Apartment Choice

Garage sales are pretty much the only institutions in America where one person's trash truly is another one's treasure. They're perfect for lightening your load before a move on the one hand, or, if you've just settled in, acquiring new stuff for a mere fraction of the original price. And most of the stuff you'll come across is, admittedly, pretty junky. But once in a while, you'll find something special. Only just how special those unicorns hiding in someone's driveway garage sale could turn out to be might astonish you. As proof, check out these four amazing garage sale finds that ended up being worth way more than their purchasers originally guessed. If these don't convince you to think twice about pawing through other people's refuse (or holding onto what you've got if you suspect it's worth something), we don't know what will. Related Articles The Declaration of Independence In 2007,  Michael Sparks of Tennessee picked up what he...

The long retail spine of Sydney Road, Brunswick, just north of Melbourne's CBD, was once a prosperous trading outpost on the way to the goldfields. These days it's a bohemian mix of variety stores, op shops, halal butchers and Lebanese bakeries. Take a side street to the west, however, and a different picture emerges. Sandwiched between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line is an area undergoing rapid and widespread transformation. Light industry is fast being replaced by mid- rise apartment buildings , their inhabitants attracted by the short commute into town and cheaper prices than in the city's south-east. The quality of these units is, on the whole, depressingly bad; think poor ventilation and bedrooms that "borrow" natural light (a weasel word for being dark and windowless). The occasional jazzy façade tries feebly to make up for otherwise cheap construction amid a chorus of greys. At ground level, carpark roller doors alternate with mean pocket garden...