">HomeOwnerNut

You remember the place: the house that you never walked past when you were a child. For me, it was the Victorian by the creek with peeling paint tucked behind an overgrown trellis and oak trees with limbs like an old man’s bones. Old newspapers were piled on the porch. Ivy snaked through the wrought-iron fence and scraggly cats fought over rodents on the patchy lawn.

What is it about Victorian architecture, anyway? Well-kept or restored Vicks are a delight. There’s one overlooking the sea where I live that always takes my breath away. And it’s green, too, with well-matched energy efficient replacement windows and a new copper roof.  Nonetheless, an unkempt old house is enough to scare the pants off of me to this day.

How to terrify, Pt. 1

Photo by Austin Home Restorations

According to the folks at Austin Home Restorations, a scary house has to be old and large, have neglected house exteriors and a spooky background story.

Salem architecture

Photo by The Mirror Up to Nature

Not all spooky homes are Victorians. I’ve never been to Massachusetts, but I can see that some parts of Salem are haunted to this day. The exteriors of this place recall the Amityville home where those gruesome murders took place. Come on, people! Painting an old house isn’t all that difficult.

Bewitchingly apt

Photo by Andrew's Blog

This New Jersey home in Freehold was used for the exteriors in the production of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Add a dark night with clouds streaming across the face of the moon, mix with a dash of moaning hounds, and finish it off with a wind-blown creaking gate. Brrr!

Green center of horror

Photo by The Green ABC's Blog

Indiana’s April Brewster Smythe posted this blog photo to promote the Green Center Haunted School House. Just a few miles from Churubusco, Green Center is located at the intersection of CR 300S and CR 300E in Noble County, just in case you want to walk by some creepy evening.

Just last week Forbes announced American cities where housing prices are circling the drain. Las Vegas led the way, followed by two cities in Idaho, two in Arizona and one in California. Of the cities in peril, four are in zones with scorching hot summer climates. I wonder if the Sun Belt has overextended new home building.

Las Vegas prices have dropped 15 percent from Oct. 2010 to Sept. 2011 and Forbes predicts another five percent tumble this coming year. The other warm weather cities are Fresno, Calif.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz. Don’t let the idea of desert living put you off. Look at these tasty designs.

For the unique desert nomad

Photo by Zillow

Three box shapes stand above the desert floor on concrete footings at this Dessert Nomad House in Tuscon. The price has dropped $100,000 since February.

Desert house exteriors that sizzle

Photo by TrenDir

The glowing cube of this Chen + Suchart Studio house in Tempe features energy efficient industrial glass that keeps you cool inside. All you need to do is maintain your central air conditioning.

Wings and things

Photo by Home Design Home

In Scottsdale, The Desert Wing House uses Arizona copper and rammed-earth walls made from local soils to keep you cool. The 8,000 square-foot home overlooks a golf course. Brent Kendle, architect, wanted to create a see-through home that still provided an element of privacy. See more photos of the place at Kendle Design.

Find yourself in Fresno

Photo by In Phoenix

Fresno, in Central California, saw home prices sag by 11 percent this past year and Forbes predicts a free fall of nearly 10 percent more in 2012. California desert homes borrow from Spanish Colonial architecture, a style that keeps residents cool in hot summer weather. Buy yourself stylish awning windows for mild spring days and Indian summers.

Want to buy? Go West!