My father passed away last week. His death was sudden and unexpected. He died at home, in the house that he and my mother bought back in the 60′s– the house he refused to move from following my mother’s death five years ago. It’s been a helluva week. I am the only child so I am especially grateful for my wife who has helped hold things together and keep me sane during this very stressful and emotional time. I could get all philosophical about death and the fragility of life here, but I’ve done enough of that over the past week.
There is an incredible amount of work to be done over the next few months. Not only do I want to finish the second floor renovations in our own house, so our child can finally move into her room, and so my in-laws have their own space when they come to stay with us this summer, but now there is the matter of preparing my childhood home for market, preferably by late spring so the potential buyer will be able to move in before the start of the school year in September.
I have started sifting through some of the paperwork that had been filed away over the years. My mother had kept just about every invoice for major purchases and home renovations. Here are a few interesting tidbits:
House was purchased for just under $14,000 in the mid 1960′s. Current value is approximately $150,000.
1.5 car garage, built in the early 1970′s, cost about $4,000.
The major appliances, still being used today, were purchased in the early to mid 1970′s. Judging from all the maintenance agreement renewals and the pile of repair invoices, they were probably paid for many times over, but then, it appears that the washing machine was rebuilt many times over as well.
I figured 6 years ago that my basement renovation cost me around $8000 total. My mother had jotted down the figures from when they finished their rec room in the basement and it totaled around $750 in the early 70′s.
Fascinating stuff….
