Colby, Mark, Bill, and everybody:

Thanks for some insightful advice. The idea of taking a contractor
along when I'm home-shopping for an older home is so smart, I'm
surprised no one ever mentioned it to me (or on any DIY show that I
know of) before. Sort of like "inspect-as-you-go."

The wind-up is that we lowballed at 60K (because whoever said we might
have to add *5* zeroes was absolutely right), were declined, and that's
the end of that.

I learned after having bid that this former bed-and-breakfast (HEL-LO,
Bill, in New Eagle--exactly diagonal from ya'll) is notorious in the
local real estate market in this toney county. Apparently the old dude
selling started out at 130K and has been coming down (to 80K) for
almost eight years. A GREAT home inspector who didn't charge a penny,
the former head of the real estate agents society in this particular
county, told me the seller is possibly a little disturbed...

Anyway, thanks again for some great words. (And Bill, don't I know the
feeling of gorging an old house with money, and then hearing the new
owner ripped everything out in the first week. As Andy Sipowicz would
say, I'm keepin' a good thought for ya.)