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Leperflesh posted:Enterprise is another option,
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 01:59 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 23:48 |
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We must have a ton of poo poo. It took 4 guys maybe nine hours.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 02:30 |
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ntd posted:drat, I should have priced movers. We rented a UHaul (only real in town option) and paid a friend $50 to help, would have gladly paid an extra $150 not to have been involved in moving that poo poo. Same; I'm in Dayton. UHaul is really no better or worse than any other truck company here as far as I can tell. I haven't run into any of the issues mentioned here, except charging more for a hand truck, which everyone does. There are some interesting details in that google search though.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 16:04 |
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The only time moving yourself is better then hiring movies is if you already own a trailer. If my trailer wasn't already full of my sister-in-laws crap I would be moving myself. As it is 270 dollars for my move.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 16:29 |
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While we're talking about moving prices, I got quoted $1650 to move my 1BR apartment 450 miles (PA to NC) to the house I'm purchasing, all I have to do is pack. My realtor thinks that's a pretty great price, and the quote I got from UHaul for just a truck for $1000 seems to agree. You guys are freaking me out with all these $300 local moves, should I keep looking for a better price on a move as far as mine? Anybody have recommendations for long distance movers for (relatively) small amounts of stuff?
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 16:33 |
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wixard posted:While we're talking about moving prices, I got quoted $1650 to move my 1BR apartment 450 miles (PA to NC) to the house I'm purchasing, all I have to do is pack. My realtor thinks that's a pretty great price, and the quote I got from UHaul for just a truck for $1000 seems to agree. You guys are freaking me out with all these $300 local moves, should I keep looking for a better price on a move as far as mine? Anybody have recommendations for long distance movers for (relatively) small amounts of stuff? That is pretty good. I had a quote on my above mentioned move (~1400sqft of stuff from Queens to DC) that didn't include packing of just under $4k if I let them pack, drive, unpack.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 16:45 |
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wixard posted:While we're talking about moving prices, I got quoted $1650 to move my 1BR apartment 450 miles (PA to NC) to the house I'm purchasing, all I have to do is pack. My realtor thinks that's a pretty great price, and the quote I got from UHaul for just a truck for $1000 seems to agree. You guys are freaking me out with all these $300 local moves, should I keep looking for a better price on a move as far as mine? Anybody have recommendations for long distance movers for (relatively) small amounts of stuff? Anecdotal, but as far as a local move goes: In MA we paid $900 to move a 3 BR house (including a fair amount of attic/basement/garage junk) 10 miles. This was with us having almost everything boxed, beds disassembled, furniture disassembled or empty. Took basically 5 hours with 4 people, which seems long until you realize some of the junk was not really packable (floor jack, random planters, skis, all that poo poo that lives somewhere in between "boxable" and "furniture") that I felt took a lot of time to deal with by the movers. Not sure what the hourly rate was but we probably could have shaved that down a little with some more planning/better packing. Didn't get a truck rental quote, I'm lazy. We also got quoted $2200 and $3400 for the same job, from the realtor-recommended places. Basically if a realtor recommends anything I assume there are conflicts of interest, or kickbacks or however you want to call it. uwaeve fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jul 11, 2013 |
# ? Jul 11, 2013 16:58 |
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wixard posted:While we're talking about moving prices, I got quoted $1650 to move my 1BR apartment 450 miles (PA to NC) to the house I'm purchasing, all I have to do is pack. My realtor thinks that's a pretty great price, and the quote I got from UHaul for just a truck for $1000 seems to agree. You guys are freaking me out with all these $300 local moves, should I keep looking for a better price on a move as far as mine? Anybody have recommendations for long distance movers for (relatively) small amounts of stuff? Check Budget and Penske. In my experience, I've only ever seen Uhaul cheapest for in-town moves.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 17:34 |
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wixard posted:While we're talking about moving prices, I got quoted $1650 to move my 1BR apartment 450 miles (PA to NC) to the house I'm purchasing, all I have to do is pack. My realtor thinks that's a pretty great price, and the quote I got from UHaul for just a truck for $1000 seems to agree. You guys are freaking me out with all these $300 local moves, should I keep looking for a better price on a move as far as mine? Anybody have recommendations for long distance movers for (relatively) small amounts of stuff? I don't think you can compare local moves to distance moves in any way, since you're essentially doing a local move and hiring a trucking company in between. UHaul, as mentioned, is awful for one-way moves. It was several years ago, but I believe I was able to move 300 miles for <$200 (plus gas) with Budget. If you don't want to haul your own crap around, get a Budget rental truck and hire a local company on each end for loading/unloading labor. It'll probably cost you $100-150 on each side. Add that to the costs of the rental truck and it should be less than a thousand, easily. Only problem is that you're then likely stuck finding a way back to PA to retrieve your car, then driving the car up later. Unless you tow the car, and results may vary for that one.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 17:42 |
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There are also Pod moving companies that provide you with a container to load on one end, then move it for you to unpack on the other end.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 17:44 |
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iv46vi posted:There are also Pod moving companies that provide you with a container to load on one end, then move it for you to unpack on the other end. They are insanely expensive and you run into issues such as leaving it on the street in front of your house (might be a parking violation, might need a permit a la dumpster, etc) and you can't generally back it up your driveway to reduce the distance you walk with your poo poo.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 17:47 |
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iv46vi posted:There are also Pod moving companies that provide you with a container to load on one end, then move it for you to unpack on the other end. In addition to the above post, my research indicated that they may not be as weatherproof as advertised, and certainly aren't temperature and humidity controlled. If you are allowing anyone to take your stuff anywhere other than directly to your new place, consider the possibility of someone basically holding your stuff for ransom. This happened to someone we know, a company moved their crap to storage (owned by the moving company) and demanded more money to release it back to the people than agreed to. While you are fighting this battle, storage fees are growing, so its a pretty good racket. Reminds me of towing companies that impound your car. Also, with a pod system, holding your stuff hostage doesn't even tie up a truck or force them to unpack into storage...they can just dump it in a field they own and wait for you to pay. Maybe I read too many horror stories or whatever but these were some of the factors that caused me to forget about pods early in our process. In our situation we moved to storage then from storage to the new house a month later.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 19:20 |
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Jealous Cow posted:They are insanely expensive and you run into issues such as leaving it on the street in front of your house (might be a parking violation, might need a permit a la dumpster, etc) and you can't generally back it up your driveway to reduce the distance you walk with your poo poo. I really liked the pod even though it was a higher cost(like 2,000 total). I moved over the course of a week after work when I had time and it was nice to not rush packing. The drive was like 17 hours and it was easier to do it while not driving 55 with all my poo poo in a box van. Then the new city I moved to I didn't have a place for a week or two, but didn't have to worry about storage because a month came free with the pod. As far as water proof etc I inspected mine before I loaded my stuff and it all ended up in good condition. Just wanted to give my two cents on pods.
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# ? Jul 11, 2013 21:42 |
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Jealous Cow posted:They are insanely expensive and you run into issues such as leaving it on the street in front of your house (might be a parking violation, might need a permit a la dumpster, etc) and you can't generally back it up your driveway to reduce the distance you walk with your poo poo. PODS (the company) is insanely expensive, but there are other ones that are considerably cheaper. I used U-Pack when I moved from MI to FL and it was literally half the price PODS wanted. I think I spent around $1k after insurance for delivery door to door. I packed up all my big stuff in the container and then loaded my car to the brim and drove down.
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# ? Jul 12, 2013 00:47 |
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I have never had trouble with U-haul for distance moves and for local I just borrow a pickup or three and make more trips if it's only a few miles you can save a shitload of money doing this. I have called around and most of the rental companies seem to be the same. I have on occasion hired high school students or piano movers for some of the big stuff. My wife has a 500lb desk that she purchased when we were in college. After a couple of moves with that my friends wouldn't answer my calls if they knew I was gonna be moving so I wised up and started hiring that part. after move 4 with that desk (when it went into her parents' basement 6 years ago)I told her that she could have it again when we bought a house. Now we have one and she is not so sure she still wants it.
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# ? Jul 12, 2013 04:22 |
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in my town all the big real estate agencies have loaner box trucks that you get for free for a day or two around your closing time as a thank you for using their agency.
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# ? Jul 14, 2013 05:43 |
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A question for the experts here: We're going to be doing a long distance move in May that will involve selling our old house and buying a new one. We've visited the town we're moving to so we have a good idea of the areas we'd prefer to be in. It's a pretty small town and not exactly a hot market - not a whole lot new for sale each week. So that brings up a few questions. When should we start seriously looking? How do you deal with minimizing the number of visits? It's far enough away (and we have two small children) to make multiple visits hard. We have a realtor we mostly like, but he was very ambivalent about the timing question. We'll be cash buyers, if that makes a difference. Any thoughts or suggestions?
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# ? Jul 15, 2013 15:36 |
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As a cash buyer you can pretty much close in a week. All you need is a title search for the title insurance. My experience in small town USA is no one has ever heard of a building code and there probably are not any building inspectors to enforce any codes anyway. I would search for an inspector first and make them do reports on the houses that look interesting before visiting them. I have never sold before buying the next so I can't help with those logistics.
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# ? Jul 15, 2013 15:47 |
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House was on the market for 4 days before it "sold". Buyers financing is locked in, inspection revealed no problems. Should have no problem with appraisal since the other 2 houses EXACTLY like mine that sold recently appraised for more than what I sold for. Do always buy, then do always sell 2 years later and make a bunch of money!
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# ? Jul 16, 2013 00:29 |
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Happy fun horror story time! We closed at the end of April, and gave the seller 14 days of possession to close on his new place and get the gently caress out. Before we got the keys I posted this. borkencode posted:
We just received a citation from the city because of the trash (Yep, over two months wait before getting notice of the citation). We're looking at what seems to be $2,000 to $4,000 in fines. The seller's agent released escrow without our approval, so I think our best course of action is to ask the guy for the money, and if he doesn't pay up I guess we'll have to go to court. Plus the air-conditioner system he said (and signed paper work stating) was working, isn't. The home warranty company won't cover it because they've determined it's a pre-existing condition despite the warranty claiming to cover systems in unknown condition (our home inspection was in February, so no testing the AC then). YAY FUN. Do never buy.
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 04:57 |
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So from the previous two posts, the path to riches is to figure out a system to sell homes without having to purchase them. Interesting...
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 06:11 |
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borkencode posted:Happy fun horror story time! You've just left the trash back there for 2 months? I'm not saying it's your fault, but I would have been on the previous owners rear end if it wasn't gone within a week of taking possession. He may try to tell you that it's your fault because you didn't let him know also as he probably assumed if he hadn't heard from you that it was gone.
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 07:41 |
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What are ways to identify if a school is good? I've been looking at test results, free lunch %s, and Great Schools but I'm not sure if I could be doing something better. I'm buying in Montgomery County, MD.rockcity posted:You've just left the trash back there for 2 months? I'm not saying it's your fault, but I would have been on the previous owners rear end if it wasn't gone within a week of taking possession. He may try to tell you that it's your fault because you didn't let him know also as he probably assumed if he hadn't heard from you that it was gone. I think he meant it sat for a few days before it was picked up, but it took 2 months to get the citation after.
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 13:53 |
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WeaselWeaz posted:I think he meant it sat for a few days before it was picked up, but it took 2 months to get the citation after. Yes, this exactly. The city picked it up (about 2/3rds of it on the first trash pickup, the rest of it a week later).
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 14:24 |
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borkencode posted:Yes, this exactly. The city picked it up (about 2/3rds of it on the first trash pickup, the rest of it a week later). Oh wow, that's really odd then. What are all the fines for then? Was it an absurd amount or something?
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 15:54 |
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WeaselWeaz posted:What are ways to identify if a school is good? I've been looking at test results, free lunch %s, and Great Schools but I'm not sure if I could be doing something better. I'm buying in Montgomery County, MD. Basically all the schools in Montgomery County are good, but some are better than others. Bethesda and Rockville are all fine. Gaithersburg, Germantown and Silver Spring are more diverse but still have good schools.
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 15:58 |
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TheLizard posted:Basically all the schools in Montgomery County are good, but some are better than others. Bethesda and Rockville are all fine. Gaithersburg, Germantown and Silver Spring are more diverse but still have good schools. I'm looking at Silver Spring and parts of Rockville. Ones comparable to Brookhaven, Wheaton Woods, make me think they're fine just very diverse. Arcola and Sgt Shriver I'm less sure about. Are there any that are just problems?
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 16:19 |
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WeaselWeaz posted:I'm looking at Silver Spring and parts of Rockville. Ones comparable to Brookhaven, Wheaton Woods, make me think they're fine just very diverse. Arcola and Sgt Shriver I'm less sure about. Are there any that are just problems? Do you live in the area already? I've found that while GreatSchools is a very good starting point, co-workers and friends that live in the area have a better idea of what makes a school especially strong or weak. GreatSchools metric seems to heavily weight exceptional Art and Music programs, while strong Math and Science may not count for quite as much. Typically test scores are a very good indicator, but only indirectly as they often correlate to a higher socioeconomic area. No Child Left Behind requires that all states make their public school's test scores available. Some states (California) make this easier than others by compiling them all into a single site. Maryland let's their counties do it. Here's Montgomery County's Accountability site: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 16:44 |
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rockcity posted:Oh wow, that's really odd then. What are all the fines for then? Was it an absurd amount or something? We received three citations, one was a $300 ($600 if not paid after 7 days, not sure if that is 7 days after notice, or 7 days after the hearing). Another one was "not less than $1500, and not more than $2500" and the third one, I just found the penalty for, is "not less than $250 nor more than $500".
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 17:51 |
Bit of a tricky situation. House came with an inground pool, contractor who originally put it in filled it for a contract of x, we added some work (removing some random other stuff) for y, and he "helpfully added 1400 bucks of loam" without asking. Now, backyard's looking nice, but on the other hand we really did not anticipate or want to pay 1400 bucks for loam. It's a decently sized yard; is 1400 a good price? He listed it as "5 truckloads worth of loam" and says "he didn't charge for labor or anything, just for the loam". I can probably just tell him "I don't want it, come get it at your expense if you want it back" but on the other hand, he might be vindictive, do that, and leave the yard a complete mess just out of spite or something. My options appear to be: pay 1400, tell him to take it back, tell him I'd be willing to pay some but really don't think I can pay the full amount due to new house work sucking up all mah money, etc. Anything else? Anyone know if that's a decent price for loam for a big-ish yard? Oh and if this isn't actually the right thread, anyone know which thread is?
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 21:07 |
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silvergoose posted:Bit of a tricky situation. House came with an inground pool, contractor who originally put it in filled it for a contract of x, we added some work (removing some random other stuff) for y, and he "helpfully added 1400 bucks of loam" without asking. Now, backyard's looking nice, but on the other hand we really did not anticipate or want to pay 1400 bucks for loam. It's a decently sized yard; is 1400 a good price? He listed it as "5 truckloads worth of loam" and says "he didn't charge for labor or anything, just for the loam". I can probably just tell him "I don't want it, come get it at your expense if you want it back" but on the other hand, he might be vindictive, do that, and leave the yard a complete mess just out of spite or something. I would never pay money for something I didn't ask for and that some rear end in a top hat came and dropped in my yard. gently caress him, you don't do that. Not only would I not pay the $1400, I'd tell him if he doesn't remove it for free, immediately, I'll be hiring someone else to take it away and sending him the bill, and if he doesn't like it, I'll see him in small claims court. It seems 100% cut and dry to me. You don't just buy and deliver a bunch of poo poo without asking and then present a bill for it. Also take lots of photos now, and if he trashes the place, take more photos and call the cops, because that'd be vandalism.
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 21:16 |
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Where is the loam at? It's killing any grass underneath it...
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 21:30 |
baquerd posted:Where is the loam at? It's killing any grass underneath it... Spread out, the machines filling the pool kinda tore up some grass (and of course there was none at the pool). edit: as well, the original contract stated "will grade with bobcat" and that "loam was extra" which I took to mean he'd smooth down the torn up sections and the pool section would remain with just fill, i.e. sandy/rocky etc.
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# ? Jul 17, 2013 21:33 |
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Getting a happy ending after a message is extra too, but you usually discuss that before those services are performed. Make an issue of it, he doesn't get to write his check, you do. Seriously, contractors try to get away with poo poo like this all the time hoping their clients are chumps and won't nip it in the bud. Dead Pressed fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Jul 17, 2013 |
# ? Jul 17, 2013 22:28 |
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borkencode posted:Plus the air-conditioner system he said (and signed paper work stating) was working, isn't. The home warranty company won't cover it because they've determined it's a pre-existing condition despite the warranty claiming to cover systems in unknown condition (our home inspection was in February, so no testing the AC then). If he warrantied to you that it worked, you can go after him for that as well, at least.
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# ? Jul 18, 2013 17:31 |
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Anyone have any tips for negotiating repairs with a seller? We're about to request $14,000+ in repairs and I don't want them to shut down at the list. The seller has ignored most of the major systems in the house and now they all need work or replacement. We're already prioritized the list and are willing to let the little stuff like missing window screens go in favor of the big stuff like replacing the furnace and repairing the separated sewer pipe. So far, our planned strategy is to provide the seller with all inspection reports along with our requests. That way the defects become material facts that they would need to disclose to any other buyer, should we walk.
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# ? Jul 19, 2013 16:57 |
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Economic Sinkhole posted:Anyone have any tips for negotiating repairs with a seller? We're about to request $14,000+ in repairs and I don't want them to shut down at the list. The seller has ignored most of the major systems in the house and now they all need work or replacement. We're already prioritized the list and are willing to let the little stuff like missing window screens go in favor of the big stuff like replacing the furnace and repairing the separated sewer pipe. I would ask your agent, ours guided our strategy on requesting repairs and it worked out pretty well.
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# ? Jul 19, 2013 17:06 |
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Some types of loan require certain core systems (heating, plumbing, etc.) to be in fair working condition before close of escrow. But if they've got cash buyers lined up around the block, they won't care about any of that crap. So, yeah, pretty much the same response of "ask your realtor," and if anything sounds weird, say something.
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# ? Jul 19, 2013 19:35 |
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For the bigger repairs, I'd actually recommend just knocking the cost of repairs off your offer. Remember, the seller will do the minimum repairs necessary to meet the requirement. You want a new furnace? Sure thing, here's the cheapest, least-efficient crap bucket on the market. You want to repair your pipes? Okay, we'll fix them up with the cheapest material available. I'd recommend having them do the repairs only on those things that are absolutely necessary to close. For the rest, knock bucks off your offer and do the repairs yourself. The seller doesn't care about that house anymore, but you do.
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# ? Jul 20, 2013 00:04 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 23:48 |
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ripped0ff posted:I'd recommend having them do the repairs only on those things that are absolutely necessary to close. For the rest, knock bucks off your offer and do the repairs yourself. The seller doesn't care about that house anymore, but you do. My realtor and I have initially planned to present the entire list to the seller, and ask them to repair them or take money off the sale price for them. While we wait for the reports from the septic and pest inspections, she has already reached out to the listing agent asking what more the seller can tell us about the roof, the crawlspace and the heatpump and if any of them have been serviced recently. I'm hoping they'll go ahead and service the heat pump so I don't have to worry about my home warranty, and in the best case scenario they'd feel compelled to hire the structural engineer to evaluate the roof sagging so I don't have to. Other than that, I would prefer to just get money knocked off the sale price so I can put it towards replacing the roof and windows in the next few years rather than have them patch the 17yo roof or buy the cheapest glass possible (they're custom windows though, so it still wouldn't be too cheap). I'm pretty sure I can do most of the deck work myself (might have to hire someone smaller than me to get underneath some of it), and the crawlspace issue is probably best addressed with drainage/grading that I would prefer to make the decision on. I have to mention, I had a very interesting septic inspection yesterday. This house has a very expensive and relatively complex double sand filter septic system because of the soil and the nearby creek that feeds to drinking water. My realtor and I decided we should have it inspected, but the only 3 choices we could find and vet for this kind of filter were a consulting company whose main business is designing green systems for large commercial or residential complexes ($400+), the company who put the filter in ($180) and another septic company that has experience with these filters ($265). We were both pretty put off by the prices, but I went with the $265 choice to avoid conflict of interest. The contract I signed basically said they were responsible for confirming the pump and alarm worked and making sure it actually moved water through the system at a proper rate, which is why $265 seemed pretty excessive. My realtor said septic inspections usually take an hour, and some of that is them trying to sell me a service contract. The inspector showed up and basically repeated exactly that right off the bat, but then explained that he wasn't your average inspector and didn't agree that an inspection like that would inform my purchase or do any favors to the community who relied on the filter to work. He proceeded to spend the next 4.5 hours finding and digging up every piece of the system except the actual sand filters that he would have damaged with a shovel, checking all of them as extensively as possible, and I learned for the first time that even without a traditional drain field this system literally takes up the entire backyard. Suffice it to say, I know who I'm calling for septic work when I get down there, there is no sales pitch he could have given me better than the thorough inspection and tons of information I got from the guy yesterday. The best part was when I asked him if the report would include a quote for the recommended repairs, so that I would have a frame of reference if the seller told me he I had to deal with it as-is. He smiled and told me I wouldn't have any problems getting the seller to do the repairs. When I raised an eyebrow, he explained that his company's licensing with the state requires him to notify their inspectors if he finds a system like this out of compliance in any way (the county sends inspectors out unannounced at least once a year to make sure they work because of the drinking water). In this case if he has any reason to believe the seller isn't going to replace the chlorine dispensers that need to be dug up and replaced (that 99% of inspectors never would have even looked at), there will be a state inspector there within a few days to levy fines and take the house off the market until it's done.
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# ? Jul 20, 2013 18:11 |