Moving a House: We Created and Remodeled Our Dream Home

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After their dream house finally moved to its current location, the Arenses' are extremely thankful for their house moving experience.
After their dream house finally moved to its current location, the Arenses' are extremely thankful for their house moving experience.
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The Arenses changed this house into the dream house that they moved.
The Arenses changed this house into the dream house that they moved.
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The entry way was one of the main places the Arenses were able to make changes to during their house moving.
The entry way was one of the main places the Arenses were able to make changes to during their house moving.
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The Arenses were able to make some slight renovations to their dream house during their house moving experience.
The Arenses were able to make some slight renovations to their dream house during their house moving experience.
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The Arenses were able to change the floor plan of their dream house slightly during the move. They also made a few renovations.
The Arenses were able to change the floor plan of their dream house slightly during the move. They also made a few renovations.

“You bought a house for $50!”

That’s right. In the spring of 1976, my husband and I purchased the three-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot older home you see here (with the kind of fine hardwood floors and mellow oak woodwork you just can’t find anymore) for the grand price of $50. And that house has since been appraised at $23,000!

Of course, there was a catch to the deal: Before we could move into the residence, we had to agree to move it away from the spot where we’d bought it.

Still, that wasn’t such a bad bargain. Our total moving costs came to $2,800, and we spent an additional $3,000 on remodeling the home and adding a two-car garage in the basement. In other words, for about the same amount of money we’d have had to come up with for a down payment on an equivalent modern house . . . we’ve been able to buy our present home outright!

And we don’t — by any means — consider ours to be a one-of-a-kind, it’ll-never-happen-again situation. In fact, we feel confident — given a little time, patience and operating capital — that you, too, can find a move-it-yourself dwelling to fit your needs. You may even be able to locate, buy, relocate and move into such a structure for less than we did if you can find a place that doesn’t require much remodeling.

  • Published on May 1, 1978
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