Our house is red, white and blue!

Welcome, friends!  This is the first post of my new blog, 'Wisconsin Ranch Wrangler' which will cover the ups and downs of owning and updating a '70s colonial ranch home in southeastern Wisconsin.  If you are looking for someone who has answers, this won't be for you.  But if you are looking for someone who makes a lot of mistakes when it comes to home renovation but can laugh (or at least have a good cry) about it, then come on back!  Hope you enjoy our romp!

So, a couple of years ago we moved to a small town near Milwaukee, WI.  Despite plummeting home sales nationwide, home prices were almost double what they were from the small town in central WI from which we moved.  We had thought we could find a nice place for under $300K.  Our first trip with the realtor had me in tears all the way home.  Many neighborhoods couldn't be touched for under $600K. With each trip to view available properties, we became more desperate.  We upped our upper spending limit and then upped it again and again.  We looked at homes far from civilization.  We looked at homes that needed repairs despite their expensive asking prices....without luck.

Did I mention the house is red, white and blue?

We had a decision to make.  Spend almost double what we wanted for a newer home that needed repairs, or look at inexpensive homes that were smaller and older than what we currently owned.   After months of searching (our realtor had mostly given up hope), we found the right place.  A 1900 sq. ft. '70s ranch with a walk-out basement and 3-car garage, two amenities that seem rare around here.  It needed updating badly but it was a bargain and well, how much work could renovating a house on a tight budget be?