the Lake House that almost was...

for years Ironman and I have been waiting for a house on two VERY specific streets to go on the market...over the holidays we found out that one might be going on the market in March, so of course we stalked  contacted the owner...  If you follow me on Pinterest you may have noticed that the "Lake House" board appeared this week, because I just KNEW this would be THE house...

so we traveled there today... and we found the most magnificent views and a backyard filled with amazing trees....

as we moved inside, I was mentally moving walls, re-painting the blue kitchen cabinets, admiring the cute chandelier... and really trying to block out THAT awful smell...

And then suddenly things went  downhill... faster than you can imagine....we discovered the "fallout shelter"...built to "1955 nuclear code"... even Avery was terrified...

and then the owner disclosed that these lovely floor tiles have asbestos...

oh, and did I mention that the paint tested positive for lead, and that smell?  oh, the house pilings were coated with creosote... in 1940... and the tar smell has been in the house since... Creosote is not particularly nice and I only had to read on a few sights that it is linked to cancer to know that we are in NO WAY, NO HOW buying this house with the beautiful view...

So on our sad drive home, we talked about demolishing the house, and the cost of removing the creosote soaked pilings, but who knows the remediation costs associated with creosote removal, and what damage it has done to the soil...

so I'll put my Lake House Pinterest Board on hold and wait until one of the other 10 houses goes on the market...Great things come to those who wait, right?