Disinterested Buyer, Pt 1

This is going to be an on-going set of posts as I try (slowly) to find a place to live. Currently, I live in a so-so apartment. It's major disadvantage is that it's a little smaller than I want, and not really the greatest shape. The major advantages is that compared to my income, it's cheap, and it has off-street parking. This means that I've been saving up a good deal of money for the past few years, and not having to worry about where to park.

Now, I'm starting to be more serious about buying a place. However, every once in a while, I see a picture online that make me second guess this decision. Generally, it's something like this:



I mean, it's like being in some sort of halloween refugee camp. What were they thinking?