It has been a complicated and stressful couple of weeks with regards to our effort to purchase a property for the hostel.

In short, we have just terminated the contract we had to purchase a house in the Mesa Junction area of Pueblo that, on the inside at least, seemed like it would be a “turnkey” set up, with some minor interior remodeling to create a private space for Angie and myself. It turned out that the interior changes would have been the least of our worries. Although we really loved the house (a beautiful Victorian that is on the city historic register) and its near perfect location, we felt it was not wise to move forward with this deal.

The principal reason for terminating the contract was a complex issue with the property line at the back of the house, which did not match the location of the fence, and also resulted in some exceptions to be added to the title commitment that were not acceptable to us (ok, our attorney), and quite likely not acceptable to our lender.

Basically, if we had accepted the property line as is, or accepted the resolutions that were being offered by the sellers, it was still possible that we could be required to move the rear fence at some point and lose about two feet along the back of the lot, which is narrow to begin with. The rear of the house is where we would have built the fire escape and was also where our guests would have accessed the cellar for bike storage and maintenance. The risk of losing that space was a big deal for us, though it may not be for other people buying this lovely home.

There were other issues with the house, and the purchase process, that had given us pause prior to this point. The concern about the setback at the rear of the house was what Angie and I jokingly call a game-ending defect. We have concluded that such a small lot would not really be workable for us, so our must-haves, moving forward, include a garage, or at least space to add one. We thought maybe we could get by without one in on this property, but the issues we encountered in the due diligence process led us to conclude that we really do need one, for bike storage if nothing else. Angie was in the one-car garage at our rented home yesterday and she says it really brought home to her how valuable that space is.

Our search continues, and we are deeply grateful for the patience of our real estate broker and the support of our attorney (and both our families) as we continue on our quest for the perfect location for our hostel.