It looks like we may be able to close on the house and move in before Thanksgiving! WOW, that is super fast!
Considering we just heard on Friday October 30th that the sellers' bank is OK-ing the short sale, it will make it right about 3 weeks to close. Our mortgage broker ROCKS!
Today was our inspection. The good news is that all the HVAC is in good shape. The bad news is the electrical is aluminum wiring. My dad (our resident expert on all things construction and electrical) wants us to upgrade the electrical panel to 200 amps (from 100) and consider the costs of the wiring (as in, SOON). I think he considers it a major fire hazard, so yeah, we'll probably do something about it in the near future.
The water heater is so old they couldn't get it lit at first due to the amount of rust. When they did get it lit they almost immediately turned it off. So that needs replaced (not a big deal).
The roof needs some patching. It is about 7 years old, so that is not too bad. We're around half its life expectancy right now. Add some flashing to exposed wood and pipe areas, and we're pretty good. A bit expensive, but good.
Oh, and the toilets need to be replaced. Yeah, they're 40 years old and original to the house. The surprising thing is that they were in good condition until recently - like when the water was shut off for months while it was on the market. But somehow I'm not ready to reach my hand in there and clean the thick brown grime that was in them. Plus the whole breathing in of the fumes, since you do have to get up close to clean. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Yeesh!
All in all, a pretty good prognosis. You expect houses to have some problems, and these are all manageable. Since they're also within our budget at this time, we'll go ahead and take care of them soon. Well, in the case of the water heater, even before we move in. I happen to like hot showers, don't you?
I think the plan will be to file taxes next year ASAP, and then use the homebuyer's tax credit/rebate thingy ($8,000!) to replace the single pane windows with dual panes. We may even do it earlier and (gasp!) put it on a credit card and pay it off when the tax refunds come in.
Other than deferred maintenance stuff, the house is in good shape. The house was painted just before they put it on the market, and the carpets just need a good steam clean. The landscape is shot, since there has been no water for a while, but that's ok. I'm going to take advantage of the general deadness of the lawn and add some low-water or drought-tolerant planter beds. Also, in the garage I found some extra tiles for the floors and tile counter tops, so yea! If anything gets broken we have replacements.
Yea, I am excited!
Considering we just heard on Friday October 30th that the sellers' bank is OK-ing the short sale, it will make it right about 3 weeks to close. Our mortgage broker ROCKS!
Today was our inspection. The good news is that all the HVAC is in good shape. The bad news is the electrical is aluminum wiring. My dad (our resident expert on all things construction and electrical) wants us to upgrade the electrical panel to 200 amps (from 100) and consider the costs of the wiring (as in, SOON). I think he considers it a major fire hazard, so yeah, we'll probably do something about it in the near future.
The water heater is so old they couldn't get it lit at first due to the amount of rust. When they did get it lit they almost immediately turned it off. So that needs replaced (not a big deal).
The roof needs some patching. It is about 7 years old, so that is not too bad. We're around half its life expectancy right now. Add some flashing to exposed wood and pipe areas, and we're pretty good. A bit expensive, but good.
Oh, and the toilets need to be replaced. Yeah, they're 40 years old and original to the house. The surprising thing is that they were in good condition until recently - like when the water was shut off for months while it was on the market. But somehow I'm not ready to reach my hand in there and clean the thick brown grime that was in them. Plus the whole breathing in of the fumes, since you do have to get up close to clean. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Yeesh!
All in all, a pretty good prognosis. You expect houses to have some problems, and these are all manageable. Since they're also within our budget at this time, we'll go ahead and take care of them soon. Well, in the case of the water heater, even before we move in. I happen to like hot showers, don't you?
I think the plan will be to file taxes next year ASAP, and then use the homebuyer's tax credit/rebate thingy ($8,000!) to replace the single pane windows with dual panes. We may even do it earlier and (gasp!) put it on a credit card and pay it off when the tax refunds come in.
Other than deferred maintenance stuff, the house is in good shape. The house was painted just before they put it on the market, and the carpets just need a good steam clean. The landscape is shot, since there has been no water for a while, but that's ok. I'm going to take advantage of the general deadness of the lawn and add some low-water or drought-tolerant planter beds. Also, in the garage I found some extra tiles for the floors and tile counter tops, so yea! If anything gets broken we have replacements.
Yea, I am excited!
1 comment:
Hi there Lara,
YIPPEEEE!!! So happy for you guys!
I think its fun to read the progress reports on your Blog so keep posting every once in a while. When you have been in the house for a year, you can look back and see how it all came together. DON'T FORGET to take pictures! It is very cool to see the BEFORE and AFTER shots. Easier to explain what it looked like BEFORE to other people who may see the house AFTER.
Maybe a shot of both of you in front of the house for the records. The yard BEFORE, The windows BEFORE, etc.
Wow! Your very own HOME. So cool.
TTYL,
Isaac
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