I know, I know, there are like a zillion of these posts on this forumn--sorry to add one more. I have recently become interested in the history of Sears homes and have copies of both Houses by Mail and The Houses that Sears Built--love them--am dreaming about homes now...

I just purchased my first home ever and my story reminds me a little of some of the ones included in the books--lots of saving and sacrificing to get into a house. I was told that the house I purchased was a kit home, but that's it--no additional information. Inside the home, the lower level is similiar to that Vallonia model but reversed--bedrooms are to the left of the dining room.

I am scheduled to close on the house on 6/20 and it is a foreclosure so no past owners to ask about the history of it and I haven't been able to dig around in it much. However, I am including the link to the MLS listing of the home which shows various photos of both the outside and inside.

The novice that I am, I've found it difficult to compare the house photos with the ones in the books given that the porch is now enclosed, all the windows have awful looking awnings on them (which made it tricky for me to discern the roof line at first)...

The house is definitely old--the siding is asphalt shingles and I think all of the inside doors are original as they are five panel and a couple even have the glass doorknobs. The floors are hardwood and are oak I believe.

The floorplan: front door opens into the living room--straight back is the dining room--straight back is the kitchen--straight back is a butler's pantry--or so it seems--I don't know if that was an add on later or what--the ceiling is shorter than in the kitchen and the door casing is curved instead of square. There are two bedrooms on the main level and a bathroom in the middle.

Here's the link:
http://public.mlswis.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?20080603132422475079000000&id=1

I live in southeast Wisconsin (right on the IL boarder) and this home is located incredibly close to where the train station used to be so in theory, it is possible that it could have been a kit home, but really I have little to go on.

Thanks in advance for whatever help you can provide.
Marieke Spiegelhoff

Hello Friend,
As I told the last poster, go to your county Auditor's office and find out what plat book it is in and then you have to go to the Recorder's office and they will help you find out when the house was built, who built it and the first owners of the house and from there right up to the time you buy the house.

You will be surprised on how much you can out about your house even before you should move in.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones