Don't buy a house with the assumption you can totally transform it from something you hate into something you love. You can't unless money is no object. Buy a house you like, and when trying to justify it to yourself, ask yourself if you'd date or marry a man you really didn't like because you thought you could make him in to someone you'd love?

Depends on how much of a steal, of course. This looks like the back of my old house actually. Since it is the front, yes, you would have some work to do. Wait, is this the front or the back?

Maybe it IS the back. In which case its not so bad. What does the front look like? A deck would be problematic because of the cellar entrance. But you could do a patio for sure.

It is plain, but if it is really the bargain of the century, for a first home it might be ok.

Is this the back?

My first thought was to use ideas from the yachting industry and incorporate that basement door into a tiered deck using a hatch like door. Many hatches have hydraulic arms to assist with opening and closing of large doors and you may wish to add this feature. A little reworking of the basement entrance may be necessary but you will have crawl space under the deck to work with. Check out a few boating magazines for more ideas. Wrap the decking all the way across your house - around and beyond your current entrance. Using angles terrace large and wide steps down when creating your front and side step entrance. Just off at an angel I would incorporate planter boxes at each terraced level for spring color and definition of my entrance . Your window height allows room for built in bench seating with plenty of storage under for cushions and garden tools. Privacy could be added by the height and options of your railing. Don't make this area to small - this will become the meeting and greeting space of your home. Just my thoughts -

I'm not a realtor or house flipper in the slightest and am still just a teen, but for me, it's the inside that counts. So, the questions I would ask myself would be:

1. Is the home done top to bottom?
2. If not, how much will it cost to make it live able?
3. Does the price, or negotiated price, leave me room to do the needed repairs?

Now I know you wanted to know more about the exterior. Is this the backyard or front? It's a pretty awesome look for a backyard porch in my opinion, for a front, however, I will say its rather odd. Paint, landscaping and sprucing it up shouldn't be too much of a job but reconfiguring it would seem to be too much of a challenge and too much money, especially if you're moving completely renovated rooms around and such.

So if the home is turnkey, and for a steal, I don't know why he wouldn't jump on it but considering it does look old-er, if its outdated, I would make my decision based on what needs to be done inside of the house before curb appeal, and if it needs way too much work I wouldn't go for it.

But that's me. I dunno what kind of budget you're working with nor the price of the home, so if it looks achievable, I would totally go for it! :D

You could add some shutters to the second floor. None on the first floor as the windows are odd sizes. Add a deck across the front of the house and use lattice to hide the storm cellar door (remember to leave a way to get to the storm cellar). Then add some shrubs in front of the deck.