I adore old homes and have dreamed of owning an old farmhouse with small closets, wood floors, and lead glass windows. My aunt and uncle had one, complete with with a creaky front porch and a wood cooking stove.  I recall my cousins had very difficult childhoods growing up on a farm, so I shifted my thinking to a farmhouse without the farm.  Or maybe just an old house in the city.

Ivy writes of similar dreams at Curbly, but she’s found some affordable old homes that sell for as little as $29,000 or up into the hundreds of thousands.  Check this one out that could be yours for $46,000!  There’s my porch! 

{wanders away to dream at this site}

Go ahead and dream a little, too.  But before you jump into renovating an old home, be sure you keep a tight grip on the reality regarding the costs and problems that could accompany a big renovation project.  Marc’s blog walks us through his home renovation project (along with other "musings").   If you want to watch instead of read, check out these home renovaton videos as About.com.

Personally, I’m not the one to renovate, but when I win a lottery jackpot, I might just buy one that has already been done!