the house across the street

It's time to talk about the house across the street.  It was built in 1890, and is an absolute monstrosity.  I'm talking thick red shag carpeting covering the original wood floors, asbestos, a refrigerator weirdly placed in the middle of the kitchen, an entirely dark brown exterior.  In fact, it looks like this:

And I want to buy it SO BADLY.  I should not give it any publicity, because now you will want to scoop it up and buy it out from under me, won't you?  It needs so much work, which I would love to do.  It's got 6 bedrooms, so when Kathy and I have more kids (yup, more kids) we'll have enough room for all of us.  We could lovingly redo each and every room.  I could take classes on Saturday mornings to learn to fix the wiring and plumbing myself.  It appeals to me so much.  This is probably my parents' fault, as they were big do-it-yourself-ers.  Whatever, thanks mom and dad.  It's been empty for years, and has been on the market for ages.  I think this means it is meant to be.  I would rip all that ivy off the front and paint it a lighter color so it's not so dark and imposing and unfriendly.  We would fill it with love.  All this, and we would still get to be neighbors with our favorite neighbor, who currently lives across the street from us, but who would live next door to us if we moved in here.  I think about it all the time! 

This is the thing, though.  We're not in a position to buy a house right now.  We probably won't be for a while.  It has been on the market for some time now, and they keep dropping the price.  Eventually, someone will want to buy it.  I think that it hasn't sold for so long because there are so many other houses on the market in our town that are move-in ready, and I don't think most people would actually prefer to buy a house that they have to spend thousands of dollars renovating.  But that is exactly why it appeals to me.  We can do everything our way, just how we want.  It's like a blank slate, but better, because it's got such a rich history. 

I am trying to come to terms with the following facts: (1) We can't buy a huge enormous house just because I want to when the money gods are not smiling on us; (2) Quitting the firm will make it even less likely that we will be able to buy this house; and (3) There are other people out there who love renovating houses and will see this one as the jackpot it is. 

But still, I dream about it.  I just can't help it.