The high ceilings and some of the wood work are nice. Kitchen and baths are a gut job. Who knows if that addition was permitted or not. You'd have to be willing to live with the rock can't see it moving. There have to be other, better options.

I'm really sad that the water is turned off and we aren't able to see the indoor waterfall. I'm assuming it ran into the "koi pond".

You need to understand that the rock will be living there far longer than you. There's a reason they built around it - that's where it stays. It's a cool house, it'll take a lot of work to fix, just don't fool yourself into thinking you can have the house sans rock.

Love it! I would however get that price dropped and consider returning the home to its original plan - keeping the part to the left of the rock ( where the brick is ) and have the rock be back outside... be ready for a long haul of renovating and shelling out money.... you must really love this property and area to make that sort of investment......definitely go see it and bring a contractor or at least an architect with you!

Good luck!

Funny, attention grabbing, title!

I imagine the cold and dampness that comes up through the rock/floor would wreak havoc on your heating bills. Just something to consider.

On the other hand, this house has great potential to be a Design Dilemma star. But truly, if you love this house and can get it for a better price, then grab your dream.

It looks like an addition, to me, as well. Steps were outside stairs; shingles were outside shingles and the were just left there.

I can see why this property has grabbed you.

First, is the price. I don’t know where you live, but around here, you couldn’t get a buildable lot for double the price of this house.

And, around here (not kidding), the rock itself would cost close to a thousand dollars to have it delivered and dropped in position. I haven’t even added on the stone work.

What if you buy it and treat the stone room as an indoor spa area? Looks like you are in the climate which would appreciate a huge space with some benefits.

You could have a hot tub, some real trees, etc whatever.

I think it is one cool house.

I just reread the listing. You are in VT! You need a spa room!

Just got back from Manchester and the outlets. Just an hour away. If this is a second home, how far is a ski trail? You could rent it out.

After you you go walk through, please let us know what you think. It would be a most interesting project!

JudyG, I was thinking of the income potential also. Airbnb...vrbo...

Nice.

ETA: Mary you have your first renters...Me and Judy (always wanted to learn to ski....I know how to do outlets...*wink wink*)

The AirB&B does well there. People want to ski and have fun and do not need ensuite baths. There is a gorgeous AirB&B in Manchester. it is a lovely home, clean, walk to the Center, but we are too old to share bathrooms or bedrooms, for that matter. We all snore, but no one admits it.

Please let us know what you decide. I am excited for you.

Gosh, where's Sophie, I wonder what money figure she'd put on this for the remodeling.

It looks like someone built this home themselves so I would be very concerned for my family's safety. Find a safer, cheaper, and fun project.

NO , Noooooo ! It's horrible!

What an interesting house! I don't know if I would buy that property, but I would certainly have fun exploring it and figuring out the possibilities. That crazy big room must be an addition as I can't imagine anyone constructing the entire house in that layout from scratch.

I would probably put french doors between that space and the kitchen area and see if it is practical to zone that space for heating separately from the rest of the living space.

That property will always get lots of lookers but serious prospective buyers will be much harder to find. I wouldn't touch it unless your finances would allow it to remain empty for a full year while trying to sell. If you've got the deep pockets, it would be a very fun space but you'll have to learn to like that rock. If it was easy to remove, it would have been gone long ago,

If the lot is worth $150K, I would work on getting it for a lower price, tear the house down and build one with the features that you love about this one. It will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.

I wonder if the sale fell through as the inspector found issues that were very expensive to fix or not fixable at all? You tear the house down, you can have the boulder dynamited. If you buy the house and plan to keep it, plan on having bugs in your house as there is dirt under that rock that you aren't going to get rid of and bugs will come out of it.

I'll bet there isn't a lick of insulation in the whole place. Do you like to set fire to cash for fuel? If there was an inspection, you can ask to see the report.

I'd make sure nobody was murdered in there.

Redrum.

I completely understand where you are coming from. I tried to buy a similar type of home and then one night during contract negotiations I had a bad dream. My deceased mother was sitting on a a rock calling to me that the home would be the financial of my existence. (You know like the old mermaid movies). I woke up in a cold sweat, cancelled the contract negotiations and never looked back. That dream was dead on as the people that bought it was a general contractor who lost his shirt on the house and ended up filing bankruptcy. I mentioned this story (and it is somewhat poignant) as you have the siren song of a rock in your living room! That hesitation to proceed is your gut warning you of danger ahead. Heed the advice, find another property and don't regret the decision.

There are ways to make a rock outcrop look good IF a room is designed around it, i.e., with the outcrop a feature of the room to which the rest of the design caters. (See Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water living room hearth.) This particular situation suggests that someone had that intellectual idea in mind when starting this renovation, but then realized he/she might either not have had the artistic sense to pull it off or that the rock shape and color itself might not have been the best choice to start the effort. Good luck with your decision. If you go for it, I encourage you to develop, or have developed, a pretty well thought-through design (including furnishings placement) to proceed wth your renovation effort.

One can enjoy a rock in the wilderness

Some houses are meant to die.... this one is dying a slow death.. it appears to be a foreclosed property and sold as is. Last time I bought a foreclosed house bank would only accept cash so you may not be able to get a mortgage on it. Take it as a sign..

Watch out for radon! That much exposed rock indoors could create health problems that would be very expensive if it is even possible to remediate.

I feel like the living room was inspired by Elvis' jungle room at Graceland. It's just missing the jungle and water features. Just bump out the kitchen and you'll be good to go.

Boulders can help hold up a house and make it easier to take care of things under the house.

They are also helpful in blocking your house from tornadoes

And if the stairs don't give you enough of a work-out there is always rock climbing.

Just paint those walls Revere Pewter and you'll be all set. Kidding!!

I kind of love it.

Somewhere in the bible it says build your house on the rock and not on the sand, or something like that. The original owner must have taken it quite literally. I would pass this one, as there are too many wasted space.

Buy it, I love it!!! Follow your dreams! call your real estate agent right now. lol

Please no

Amazing. Mary, what is drawing you to this house?

Thank you everyone for your comments and advice. Like some curse in a horror movie this terrible desire ebbed the more people I shared it with. I still believe "better bad than boring" but you're right and there is a limit. While I was talking with a realtor she knew little about the house and I don't think I'll investigate further less my sanity leaves me again.

That is one ugly house !

!

Wise decision.

You made me LOL with this comment: "Like some curse in a horror movie this terrible desire ebbed the more people I shared it with."

Wish a blessing on the next owner and the previous occupants, and get on with your life!!

Yes Mary, I laughed about the horror movie comment - funny. But I'm glad you came to your senses and decided that house is no laughing matter. Challenges are fine. Actually I love them. I bought a fixer. No problem with that. But this house might as well have a "pentagram" painted on it!

If you're right, Mary, "better bad than boring," you should have jumped on this one. Really bad, but, I'll have to agree, not boring in the least. Congratulations on your decision. Hope Houzz served its purpose.

Too bad the Realtor didn't know much history on it as it would have been interesting to see what they were trying to do with it.

Mary, we can't wait to see what you find next. Keep us posted.

As of right now, this one is in 1st place for 2017 as the most scary, interesting, what were they thinking of dilemma posted- IMO.

I couldn't even see the rock at first due to all the shapes, patterns, textures, etc. But whatever floats your boat----

Love your horror movie comment also :). I think you should search for a house that's "interesting " rather than boring. "Bad" isn't always the best way to go.

btw, barncatz's Revere Pewter quip made me laugh out loud :) :)

Lol, omg! Go set up a showing, ask for the sellers disclosure, had to have been an addition, contact a structural engineer to come with you, in my area they will come out for free to give you an opinon and estimate, (although they wont be able to tell you what else is under the ground). And come up with cash and make a much lower offer under list price, based on your findings, (looks vacant, they've moved on, maybe they'll take your LOW offer since the other one feel through, this will become a nightmare for the poor sellers! Well and maybe the new buyer, buyer BEWARE). I'd want to know what comps the agent used, i can't imagine there are other comparables with a rock coming up from the slab! Is this listed way below market value? Where there's a will there's a way! Get a buyers agent, they'll help you!!

Willowshome-Just a FYI- this was a foreclosed house, sold as is. Mary has decided to move on and that is why the majority of us are celebrating that she came to her senses :)

Well, I live in a house with a waterfall and pond, and I love it, but to each their own. Someone else now has a chance, lol!

Mary, I promise, it was the right decision, go with the house where there is no siren on the rock drawing you to your financial doom! I love interesting not scary.

I recently purchased a home through HomePath. This is a site for unloading foreclosed homes around the country. You may not get a mortgage for this house, so if your serious, set a "top offer" in your mind. Start low and have a realtor who specializes in these type of transactions work on your behalf (not the listing agent, who probably gets perks for selling at or near asking price). You will need to use cash or a home equity line with your current home to make the offer stick. But don't let emotions go above your top offer. Be prepared to wait a long time for the offer to go through, but once they agree on your price, it will move quickly!! Based on the photos, you should have money set aside for major renovations. I hope that helps with your decision.
Sincerely,
Damian

Mary, did you buy this house?

Unless u are an architect and know how to handle this Or u have loads of money - I’d let it go. U could end up spending a fortune taking it out or working around it. :)