Edit ArticleHow to Identify a Sears Kit Home If you think houses built from kits are shoddy, cheap and obvious -- think again. Between 1908 and 1940, Sears sold about 70,000 kit homes in 48 states through their mail-order Modern Homes program, with 370 designs that you might not readily recognize as a kit. Sears kit homes were shipped via boxcar and came with a 75-page instruction book. Each kit contained 10,000 - 30,000 pieces and the framing members were marked to facilitate construction. Many decades later, those same markings can help identify a home as a Sears kit home. So if you're wondering whether that adorable little bungalow with the big eaves (or even your own house) is a kit home, read on for signs that will help you identify whether it is indeed a historically significant Sears kit home. Verify the construction date. Check the home's floor plan, footprint (exterior dimensions) and room size, using a field guide to Sears Homes, such as "Finding The Houses That Sears Built" (2004, Gentle Beam Publications) or "Houses By Mail" (1986).

Make note of characteristic column arrangement on front porch and five-piece eave brackets. Check for a square block on molding joints at staircase landings, where moldings meet at odd angles.Cat Food Price Battle Cats Look for stamped lumber on the exposed beams/joists/rafters in the basement, crawl space or attic.Mexican Almonds Weight Loss Look for shipping labels.Bowie Knife Uk Shop Visit the courthouse and inspect old building permits and grantor records. Inspect plumbing fixtures for marks, such as "R" or "SR". Look for markings on back of sheetrock. Pay special attention to roof lines and chimneys and other details of construction. Sears Homes were purposefully designed to look like the popular housing styles of the day.

The Neo Tudor (shown here) was a very popular housing style in the late 1920s and early 30s, but not all Neo Tudors are Sears Homes. If the home's footprint (exterior dimensions) is not an exact match to the exterior dimensions of the subject house, then it is probably not a true Sears Home. Keep in mind that front porches are most likely to have been modified. Sears did not sell 100,000 homes, as is commonly reported by the media. In their 1930s promotional literature, Sears reported, "100,000 homes now backed by our guarantee" (see 1934 Sears Modern Homes catalog, rear cover) but this "guarantee" encompassed the sales of Sears building materials, too. Sales numbers obtained from stockholder reports show that Sears actually sold about 70,000 - 75,000 of their kit homes. This number is much more likely, especially in light of the fact that Aladdin Homes, based in Bay City Michigan, sold about 75,000 kit homes during their 75 years in the kit home business. Contact the local historical society for help and leads.

However, keep in mind that more than 80% of the people who think they have a Sears Home are incorrect (see Warnings). Somewhere between 30 - 50% of Sears Homes were modified and customized when built, making identification of these homes difficult. "The Houses That Sears Built" tells the story of a homebuyer who wanted two feet added to the whole width of his 35-foot wide bungalow. Sears happily agreed to this modification, charging the wanna-be homeowner a mere $64 for the extra 70 square feet! More than 80% of the people who think they have a Sears Home are wrong. There are many reasons for this, but put simply, there were several other companies selling kit homes on a national level, such as Gordon Van Tine, Aladdin, Lewis Homes, Harris Brothers, Sterling Homes and more. It's likely that the name "Sears kit home" has become a generic label for "kit homes." The simpler the design of the home, the more difficult it will be to verify that it's a Sears kit home.Sears' second-largest shareholder has sold off more than 700,000 of the department store's shares this month, after a string of recent moves to boost its stake in the struggling retailer.

According to SEC filings, Bruce Berkowitz's Fairholme Capital has sold 706,600 Sears shares since the beginning of March, reducing its ownership to 27.3 million shares. That's down from the more than 28 million shares it owned in February. Still, Fairholme remains Sears' second-biggest shareholder, owning roughly 25 percent of its outstanding shares. CEO Eddie Lampert has the biggest holding, at 29 percent. A representative for Fairholme did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Sears has said that it does not comment on shareholders. Sears stock has fallen 16 percent so far this year, and is down 53 percent over the past 12 months. But Berkowitz, who was named to Sears' board last month, told Fairholme investors in February that his thesis on Sears "cannot be disproven." "Sears has a vast real estate empire complemented by unique businesses. Sears also has constraints, and we understand those constraints," Berkowitz told Fairholme investors on a February conference call.

"The facts tell us that we own valuable assets at historic discounts. The facts determine our confidence and willingness to stay the course. Either Sears' price is going to climb to our assessment of intrinsic value, or we are wrong about that value and it will decline toward the current stock price." Berkowitz added that he presented his firm's view in front of the Sears board in January, including his concerns about its cash burn. When he left, he said he "did not sense any disagreement among the board with any of the points that I raised." The day he made his comments, Sears shares closed at $17.52. They were trading near $17 Thursday morning. During the fourth quarter, Sears reported a loss of $580 million, substantially wider than its $159 million loss in the prior-year period. After the release, Neil Saunders, CEO of Conlumino retail research firm, told investors "there is worryingly little evidence to suggest a material improvement in either the performance of Sears or Kmart."