I fell in love with this one...................

For some strange reason this house just seems to possess my thoughts. It is located at 601 North Kansas Ave. in Marceline, MO. This house could easily be called 'Satan's Little Sister' especially if you are familiar with The Devil Queen. This house just has issues. But if you look past all the work, you can see a vision of what this house COULD be. Or more like it, what it SHOULD be, how beautiful she was in her full glory. The detail in the carved oak bannisters is still evident even through almost a century of thick poorly done paint. The small details like the antique metal fireplace that was removed but is still sitting in the front enterance area, or the leaded glass window in the master bedroom and the parlor. The way there is a bench in the bay window halfway up the stairs where they turn to go up the rest of the way. The wood floor that is inlayed with a pattern of reducing rectangles is a light oak color or maybe light pine and is in a bad need of refinishing. The details make this house have character. And when I looked at her all I saw was highly glossy floors, light airy colors, and an elegance that couldn't be touched.

It was this house that made me look to Marceline in the first place. This house that made me want to buy a home of our own. CLICK HERE to see the agent listing and why I loved it so much at first glance.


I have been told (supposedly as a secret between me and my realtor) that the lowest the owner will go is $18,000. He is asking $25,000. Several offers ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 have been placed. The agent thinks $15,000 will fix her up right. I am seriously considering it. But she is too much for us to handle. I know it. But I almost want to do it anyway. Because even though I see what's wrong, I don't see it in the shape its in. I see it as it should be.

So here's the pics of the old gal (she'll be 100 in 2010!)


rear half of great room
The kid in the orange shorts is walking over the buckling area in the floor.
This is the front portion of the great room. The door pictured at the end is the porch and the entry to the right of the screen is to an alcove that contains the 2nd entry to the parlor (first is off the porch) and the landing of the stairs and one enterance to the kitchen.
This is the new plumbing that was done. And the HUGE hole in the ceiling that was created to access this leak. Some water damage is visable in the top left corner
Strange little cubby like hole that was probably a windowless breakfast nook but now houses the Washer and dryer

view of back yard from the deck
This is the kitchen looking to the left from the enterance off the dining room/rear of the great room. For some reason the door was sealed off and a doorway was installed perhaps or maybe it was always there but it is just off screen to the left
This is the kitchen looking straight on from the dining room. I really liked the cutout woodwork over the sink....
This is a poor picture of the fireplace that was removed. The wall is slightly bowed inwards and just lumpy looking. Appears to be sagging plaster at first glance.....
The roof leaked before it was repaired. Evidence is shown here over the stairs

fuse box
one bedroom upstairs complete with tons of crap
bathroom downstairs
upstairs bathroom
another bedroom this one is "L" shaped
other half of the 'L' shaped bedroom
This is a pretty window in the 'master' bedroom. The floor here has a slight angle that is midly noticable because it is over the missing fireplace and subsequent 'buldge'
3rd upstairs bedroom
this is a shot of part of the hallway and the chipped and missing plaster at the corner of the stairs
missing wall area on 2nd half of split staircase
exterior of house on a painted side. Notice the broken windows
Here is the buldge. It is much easier to see with an enlarged picture, just click it to see. This is the unpainted side of the house. The left side of the picture shows the neighbors carport which is disturbingly close.
Under the deck is the access to the basement. If you enlarge the picture you can see old towels crammed next to the door where some concerete has broked away. They are apparently there to stop water damage

The house was built in 1910. It comes with all the old crap pictured that the owners left in it. YAY!!! Other peoples trash!!!! How Lucky!!! It is approx 2000 sq ft. A 2 story frame house with a block and poured foundation. The basement has a separate enterance below the deck in the rear. The roof is shingled and is 7 years old. The old owners only painted the 3 sides of the house that were visable from the street (it's on a corner lot). The floors are hardwood and need refinishing. In the rear portion of the great room there is a buckle upwards of 3 or 4 boards. The house is insulated with R15 blown and rolled. It has gas heat and window unit AC. The house does have screens on the windows and 2 ceiling fans. The hot water heater is electric and is a 40gallon. The house comes with range, refrigerator, washer and dryer all of which appear like new. The cabinets are metal and the floor in the kitchen is vinyl. The house has city water, sewer, natural gas. It's in the city so there is sidewalks and blacktop streets. The lot size is 50x140. The house has 220 volt wiring, outside lights, a closed front porch (where the removed fireplace is sitting) and a deck. It comes with a sattelite dish. The Living room and Dining room are combined in a 'great room' style but the individual measurements are 14x15.5 for the living room, and 16x14 for the dining room, the kitchen measures 15x12, the bathroom on the main floor is a half bath and is 7x6.5. The house has a parlor that measures 10x11. The enclosed front porch area measures 4x6 and is shaped like half a hexagon. The pantry off of the kitchen measures 4x7. That was the room count on the first floor. The 2nd floor has 3 additional bedrooms 11x14, 14x13, and 11x16 but 1 is larger mostly due to the 'L' shape of it. The bathroom upstairs is a full bath measuring 12x7.

Comments from the realtor include this information:

The fireplace was removed and the wall boxed back in. The exterior wall (that the fireplace was origionally located in) is showing some signs of bowing and will need attention at some point. THe owner has lived in this house several years and says the condition of this wall has not changed so there is no immediate cause for alarm. The home is heated with a natural gas forced air furnace that is about 2 years old, and cooled with window units upstairs and down. There has not been a termite inspection but the owner said that with all the work he has done throughout the house he has never seen any sign of a problem. The foundation itself appears to be in good shape. The plumbing is in good working order. The previous owner had a leak in the upstairs bathroom which he repaired by going thru the kitchen ceiling, the good news it that you can see that he replaced the plumbing the bad news is that he failed to replace the kitchen ceiling. The owner claims that all the wiring is in good working order. The owner says "I have made concessions in pricing my house for sale and do not intend to spend any more money in repairs" The ceiling thoughout are high 10 ft. But some have been 'dropped' to 8 ft. The downstairs parlor has a door that opens to the enclosed front porch and another door that opens to the rest of the house. The annual property taxes are $210.