Anyone have a horror story about house hunting they'd like to share? I'd like to needlessly panic about remote possibilities for the next week, so I feel like I'm doing something.
When I bought a townhouse back in 2008, there was a small bit of termite damage on a doorframe to an attached shed. It had been treated many years ago and was noted on inspection as old damage, with no present or recent termite issue. The bank did not care. They saw "termite" on the paperwork and said "no mortgage without a new treatment." Only problem was the HOA had an exterminator on a pre-paid service agreement, and he wasn't coming out unless it was new damage. I tried to hire my own, and got threats from HOA that this would void their service contract. I beat them over the head until they got their exterminator to come out and note the condition in a letter to the bank.
On my second home, there was a crack in the concrete driveway, and my homeowners insurance refused to cover the house until I fixed it. Bank said no loan without proof of insurance. It was a tiny crack! I wound up having to pay a handyman company to come out with some super-heavy-duty caulk/sealant and fill up the crack. I mostly paid so that I could have a letter from a licensed contractor stating issue was fixed. Insurance company didn't even come out to re-look at the house, just sent me my policy.
These stories make me feel ill with stress at even the thought of being responsible for such an expensive thing I'm meant to be looking after while its owned by a bank. I think I'll stick with renting until I have way more money so I can pay for the stress to go away.
Instead of my plans, I dropped everything and helped a friend whose house flooded. A pipe in between the first and second floors burst during the deep cold snap the weekend before, and we believe it was pouring water (from an open 1/2" pipe) into the house for about 3 days.
Nearly 2 feet of standing water in the basement, total saturation of kitchen and dining room floors, probable saturation of the beams in the ceiling and beneath the floors of said rooms. Sump pump cut out because it couldn't keep up, and then it shorted when it was submerged. So I bought a beefier, fully submersible pump.
The house was set to 65F, but we think the insulation in that spot was poor enough that it just didn't matter. The break was in an elbow near an exterior wall.
So I'm now the proud owner of a 74 gpm sump pump, and I've learned a hell of a lot about emergency water mitigation.
That, my friends, is some scary shit. Leave your house for a few days, come back, and it's fucking ruined.
It happened to the house my family lived in when I was about 14. A tap in an upstairs bathroom exploded, and sprayed water for about two days. Insurance paid for the entire house to be dried and redecorated... but a real ball ache overall.
I'm paranoid about water damage. If I had that sort of situation, I'd worry forever about whether I handled the remediation properly, if there is mold now growing in the walls, etc.
I'm like 99% certain it's a complete write-off, so I doubt there's much to do. The house was in rough shape - it's worth $96k in perfect condition, and in its present shape (excluding water damage), I would not give it more than $45k.
There's water in parts of the electrical in the dining room ceiling, so that has to be redone. And guess what, it's knob-and-tube - so it gets redone to the breaker for much dinero.
Floors in 3 rooms will likely need to be replaced, and so will ceilings in 4.
No way will insurance repair that. Best case, they cut him a check and bulldoze.
You think that's scary? My apartment building has a sprinkler system. If that shit goes off, everything I own will be soaked. My valuable and difficult to replace things are mostly electronic or paper in nature. The electronic things are powered on pretty much 24/7/365, so they'll be fried.
The renter's insurance I have specifically covers the situation where a neighbor or accident sets it off.
If it ever happens, I'll be taking full advantage of the fact that I no longer have to worry about caring for so many worldly possessions. I'll be taking the money and getting on a plane/boat.
You think that's scary? My apartment building has a sprinkler system. If that shit goes off, everything I own will be soaked. My valuable and difficult to replace things are mostly electronic or paper in nature. The electronic things are powered on pretty much 24/7/365, so they'll be fried.
The renter's insurance I have specifically covers the situation where a neighbor or accident sets it off.
If it ever happens, I'll be taking full advantage of the fact that I no longer have to worry about caring for so many worldly possessions. I'll be taking the money and getting on a plane/boat.
Scary is how we figured out there was water in the electrical system. Tried turning on the dining room light, and we heard the entire ceiling buzz and hum. It was arcing. That's how we found out the light is on an ungrounded circuit.
I feel a lot better about my decision to not buy an old house.
Also I like the reserved parking spot just for our car. The last time I had a dedicated parking place, just for my car, was when I lived at my parents' place, back in 2001. But that house is in a small town in the country, so it's not as if there was ever a lack of space on the street.
But now, after living in Berlin for ten years, and having a vehicle for 7 of those years (first a van, then nothing, then a car), this is the first time that whenever I drive home... no need to search for on-street parking!
Booooo-yah!
And considering we are now closer than before to the center of the city, it's a really good deal to have parking included.
So when our mortgage originator told us that we would need the requisite cash at closing, what they actually meant was that we need the requisite cash before they'll schedule the closing.
This was not communicated to us in any form. We wrote our entire timeline on the premise that we'd need the balance day-of.
It's not a huge deal - it just means we may need to push closing back.
I'm just mad because the only reason we have to is because we were not given the right information when we needed to make decisions.
(It totally makes sense that they'd want to verify funds ahead of time, no doubt - it's just wicked irritating that we can't seem to get totally straight answers.)
We've been aiming for April 21st. Everything will be in place by then, so it would be at most one date push on our end. Again, not bad - I just would have proceeded differently had we had all relevant information.
I've been saying "if everything goes right" a whole lot lately.
Inspections happened today.
Major: Failed leach field (needs total replacement) Failed radon test (needs mitigation system) Evidence of carpenter ant damage (treatment and a replaced sill plate) Mold throughout the attic (requires complete abatement of the attic)
Dropped off the unit 2 days ago so we'd have results by today. Inspection deadline is tomorrow, and notification deadline is the 2nd. So we wanted it all sewn up today.
Still on the fence as to the actual danger of radon. I've put in mitigation systems. But studies pretty much show that you either have to sleep 20 years down in the basement or be a heavy smoker to have problems with radon.
Radon could potentially be an issue if it's a house put in a really bad spot. Imagine some Uranium deposit directly blow the house a ways down. A crack in the foundation and a crack in the ground in just the right spots filling your basement with radioactive gas. It could happen.
But it won't. When is the last time you heard of someone who had lung cancer because radon? Are there even stats for this? I can't imagine it's worth worrying about.
Mold is serious business, though. Lots of mold poisoning out there of all kinds of people, and it suuuucks a lot if you get molded.
Comments
Mortgage paperwork is filled out and submitted.
Inspections are scheduled for the 29th.
...
So now I wait.
Anyone have a horror story about house hunting they'd like to share? I'd like to needlessly panic about remote possibilities for the next week, so I feel like I'm doing something.
On my second home, there was a crack in the concrete driveway, and my homeowners insurance refused to cover the house until I fixed it. Bank said no loan without proof of insurance. It was a tiny crack! I wound up having to pay a handyman company to come out with some super-heavy-duty caulk/sealant and fill up the crack. I mostly paid so that I could have a letter from a licensed contractor stating issue was fixed. Insurance company didn't even come out to re-look at the house, just sent me my policy.
Instead of my plans, I dropped everything and helped a friend whose house flooded. A pipe in between the first and second floors burst during the deep cold snap the weekend before, and we believe it was pouring water (from an open 1/2" pipe) into the house for about 3 days.
Nearly 2 feet of standing water in the basement, total saturation of kitchen and dining room floors, probable saturation of the beams in the ceiling and beneath the floors of said rooms. Sump pump cut out because it couldn't keep up, and then it shorted when it was submerged. So I bought a beefier, fully submersible pump.
The house was set to 65F, but we think the insulation in that spot was poor enough that it just didn't matter. The break was in an elbow near an exterior wall.
So I'm now the proud owner of a 74 gpm sump pump, and I've learned a hell of a lot about emergency water mitigation.
That, my friends, is some scary shit. Leave your house for a few days, come back, and it's fucking ruined.
There's water in parts of the electrical in the dining room ceiling, so that has to be redone. And guess what, it's knob-and-tube - so it gets redone to the breaker for much dinero.
Floors in 3 rooms will likely need to be replaced, and so will ceilings in 4.
No way will insurance repair that. Best case, they cut him a check and bulldoze.
The renter's insurance I have specifically covers the situation where a neighbor or accident sets it off.
If it ever happens, I'll be taking full advantage of the fact that I no longer have to worry about caring for so many worldly possessions. I'll be taking the money and getting on a plane/boat.
I feel a lot better about my decision to not buy an old house.
Also, congrats Luke!
I am focusing very hard on breathing.
But now, after living in Berlin for ten years, and having a vehicle for 7 of those years (first a van, then nothing, then a car), this is the first time that whenever I drive home... no need to search for on-street parking!
Booooo-yah!
And considering we are now closer than before to the center of the city, it's a really good deal to have parking included.
This was not communicated to us in any form. We wrote our entire timeline on the premise that we'd need the balance day-of.
It's not a huge deal - it just means we may need to push closing back.
I'm just mad because the only reason we have to is because we were not given the right information when we needed to make decisions.
(It totally makes sense that they'd want to verify funds ahead of time, no doubt - it's just wicked irritating that we can't seem to get totally straight answers.)
Us: "OK, so when exactly do we need the cash?"
Them: "On the day of closing."
They apparently left out that vital piece about the day of closing being contingent on having the money.
I think I've hit that point of stress where I stop being able to feel.
Inspections happened today.
Major:
Failed leach field (needs total replacement)
Failed radon test (needs mitigation system)
Evidence of carpenter ant damage (treatment and a replaced sill plate)
Mold throughout the attic (requires complete abatement of the attic)
A rough estimate is about $20k in work.
Non-major:
Improperly grounded electrical (relatively easy fix)
Corroded fitting in wood stove vent pipe (also easy)
Gutter run length inadequate (trivial)
Of course, the Majors are all stuff the seller is legally obligated to do in order to sell the place. Going back to the table today.
Mold, septic, and pest are all my top priority.
It's really quite an enlightening process.
But it won't. When is the last time you heard of someone who had lung cancer because radon? Are there even stats for this? I can't imagine it's worth worrying about.
Mold is serious business, though. Lots of mold poisoning out there of all kinds of people, and it suuuucks a lot if you get molded.