun looking through stuff.

I don't think this one will get renovated. Just get the exterior looking nice, and everything secure. It has a new roof, dodged that one again.

The Pink House

The Log Cabin

I've added another house to the permanent collection. This one hasn't been lived in for almost 50 years. It is in very nice condition, but needs a new water, and possibly sewer, main. The main oddity with this house are the 3" thick, solid wood walls. It is basically built like a log cabin, interior and exterior walls. Not having any wall cavities will make the electrical and plumbing upgrades extra challenging. I can't stand wiremold, maybe a router?

This one might just get a light fix and then be put on the full time rental market. An extensive renovation would take six months and cost tens of thousands. Nora has requested the pink paint job remain, "You can always paint it later." The roof has been replaced, so possibly just carpet and some wall treatments and it could be rented as is. We'll see, closing is set for September 14th. I'm really excited about this one.

Leadville House After

Leadville House Before

Stillwater House After

Stillwater House Before

Latest Purchase

Ready to start another renovation. This one has been dubbed "Recycle House" with the goal of utilizing recycled building materials wherever possible. It needs everything literally from the ground up. This will be one of our most challenging renovations due to the extent of work required, luckily it is a small house. The budget is $10,000 to complete the entire project, should be around $50,000. Oh yeah, it doesn't have a title just a quit claim deed. It is going to take until 2007 to get a treasurer's deed.

The house was purchased gutted. The entire back half of the house is one inch thick lumber stacked vertically, butted side to side, no studs, wallpaper right over the lumber. There is a 10" crawlspace. The floors pitch in every direction. I already picked up a used furnace and all the ductwork I should need for $100. A large amount of plumbing for $20. The house came with a kitchen from Vail. The roof is partially done in metal. The water and sewer are active (that's a big saver). I will need to slide beams or a frame under the house and hope to jack it up from 2' to 4'. I plan to utilize the infamous mudsill foundation once again; it's been working two for two so far. Also need the space for ductwork and wiring. This is the first step.

Curbside, dumpster diving, abandoned house raiding, I'll do whatever it takes to get this one done for virtually nothing. If anyone has access to anything, especially lumber, beams, wire and plumbing, let me know. This house is my own and I plan to see if it can be done on a very small budget.

That Shack?