The Cellar » Adventures of Home Ownership

bbro · 4/03/2021 6:47 pm

@monster - I was in PA the last two weeks and on one of the last walks encountered a squirrel with Max. The fucker just stood there waiting for us. Max almost tore my arm off trying to get to it

@bruce - You don't know my dogs. They go after the SMELL of cats. They've almost pulled me over because of cats, dogs, birds, squirrels, and leaves blowing. Like I said, excitable.

Diaphone Jim · 4/04/2021 11:12 am

It is only a matter of time before your dogs cause you, someone else, another animal or themselves serious harm.
They need professional behavior modification.

bbro · 4/04/2021 3:41 pm

Diaphone Jim wrote:
It is only a matter of time before your dogs cause you, someone else, another animal or themselves serious harm.
They need professional behavior modification.

No shit. Thank god for you telling me that or I would have never guessed it

monster · 4/04/2021 5:48 pm

snorted, I'm sorry. Thanks for being willing to rescue them bbro (even though I'm not cynophile)

monster · 5/20/2021 11:26 am

monster wrote:
Looks like the housing market here is going the same way now. My neighbor just listed her house Friday, got 4 offers Saturday, more interest from showings on Sunday, agent has given buyers until 4pm today (Monday) to put their best offer in

I just learned it sold for $20K over the asking price -about 7%

5/20/2021 11:55 am

bbro wrote:
No shit. Thank god for you telling me that or I would have never guessed it

Soooo, you're waiting to get sued, then?

Also, don't admit that you have two problem dogs. That's only ammo for the person that's gonna be suing you.

bbro · 7/11/2021 9:52 pm

It's been a while since updating, but you know, life. I've put in a couple offers that didn't get selected. But, that all changed today! I had once accepted for an 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom 1880 sq ft house with a 2 car detached garage (plus extra bay), shed, and empty lot next door. The lot is almost a full acre!! It needs some updating (so much wood paneling!), but it is solid otherwise (to my untrained eye). It is a 1970 house, so I'll have to be careful when removing the paneling or just fill in the grooves and paint them.

Some things I'm planning on first - changing the flooring in the laundry room to black and white check. Paint the walls to white to brighten up the place. They enclosed the car port and made it into a "sunroom" complete with crappy "carpet". I'm pulling that bad boy up and either painting the concrete or having someone apply an epoxy floor. There was some mushy places in the lawn when we were touring it, so I want to check the drains to make sure they aren't clogged. I'm pretty sure I can do that myself, though. I also need to wash down the cabinets and redo the backsplash cause I think I can do it myself, too. I will replace the counter tops eventually, though. Both bathrooms have glass doors and I fucking HATE them. So, I'm going to remove them as soon as possible, too

Some things I'll hire someone to do:
- Clean out the gutters
- Update the crawl space with new plastic and insulation
- Cut the lawn
- Install a partial fence. I'm not sure how I want everything set up yet, so I figured I'd set up the sides near woods with some chain link and a temp fence on the side that is likely to change.

There's more I want to do, but that will come in time.

Sorry there's no pictures, but I didn't take any and if I pasted ones from the listing, then I'm essentially giving you my address

griff · 7/12/2021 5:49 am

Congrats!

monster · 7/12/2021 6:34 am

Yay well done! Congratulations

bbro · 7/12/2021 3:55 pm

Thanks griff!

Thanks monster!

Inspection is scheduled for Wednesday

xoxoxoBruce · 7/13/2021 11:52 pm

I hate shower doors too. Sounds like you've got a lot of work to do.
Does this mean that well earned vacation is ...uh, delayed?

bbro · 7/14/2021 5:18 pm

@Bruce - nah, I probably wasn't going to do that until next year anyways.

The inspection got moved because the sellers are putting in a new heat exchanger (with a warranty) and that needs to be done first. I also ordered a radon test and septic inspection. So, the inspection is now Tuesday.

Now, I'm dealing with insurance agents for homeowner's insurance. One agent sent me a quote from a well known company that has some good things on it. I'm waiting on a quote from my current agent to compare simply because I've been with them for a while. I haven't actually had to use them at all, though.

I'm also looking into landscaping and going to start reaching out for scheduling and estimates. At least for a little bit. It's not a small expense with the amount of land I have. I might have to suck it up and cut it myself.

Lastly, I've been researching fences. I was going to do a chain link fence, but I think I might go with a rail and wire type. There's already rail type fencing in front of the empty lot. I'm only going to fence in the yard behind the house for now. I'm gong to put the whole thing in instead of having a partial temporary fence.

At least all the people in THIS sale seem competent.

Also - any tips on finding appliances (washer and dryer first) are welcome

Last edited by bbro (7/14/2021 5:20 pm)

monster · 7/14/2021 5:46 pm

best deals on appliances are in the week preceding a federal holiday up to the next ad changeover date for whatever store you are in. Best of all is Thanksgiving but I'm guessing you can't wait that long. Labor day might be decent. Buying several together should get you a nice discount any time of year, even if that isn't an advertised doffer at the time. Also some stores now offer a deal if they lower the price within a certain time period of your purchase, they will refund the difference.

xoxoxoBruce · 7/14/2021 9:50 pm

I didn't notice what kind of heat. If it's oil you may notice the insurance policy having a short paragraph saying if your oil leaks into the ground, $50 grand and they're done. A friend in NJ had a tank leak and after the $50 grand she's stuck with a $215,000 state mandated remediation, or can never sell the house..

Diaphone Jim · 7/15/2021 12:01 pm

Long term reliability in a septic system is hugely a matter of luck. I hope yours is good.

bbro · 7/15/2021 4:23 pm

@monster - thanks! I might be able to wait until September. I'm trying to bundle a bunch of large purchases together so I can open a store credit card. They usually have some kind of special deal on initial sign up

@bruce - The heat uses propane. There's a small tank outside the house above ground for that.

@jim - You're just a ray of fucking sunshine aren't you?

monster · 7/15/2021 10:30 pm

bbro wrote:
@monster - thanks! I might be able to wait until September. I'm trying to bundle a bunch of large purchases together so I can open a store credit card. They usually have some kind of special deal on initial sign up

indeed... but most of those deals are less beneficial than the fed holidaysale prices/what you can negotiate for a multiple appliance purchase (unless you are not planning to pay the card off immediately to avoid interest/fees). Lowes and Home Despot employees -for example- have a lot more wiggle room in the price than you might imagine for big box chain store operations -especially with a large purchase.. But if you are going for the new store card "bonus" you are already on the hook and they have no real motivation to make it cheaper for you.....

bbro · 7/16/2021 4:14 pm

monster wrote:
indeed... but most of those deals are less beneficial than the fed holidaysale prices/what you can negotiate for a multiple appliance purchase (unless you are not planning to pay the card off immediately to avoid interest/fees). Lowes and Home Despot employees -for example- have a lot more wiggle room in the price than you might imagine for big box chain store operations -especially with a large purchase.. But if you are going for the new store card "bonus" you are already on the hook and they have no real motivation to make it cheaper for you.....

I'm planning on hitting up Lowes for most of it. Home Depot has the floor I want, though. Worst case, I just put it on my REI card to get cash back I'm trying to wait to get anything until after the inspection just in case. I don't want to use all the reserve, then find out that there's something that needs done right away.

griff · 7/16/2021 4:18 pm

Yeah, this is a good moment for patience.

monster · 7/16/2021 4:23 pm

bbro wrote:
monster wrote:
indeed... but most of those deals are less beneficial than the fed holidaysale prices/what you can negotiate for a multiple appliance purchase (unless you are not planning to pay the card off immediately to avoid interest/fees). Lowes and Home Despot employees -for example- have a lot more wiggle room in the price than you might imagine for big box chain store operations -especially with a large purchase.. But if you are going for the new store card "bonus" you are already on the hook and they have no real motivation to make it cheaper for you.....

I'm planning on hitting up Lowes for most of it. Home Depot has the floor I want, though. Worst case, I just put it on my REI card to get cash back I'm trying to wait to get anything until after the inspection just in case. I don't want to use all the reserve, then find out that there's something that needs done right away.

Yeah I get most of my appliances from Lowes because they tend to have the best deals, but I shop around JIC. They also price match and will honor future better prices.

xoxoxoBruce · 7/18/2021 10:35 pm

Diaphone Jim wrote:
Long term reliability in a septic system is hugely a matter of luck. I hope yours is good.

More than luck it's what you feed it, they work with bacteria gobbling up what you flush down. Over feeding like with a garbage disposal is bad, but the worst is cleaning products that kill the workers, the bacteria. A little common sense goes a long way.

Diaphone Jim · 7/19/2021 11:10 am

Garbage disposals are not environmentally sound any where, but are quick death to a septic system.

BigV · 7/19/2021 8:26 pm

Only if you're using them wrong.

tw · 7/20/2021 10:11 am

bbro wrote:
Also - any tips on finding appliances (washer and dryer first) are welcome

Been dealnig with a non-profit that has all new white appliances. Appreciate what has happened to that industry in the past decades. Bean counters merged appliances companies so that Whirlpool. Hotpoint, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, etc are all one company. Then sold off the Neptune series to Samsung to pay for those bonuses.

A friend bought a KitchenAid refrigerator. Suffered multiple ice maker failures until a replacement one finally stopped failing.

In that non-profit, the two year old Maytag washer died. I traced it to and replaced a defective electronics control board. Almost $200. (Electronic parts are sealed in epoxy so I could not fix it.

Kitchenaid dishwasher - redesigned plastic part that holds a spinning washer arm - shattered. Was not discovered until the new kitchen floor massively warped.

Both the Whirlpool refrigerator and freezer - freon leaks. Worse, the temperature warning light for a warm refrigerator only trips well above 50 degrees. So plenty of milk went bad one week before its expiration date. Freezer was in the high twenties and did not trip the 'too warm' alarm. The freezer was recharged (which meant cutting and changing freon pipes). After over $700 spent trying to leak stop the refrigerator, that two year old $2100 refrigerator was finally declared dead.

Whirlpool has been redesigning appliances to cut cost. As a result, they went running to Trump, twice, for protection from Samsung, LG, and Bosch. Problem is those appliances are now made in America. And have the reliability what was once the domain of American white appliance manufacturers.

Only appliance that has not failed in only a year - a Frigidaire refrigerator.

Meanwhile also checked apartments with new appliances. In six months, one of the Whirlpool refrigerators is now at just below 50. But since it is not alarming, management insists it is OK. They are entrenching denial. They were warned as to why appliances, now from foreign manufacturers, are more reliable.

Or one need simply read Consumer Reports. That can be honest because it does not take advertising.

glatt · 7/20/2021 5:03 pm

I'm with tw on this one. If the house has appliances, and they work, I would keep them. Even if they are dirty/ugly/gross, whatever. Spend a day cleaning every nook and cranny of them if that's what it takes to accept them. Buying new appliances is a gamble. They don't make them like they used to.