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Kalli posted:Go with this one. If their website is straight out of 1995, then that's a good sign that they've been around for 20 years. (Seriously though, old websites are an okay sign, but I'd advise against using someone your agent recommends). My agent is another guy I work with and the president of the local chapter of my union. I can't find any reviews on the company he recommended. I've run across a lot of guys with websites that would make geocities proud, so I guess I'm going in the right direction. I went ahead and did a $5 annual subscription to Angieslist. Figure I'll need some help through the first year of ownership anyway. edit: The guy I'm thinking of going with has a $25 off coupon on his website that expired in 2010. Has to be good. fknlo fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Jul 23, 2014 |
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Jul 23, 2014 19:59
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I just hired 2 contractors from Angie's list for 2 different major projects over the past 3 months and they worked out well. They both offered a 5% discount for being an Angie's List customer too so it's already paid for itself. It's ridiculously cheap if you find some coupon codes, usually <$15/yr. What I did like is that a lot of the reviews list what they paid for the job with pictures so if you're looking for real rough ballpark figures on what something would cost it's a good way to estimate.
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Jul 23, 2014 20:31
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How are people paying more than $15 a year? I didn't search any coupon codes and paid $7.99. Do different cities get different prices? I'm pretty sure 9/10 of the Angie's List reviews of my home inspector were paid for somehow, but he was the only person I could get in on my timeline. On the plus side, my realtor did not want to use him because they think he uses "scare tactics" (their words) and one of the few legitimate reviews I found was also from a real estate agent who thought they were way too picky. Which, I mean, seems like something you'd want?
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Jul 23, 2014 20:43
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powderific posted:I'm pretty sure 9/10 of the Angie's List reviews of my home inspector were paid for somehow, but he was the only person I could get in on my timeline. On the plus side, my realtor did not want to use him because they think he uses "scare tactics" (their words) and one of the few legitimate reviews I found was also from a real estate agent who thought they were way too picky. Which, I mean, seems like something you'd want? I just got my guy scheduled and he flat out told me he's "brutal" when it comes to inspections. I told him that's exactly what I want. I want to know everything possible before I spend that much money on something.
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Jul 23, 2014 20:48
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That was my feeling. When we got the report back it was actually way less bad than I expected given all the horror my realtor told me to expect—just normal stuff for a house of its age/price and some shoddy DIY work on the siding.
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Jul 23, 2014 20:54
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powderific posted:How are people paying more than $15 a year? I didn't search any coupon codes and paid $7.99. Do different cities get different prices? It goes up to $60/yr if you don't stick to basic like a plebe. Just think, you could be receiving a digital magazine! Plus you get a rebate on a deal purchase so it practically pays for itself!
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Jul 23, 2014 20:57
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Have people who use Angie's List gotten burned in the past by finding people in other ways? I've hired a lot of contractors and the like using yelp, word of mouth, and getting a few different bids before pulling the trigger. I can't imagine paying money for something like that, but I've never had a bad experience with the anyone, except one guy who left bags of trash when he finished the job. What am I missing?
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Jul 23, 2014 21:07
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So apparently (according to HUD) if you refinance an FHA loan into a conventional loan, you are not entitled to a partial refund of the up-front mortgage insurance premium. We got one when we did an FHA streamline refi back in 2011, so I was expecting one this time too. But I guess instead the FHA just loving keeps the money. Thanks congress!  Still worth it though. Including the $500 appraisal, funding a new escrow account and receiving a check from the old escrow account, and including all fees etc., this refi will have cost us $3286.36. We'll be skipping an August payment which further mitigates the hit to our budget and maybe could be considered a further discount, since that august payment was included in the up-front costs. We got double-charged for interest for half of July, due to the FHA also not giving partial refunds of the monthly premium, so if anyone is considering refinancing out of their FHA loan, I highly recommend trying to time it so that your refi is funded & recorded on or very near the last day of the month. If we had not refinanced, but had been able to pay down our loan by an additional $21k by the earliest date we could discharge the MIP, we'd have paid over $6k in MIPs. So we come out ahead on that. If we had not made additional payments on our loan, MIP would have lasted until Oct. 2020, and we'd have paid a total of $16k in MIPs by then. So our breakeven @ $210 MIP payments per month is 3286/210= about 16 months. Pretty reasonable. There is another breakeven, however, after which we should not have refinanced, and that's the point where our new higher interest rate has cost us more than we saved by eliminating MIP. Exactly when that second breakeven happens depends on how much mortgage interest we could deduct (and whether MIP becomes deductable again), and whether or not (and by how much) we would otherwise have paid down our loan to get rid of MIP (and the opportunity cost of doing that instead of some other use for that cash). I guesstimate it's not for at least another 15 years or so, and I think we'll be selling by then. So, overall I'm pleased with this refi, although I wish I'd waited to lock in our rate so that we'd have been able to time the refi to happen at the end of the month instead of the middle: that would have saved me a few hundred bucks.
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Jul 23, 2014 21:20
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Inverse Icarus posted:Have people who use Angie's List gotten burned in the past by finding people in other ways? Where I live there are a lot more reviews for contractor type stuff on Angie's List. As in, some people will have 30+ reviews on Angie's List and none on Yelp. I way prefer Yelp in general though.
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Jul 23, 2014 21:41
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fknlo posted:I just got my guy scheduled and he flat out told me he's "brutal" when it comes to inspections. I told him that's exactly what I want. I want to know everything possible before I spend that much money on something. My real estate agent and her chosen inspector both bragged this. It turned out "brutal" meant "I'm going to list 40 million stupid things and miss the real expensive stuff".
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Jul 23, 2014 22:00
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slap me silly posted:My real estate agent and her chosen inspector both bragged this. It turned out "brutal" meant "I'm going to list 40 million stupid things and miss the real expensive stuff". This guy has been in business for almost 40 years, so I'm hoping he can catch the expensive stuff. We shall see.
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Jul 23, 2014 22:23
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Inverse Icarus posted:Have people who use Angie's List gotten burned in the past by finding people in other ways? A month or two ago, my septic alarm was going off (this means that for some reason the effluent pump isn't running and the tank is filling; I can send around 100-200 gallons of water down the drain before it backs up and I get raw sewage in my basement after the alarm sounds). The place that installed my septic tank wasn't returning my calls (blessing in disguise, turns out when they installed the pump they didn't correctly wire it to a breaker and had been sloppy with past maintenance). Yelp does not bring up a single review for a local septic service company and generally is not even aware of their existance. Angie's list brings up 10 companies with reviews. As a counterpoint to my own argument, though, neither of the two places I tried from Angie's list returned my phone calls either, and the one review of the place that did the dangerous wiring job is positive (though to be fair, said dangerous wiring job was probably done 20 years ago). The place that finally returned my call and fixed the problem isn't listed on Angie's list (I've been meaning to add a good review for them, though).
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Jul 23, 2014 23:30
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fknlo posted:This guy has been in business for almost 40 years, so I'm hoping he can catch the expensive stuff. We shall see. Unfortunately, even if he's very good, the vast breadth of things that can be in houses and potentially be wrong in expensive but subtle ways pretty much means no one person will have the knowledge and experience to identify all of them. They tend to have expertise in one or a few areas (typically because they've worked in a related trade), and much more limited understanding in other areas. And of course a lot of the expensive stuff is well hidden behind finishing anyway, so no home inspector will be able to detect it.
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Jul 23, 2014 23:48
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Posting again to say that if you can find an inspector with IR, IT IS WORTH THE MONEY. DO IT. It can catch electrical issues in your panel that normal inspection won't. It can catch water problems that just started, and even if a leak can be seen by inspection it will save you a ton of money by showing you where the origin is exactly. It can catch insulation problems.
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Jul 23, 2014 23:53
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Inverse Icarus posted:Have people who use Angie's List gotten burned in the past by finding people in other ways? I still pulled multiple bids. I just found the quality of reviews better on Angie's list and they were all from homeowners who got actual work done and described the process and prices. Half the reviews of contractors I looked at on yelp were complaints about voicemails or how the guy had a bad tone of voice during the bid process, very few reviews were from completed jobs. YMMV depending on area, but I just thought it gave a little more info than yelp could offer.
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Jul 24, 2014 00:04
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Got my interest rate locked in today. 4.5%  Looking at home insurance quotes. Holy hell are they all over the map. So far I've gotten one for $120/month and another for $380/month. 
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Jul 24, 2014 20:06
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fknlo posted:Well, think I'm about to work on another offer. Nice house with a lot of updates and the price is pretty drat good, especially for the size. The only real negative is it's a corner lot on a busyish 4 lane road that the driveway is on. Wasn't too noisy or anything, not any more than where I live now anyway. Guessing that's what's keeping the price down and why it lasted through the weekend? I'm guessing Rainbow Blvd (assuming you're still looking West Plaza)? 
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Jul 24, 2014 20:19
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fknlo posted:Got my interest rate locked in today. 4.5% I do not regret using an independent insurance broker. Insurance policies are not identical so it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison using online quotes, the way you can with car insurance. Also I suspect most homeowners are woefully underinsured. At the very least, consider not simply going for the absolutely cheapest option without looking at exactly what is and (more importantly) isn't covered.
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Jul 24, 2014 20:25
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resident posted:I'm guessing Rainbow Blvd (assuming you're still looking West Plaza)? Ended up at 75th and Walnut in Waldo. Looked at a couple of much cheaper West Plaza houses the same day I looked at the house I ended up putting an offer in on, they just didn't do it for me. Leperflesh posted:I do not regret using an independent insurance broker. Insurance policies are not identical so it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison using online quotes, the way you can with car insurance. One of those quotes was with some higher coverage and lower deductibles. It was not the $380 one...
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Jul 24, 2014 20:30
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Does anyone have any experience with replacing a service panel/electrical box on their home? The house I purchased is still on the original panel installed in the 1960s and doesn't draw enough amps (and needs to be upgraded anyway). It draws 100A and I've been advised that if I want to install an AC system I need to upgrade to a 200A standard. What kind of costs would I be looking at? I've seen people quote anywhere from $500-3000 so I guess I'm just wondering what the major determinant in the pricing is.
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Jul 24, 2014 20:33
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fknlo posted:Got my interest rate locked in today. 4.5% 4.25% for us! We are really lucky to have access to the VA loan. No mortgage insurance, and credits towards closing of almost $3k. Just received the Escrow paperwork and my loving name is misspelled. I don't have a difficult name. How hard is Jebus to spell correctly?!
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Jul 24, 2014 20:38
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a shameful boehner posted:It draws 100A and I've been advised that if I want to install an AC system I need to upgrade to a 200A standard. Running an AC on 100 amps is no problem. A reasonably sized A/C unit will only pull around 20 amps. What can potentially be a problem is running a bunch of other things at the same time. If everything is electric (stove, dryer, water heater would be the big ones), and you need a larger A/C unit, there's a fair chance you'll push things over 100A. But even if you do, you'll just trip your main breaker, no big deal*. You can just go ahead with installing the A/C system and wait to pay for the service upgrade until you actually know for sure that you need it. *It's not a Federal Pacific panel, right? a shameful boehner posted:Does anyone have any experience with replacing a service panel/electrical box on their home? The house I purchased is still on the original panel installed in the 1960s and doesn't draw enough amps (and needs to be upgraded anyway). It draws 100A and I've been advised that if I want to install an AC system I need to upgrade to a 200A standard. What kind of costs would I be looking at? I've seen people quote anywhere from $500-3000 so I guess I'm just wondering what the major determinant in the pricing is. Local labor cost, local permitting cost (and whether or not permits are pulled at all - not pulling is a bad thing), and how much labor is required in your particular circumstances. Your best bet would just be to get a quote.
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Jul 24, 2014 21:57
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Yeah, get a quote. I was in a very similar situation and ended up paying around $3k to get my panel upgraded to 200A, while also doing a kitchen remodel, so he also ran something like 8 more lines in there to get it up to code as well as one to the back of the house for a central air unit. I think the cost of the panel and other parts by themselves will run you near $500.
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Jul 24, 2014 22:01
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Zhentar posted:Running an AC on 100 amps is no problem. A reasonably sized A/C unit will only pull around 20 amps. What can potentially be a problem is running a bunch of other things at the same time. If everything is electric (stove, dryer, water heater would be the big ones), and you need a larger A/C unit, there's a fair chance you'll push things over 100A. But even if you do, you'll just trip your main breaker, no big deal*. You can just go ahead with installing the A/C system and wait to pay for the service upgrade until you actually know for sure that you need it. That makes a lot of sense, thanks. The stove, dryer, and water are all electric. The home is around 1900 square feet, so decently sized but not cavernous. The panel is definitely not Federal Pacific  My realtor (who was awesome) pointed that out to me during my initial walkthrough and inspection, and gave me a little background on how those fuckers used to catch on fire. I am fortunate in that the former owners replaced the water heater, washer, dryer, and stove with energy-efficient versions, though I'm still concerned that a TV, ceiling fan, computer, etc. being used at the same time would end up tripping the breaker.I've gotten a quote from a contractor who works alongside a local company (Reliant) and they were quoting me $6200, which would include the AC unit installed, labor, and an upgraded service box/new box to handle the increased load. That seems pretty high to me, but I haven't gotten any other quotes yet so I don't really have anything to compare it against. V  VI live in a pretty dry climate in Colorado, and have considered a swamp cooler, but would really rather not deal with the increased moisture in the home (it has hardwoods throughout), the need to cut a hole in the roof, the need to disconnect/reconnect water lines in winter/summer, etc. especially since I already have forced air system in place.
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Jul 24, 2014 22:11
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a shameful boehner posted:I'm still concerned that a TV, ceiling fan, computer, etc. being used at the same time would end up tripping the breaker. Those are all pretty much totally irrelevant. Unless you're running something extreme, the lot of them will be less than 5 amps. The difference between incandescent and CFL/LED lights is far more important. a shameful boehner posted:I've gotten a quote from a contractor who works alongside a local company (Reliant) and they were quoting me $6200, which would include the AC unit installed, labor, and an upgraded service box/new box to handle the increased load. That seems pretty high to me, but I haven't gotten any other quotes yet so I don't really have anything to compare it against. V Sounds quite reasonable to me. In a lot of areas you'll pay more than that just for the A/C without any service upgrade.
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Jul 24, 2014 22:31
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How much is just the A/C unit? Those can be thousands of dollars so it's probably the bulk of that quote, making it hard to know without breaking it down, how much you're actually paying for just the panel upgrade.
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Jul 24, 2014 22:34
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I think my 3 head heat pump unit was $8.5k. Pricing out the parts by themselves would've run me $6k.
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Jul 24, 2014 22:44
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Oh OK so that $3k doesn't include the cost of the A/C? It's just $500 for the panel, some more money for a bunch of other parts & material (wiring, conduit, etc.), and then... what, maybe $2k in labor? Seems reasonable I suppose. Hard to take from that, how much just the panel replacement would have cost though.
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Jul 24, 2014 23:37
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To clarify: the box replacement/upgrade would cost $2k (including labor), the AC unit install would be the remaining $4200 (including labor).
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Jul 24, 2014 23:58
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For mine, it was $3k to upgrade / replace the electrical system and redo the electrical for the kitchen, and then $8.5k the next summer to get the central air system installed. Part of that cost though is it's Massachusetts and every quote I've gotten has kissed the high end of estimates.
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Jul 25, 2014 00:06
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http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/07/24/homeowners-association-veteran-cant-build-furniture-for-military-families-in-need/ One of the many reasons HOAs can be horrible, horrible things. Chances are that if you're looking at houses built in the last 20 years, you can't find a neighborhood without an HOA.
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Jul 25, 2014 18:15
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fknlo posted:Ended up at 75th and Walnut in Waldo. Looked at a couple of much cheaper West Plaza houses the same day I looked at the house I ended up putting an offer in on, they just didn't do it for me. Such a good choice! Stumbling distance from the Well and Bobby B's, direct access to the trail, and their's even a gym. It's expensive but never crowded. Really happy to hear you found something!
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Jul 25, 2014 18:33
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fishhooked posted:Such a good choice! Stumbling distance from the Well and Bobby B's, direct access to the trail, and their's even a gym. It's expensive but never crowded. Really happy to hear you found something! Yeah, I'm a pretty big fan of the location. I didn't want to live any further south than 75th street, and being 4 blocks from everything in Waldo is going to be nice. Inspection next week, then the appraisal, then whatever else. Gonna be a fun month. edit: What is everyone's opinion on getting a radon inspection done? fknlo fucked around with this message at 14:56 on Jul 26, 2014 |
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Jul 26, 2014 04:33
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Has anyone recently replaced windows? We have 10 or on the main level we are looking to replaced and was wondering what I should expect for labor/unexpected costs. I'm trying to get a ballpark estimate to decide if we should replace them before this winter or save up and do it next year. The ball park ranges I've received from friends and family seem to be $6k-$42K.
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Jul 26, 2014 16:03
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Avoid $180 vinyl window billboards and junk mail. My seller did that as a quick spruce-up but I've had to re-replace most of them. Custom sizes are expensive, so those cheap outfits just "make it fit" by stretching the frames. I either had so much horizontal play in my sashes that I could feel a breeze through the window, or frames so tight the windows wouldn't open.
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Jul 26, 2014 17:01
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fknlo posted:What is everyone's opinion on getting a radon inspection done? Do it if they don't already have an active mitigation system. It's not really a proper radon test (which takes place over at least a month, IIRC), and the sellers can cheat it a bit, but on the other hand it's not very expensive, and if it does come up high, it's easy to get the sellers to pay the couple thousand to get an active system installed (once you tell them about your test results they'd have to disclose it to any other buyers). If you or anyone in your family smokes, you should pay for a longer term test after you move in even if the inspector's test comes up okay.
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Jul 27, 2014 19:03
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Anyone know a site where I can search for houses with carriage houses/in-law suites?
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Jul 27, 2014 21:28
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me your dad posted:Anyone know a site where I can search for houses with carriage houses/in-law suites? Redfin's site allows you to search descriptions and agent remarks. A cursory search of the phase "in-law" found several in the area.
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Jul 28, 2014 02:16
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We did a walkthrough of a foreclosure recently for what could be a really nice house if its cosmetic problems get dealt with. The home is about 10 years old. The wife and I are good at doing things like drywall, flooring, landscaping, and other cosmetic improvements, and that's all that we were able to find ourselves. It looked like the previous tenant punched some holes in the walls, busted up a door, and sold off all of the appliances. This raises some additional concerns I'm concerned about the possibility of something malicious having been done to the plumbing or electrical system. We've put an offer in for what we think the value of the home is worth if the plumbing and electrical are in good shape. 1) Water and electrical are both turned off right now, what needs to happen to get these turned on? 2) Would a general home inspector be able to find plumbing and electrical issues, or do we need to hire specialists during the due diligence period and really fine-tooth-comb the place with different inspectors looking for different things? How much would it cost to get various specialists? Do I just need to call a plumber and an electrician to do those respective inspections? 3) Are there any other recommendations for things to check or look out for during the inspection period? There are 2 other offers on the property, but I'd like to be ready in case our offer gets accepted. The holes in the wall are a major worry, since who knows why they're there (did the previous occupant just punch holes in anger during the foreclosure proceedings, or was stuff taken out of the wall, such as copper wiring? At least with holes already there it might not be too hard to go in and check out what's behind some of the walls) e: Also, the dryer, fridge, and oven/stove were gone, but the microwave and the washer were still there and looked fine. Some of the ceiling fans are damaged or missing, half are fine. A/C unit is still there and all hooked up. Cabinets all look good, no broken or missing windows. It's a mix of "I'm going to bust up this house by occasionally punching a wall" and "I'm going to sell whatever I can", I guess? This makes me hopeful that the plumbing and electrical are fine, since selling all of the appliances (especially the huge A/C unit) would be an easy first step if you really wanted to gut a house, while removing all of the wiring and plumbing would probably be the last thing that you'd do. I guess that they could have poured something nasty down the sink, that's more the sort of thing that I'd be trying to check (and that the existing electrical system won't burn down the house) QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jul 28, 2014 |
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Jul 28, 2014 04:17
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Are there any websites that index and compare city/county incidental fees? The tax rates and estimates are easy to find, but I'm interested in how much the city (Omaha, NE) is going to try to gently caress me if I move into the city limits from renting in the suburbs in the next county over. The price difference for properties of similar size/quality across county lines in my area is compelling, but there's gotta be a downside. I'm looking for a listing of things like city- and county-specific sewer/water/gas/cable/internet/road/school/pets/corn/whatever surcharges and fees that would magically appear on my utility and property tax bills.
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Jul 28, 2014 05:51
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