My First House

I bought my very first house when I was just barely out of high school. I had done a year at university but it did not go so well so I took a job as a waitress/cook. One fall evening, my roommates invited me to a progressive dinner party- you know, where you go to one house for appetizers, the next for salads, etc. Well the main course was at her boyfriend's house. This was a unique house, I was amazed. He gave us the brief tour of his home and then took us to see the house next door that he also owned. I walked into that little house and immediately fell in love with it. "Can I rent it?" I said. And the next breath I said, "Can I buy it?" He said yes. I gave him $100 down, I think and made arrangements to pay $50 a month for a total of $600.

What a deal. It was a small cottage, one room, approximately 12 x 20 feet.

OK, so it needed some work.

So, that is not my stuff in there but what the place looked like when I first saw it. What was I thinking?!?

But the best part was the location...
Yup, a boathouse on the Mississippi. My place is the second from the left. The spring thaw brought the river over the banks that year and many years after that, but luckily, the house floats. Unfortunately, so did the woodpile that I kept on the bank and used to heat the house.

The houses are held afloat by 55 gallon barrels. The metal barrels rust out over time and fill with water and need to be replaced. The house had spent some time partially submerged and so there was A LOT of bad wood to be replaced. I think the boathouse was about 40 years old when I bought it.

Most structures were boat garages converted into living spaces, but mine had no evidence of having ever housed a boat. I had electricity, but no running water...inside. I spent a couple years rebuilding the space from the inside out. Replaced the floor, the wall studs, added insulation, updated the electrical. After a time, it was kind of sweet.

Seattle is known for their floating homes and my community is one of the few others that still allow people to actually reside in them. I lived there year round for over 7 years.