"A real fixer-upper"

Today we went to look at half a house for sale. That's all we knew before we went. . . that and that they were only asking about $3000 for it. A price like that is almost unheard of!

Now I feel like my head is spinning. There's just too much to consider! Lots of pluses and minuses.

The part for sale is the half-basement level. (For those of you who have visited the Petrashes in Viazniki, it's very similar to what they have.) It has nice windows and lots of light, so it doesn't feel like a basement, though. I think I'll just have to list:
-It's very small. For me, small and with a yard, is much better than big and in an apartment building, though. Plus, it would be ours, not rented!
-It's in the old part of the city, right by the river, the historic churches, and a trolleybus stop.
-Um, no running water (yet). The upstairs neighbor has brought in water already, so it's possible.
-It has good gas heating and electricity.
-There's a good bit of water damage, because the heat has been turned off, and in the past they've run a pump under the floor in the springtime. There was no one there to do that this year. The floor boards and wall covering would have to be completely replaced.
-Will says that all the work could be done by us and our friends. There's nothing complicated, although there is a good bit to do.
-The current owners are very willing to work with us, flexible about payment, and ready to help.

Please be praying for us to have wisdom in deciding about this! They're not going to show it to anyone else until after Wednesday, so we have a few days to think and pray.

Another big prayer request is that the owners would be able to figure something out with the man who owns the upstairs. It might be hard to get him to sign the papers to sell their part. We want to meet him and talk to him; from what they said of him, he would be a good neighbor, if he will agree with them selling to us.

Please pray about the financial part, too. The price is just right for us. We could even afford to buy it with what we have now. However, there would still be the cost of fixing it up. . . .