Green House.

For a couple of hours yesterday we were convinced that we should buy this house.  We run by this guy all the time and you can tell no one lives there, we always think its so neat looking.  Yesterday it went up for sale for mere pennies- seriously pennies.  We could buy it and fix it while still being able to live in our current house- plus its in the same neighborhood so it would be easy to get back and forth while working on it. 

It basically has the same layout as our current house but with a way better backyard and garage situation.  Much more room for gardening, you could have a few fruit trees, space for a screened in porch- the urban gardening I would love to be able to do.  It has two decks, is close to work, etc etc etc.  And it would be the 'smaller' more efficient living we're after.

Downside: it needs a new roof, a few new windows, ac unit, and the street it is on has many multi-family houses and apartments- not something we're looking to live next to.  Even with a new roof/windows/rehab you would still only invest a small amount compared to buying something livable at this square footage.  (ps. this photo is from 2004 according to the internet, its way more crumbly in real life.)

But alas the street is just so not what we are wanting so the search continues, although I really, really liked this one.