It's also pretty expensive to install, and murderously so if you're retrofitting an existing house. You have to design the floors with radiant heat built in, and that's easiest to do with new construction. You can remodel into it, but holy shit are floors expensive to redo.
This is a brand new building. It's all built in. We are the first people to live here, so everything is ours to use for the first time (or break for the first time).
King sized bed with box spring mattress. So good. So big.
Clothes dryer. It's good to be in an apartment with space for this, as I spent 9 years in my old place without one. Now I feel like I should have just made room for it somewhere, anywhere.
Sous vide. Omg perfect steaks last night.
Full sized freezer instead of a tiny freezer compartment.
Possibly. On the other hand, I could also see them not having the extra money kicking around, because they're taking care of someone. And if it's an elderly or infirm person, moving them repeatedly may not be in their best interest.
Lots of variables. We shall see. Attorney is drafting the letter right now.
So we're at about 2.5 weeks since discovery.
Sellers are gung-ho to fix things. They've already begun work on the leach field and attic. Pest will be handled too.
But of all the things, they're balking at the radon remediation. It's like $800 - $1200, and they claim they may not be able to do it even if they give us a credit.
Honestly, I'm not sure how much I care - but I'd rather they pay for it than have us take on another $1k in expenses when we're going to have to pony up about that much to do some various small maintenance things around the house (most of which is fixing an improper electrical ground).
But we don't want to die on that hill, so whatever. Otherwise, things appear to be rolling smoothly. Lawyers have been fighting each other trying to get wording drafted correctly, and the sellers are getting antsy because they have to close to buy their new house.
We're actually in a pretty great position right now. Everything is on other people, and I ain't gotta do shit except pony up some money.
Meanwhile, the wife and I start our own house search. Just for renting purposes though. It's going to be a lot harder than it should be because Seattle is still bubbling.
Meanwhile, the wife and I start our own house search. Just for renting purposes though. It's going to be a lot harder than it should be because Seattle is still bubbling.
Good luck. Try to find something with a local and easily available maintenance person!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm still waiting for the official "clear to close" notice. I've received TWO emails so far saying "hey, congrats, you should be getting your official clear to close shortly!"
Never in my life have I needed two preliminary contacts to tell me about a future contact.
Also still waiting for the sellers to tell my attorney they're done with the work they already told us they'd finished.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm still waiting for the official "clear to close" notice. I've received TWO emails so far saying "hey, congrats, you should be getting your official clear to close shortly!"
Never in my life have I needed two preliminary contacts to tell me about a future contact.
Also still waiting for the sellers to tell my attorney they're done with the work they already told us they'd finished.
I don't understand, but I'm trying to be patient.
If these people had their shit together, they wouldn't have to sell a two-oven house.
The last few days are unbelievably stressful, even when they should be a breeze. Once all issues are resolved, you go into a different stack of "oh we don't have to work on that guy's loan for another 2 weeks because he's not closing until then," while the loan officers dedicate their time to getting other loans locked in. Then, sometime, oh, the day before closing, they will look at your paperwork again and say "oh crap we'd better get this loan package out to that guy's attorney." Then the attorney calls you with the final closing cost numbers like an hour before your closing time and you have to haul ass to the bank to get a certified check in the exact amount. Fun stuff.
---
I blew through a very large tax return this month doing home upgrades. We wanted a new front door, so we bought one. Then the next day the dishwasher totally shit the bed (shorted out, shot a huge spark, filled the kitchen with circuit board smoke). Then the day after that, I find I have a busted sump pump that caused water intrusion in downstairs.
I like in a bi-level house where on the lower level, 3 corners of the house are ground level, but one corner is built into the ground a bit. There are ~3 feet of ground up against the foundation there, but I live on slightly higher ground relative to the neighborhood, so I did not see this as a groundwater issue. I knew there was a sump pump in that room, but the previous owners had installed carpet over the access hatch and left no way to inspect it without fucking the room up a bit. I figured the pump likely worked, but even if it didn't, wasn't likely to be needed. Well, we had like 6 days of rain in a row one week in February, and that must have done it. The pump never worked, and the carpet padding got wet in one half of the room. Luckily the water did not rise any further. Still, it started some mildew growth on the carpet, so I went into NOPE NOPE NOPE mode and emptied an entire bedroom, ripped all of the carpet out, and bleached down the concrete just in case. Fucking water and mold. I hate water and mold. The room re-do was on our mid-term to do list anyway, so now it's happening earlier than expected.
Lastly, I'm going solar. The numbers are just too good. If I got an installation that matched my current usage, it'd be a 5.4 year full payback. After that, I'd be getting free electricity and still have 10 years of SRECs to sell on the market (could make up to $2k per year there by my estimation). Now I'm pricing out a larger install that would charge the Tesla Model 3 I preordered as well, but there might be some issues with the state approving turn-on of an array that is so far over the home's current consumption. Yet I don't feel like waiting 2-3 years to go solar, when federal tax credits of $7k+ might go away.
I've heard it all about "don't give the government a free loan." I'm really not interested in shaving my W-4 so close. My finances are actually rather complex with multiple properties, being a landlord, wife in an unstable industry where her income can be unpredictable, freelancer income, etc. We did the math on that and adjusted our W-4s once, but then shit changed midyear and we didn't go back and readjust, wound up owing.
When it comes down to it I'd rather forego whatever meager returns I could get off a nice tax return, and just have that handed to me as some surprise savings. I enjoy living below my means. That's why I have a nice bank account. But relying on a bit of forced self control is not a weakness, sometimes it's just the smart thing to do for your situation.
I've heard it all about "don't give the government a free loan." I'm really not interested in shaving my W-4 so close. My finances are actually rather complex with multiple properties, being a landlord, wife in an unstable industry where her income can be unpredictable, freelancer income, etc. We did the math on that and adjusted our W-4s once, but then shit changed midyear and we didn't go back and readjust, wound up owing.
When it comes down to it I'd rather forego whatever meager returns I could get off a nice tax return, and just have that handed to me as some surprise savings. I enjoy living below my means. That's why I have a nice bank account. But relying on a bit of forced self control is not a weakness, sometimes it's just the smart thing to do for your situation.
Comments
http://energy.gov/energysaver/radiant-heating
It's also pretty expensive to install, and murderously so if you're retrofitting an existing house. You have to design the floors with radiant heat built in, and that's easiest to do with new construction. You can remodel into it, but holy shit are floors expensive to redo.
King sized bed with box spring mattress. So good. So big.
Clothes dryer. It's good to be in an apartment with space for this, as I spent 9 years in my old place without one. Now I feel like I should have just made room for it somewhere, anywhere.
Sous vide. Omg perfect steaks last night.
Full sized freezer instead of a tiny freezer compartment.
Sellers are gung-ho to fix things. They've already begun work on the leach field and attic. Pest will be handled too.
But of all the things, they're balking at the radon remediation. It's like $800 - $1200, and they claim they may not be able to do it even if they give us a credit.
Honestly, I'm not sure how much I care - but I'd rather they pay for it than have us take on another $1k in expenses when we're going to have to pony up about that much to do some various small maintenance things around the house (most of which is fixing an improper electrical ground).
But we don't want to die on that hill, so whatever. Otherwise, things appear to be rolling smoothly. Lawyers have been fighting each other trying to get wording drafted correctly, and the sellers are getting antsy because they have to close to buy their new house.
We're actually in a pretty great position right now. Everything is on other people, and I ain't gotta do shit except pony up some money.
Attic? Done.
Radon? They're handling it.
Pest? Done
Leach field? Should be done tomorrow.
We will have funding nearly two weeks ahead of schedule.
The appraisal happened yesterday.
...
What the actual fuck am I doing?
We're buying a house.
!!
...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...
Clear to close.
Holy fuck.
Never in my life have I needed two preliminary contacts to tell me about a future contact.
Also still waiting for the sellers to tell my attorney they're done with the work they already told us they'd finished.
I don't understand, but I'm trying to be patient.
---
I blew through a very large tax return this month doing home upgrades. We wanted a new front door, so we bought one. Then the next day the dishwasher totally shit the bed (shorted out, shot a huge spark, filled the kitchen with circuit board smoke). Then the day after that, I find I have a busted sump pump that caused water intrusion in downstairs.
I like in a bi-level house where on the lower level, 3 corners of the house are ground level, but one corner is built into the ground a bit. There are ~3 feet of ground up against the foundation there, but I live on slightly higher ground relative to the neighborhood, so I did not see this as a groundwater issue. I knew there was a sump pump in that room, but the previous owners had installed carpet over the access hatch and left no way to inspect it without fucking the room up a bit. I figured the pump likely worked, but even if it didn't, wasn't likely to be needed. Well, we had like 6 days of rain in a row one week in February, and that must have done it. The pump never worked, and the carpet padding got wet in one half of the room. Luckily the water did not rise any further. Still, it started some mildew growth on the carpet, so I went into NOPE NOPE NOPE mode and emptied an entire bedroom, ripped all of the carpet out, and bleached down the concrete just in case. Fucking water and mold. I hate water and mold. The room re-do was on our mid-term to do list anyway, so now it's happening earlier than expected.
Lastly, I'm going solar. The numbers are just too good. If I got an installation that matched my current usage, it'd be a 5.4 year full payback. After that, I'd be getting free electricity and still have 10 years of SRECs to sell on the market (could make up to $2k per year there by my estimation). Now I'm pricing out a larger install that would charge the Tesla Model 3 I preordered as well, but there might be some issues with the state approving turn-on of an array that is so far over the home's current consumption. Yet I don't feel like waiting 2-3 years to go solar, when federal tax credits of $7k+ might go away.
When it comes down to it I'd rather forego whatever meager returns I could get off a nice tax return, and just have that handed to me as some surprise savings. I enjoy living below my means. That's why I have a nice bank account. But relying on a bit of forced self control is not a weakness, sometimes it's just the smart thing to do for your situation.