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Jastiger posted:Stop you're scaring me. I'm at around $1000/mo over the past four years since I bought the house, but that includes a kitchen demo/boiler replacement I knew in advance that makes up about half of it. Track housing that was built so cheaply/quickly the washing machine and boiler were in the kitchen... ugh. Other then that I upgraded the elecrical, put in central air, replaced a bunch of windows, put in a sliding door a shed and a patio, oh and had 6 trees/a half acre of mess removed from what is now a yard.
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Aug 11, 2014 04:56
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skipdogg posted:Pfft. I've spent over 600 bucks this year just on my grass. GRASS! 13k in January for my backyard reno. Another 6k last month for a patio cover.  I do enjoy the gently caress outta my yard though.
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Aug 11, 2014 05:16
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FCKGW posted:13k in January for my backyard reno. Another 6k last month for a patio cover. I have over an acre of nice grass, crab grass, and god knows what other plants are around, and for whatever crazy reason the whole thing is bumpy as gently caress and will break ankles, largely because of what seem to be dirt clods or something on the surface. There's mole tunnels here and there but the majority just seem to be general unevenness/those dirt clods. I'm wondering if borrowing a dethatcher would do something about that.
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Aug 11, 2014 05:20
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Kalli posted:I'm at around $1000/mo over the past four years since I bought the house, but that includes a kitchen demo/boiler replacement I knew in advance that makes up about half of it. Track housing that was built so cheaply/quickly the washing machine and boiler were in the kitchen... ugh. That sounds like you bought a fixer upper though. I hopefully don't have those kinds of renovations required for our place. Hopefully.
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Aug 11, 2014 16:44
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shortspecialbus posted:I have over an acre of nice grass, crab grass, and god knows what other plants are around, and for whatever crazy reason the whole thing is bumpy as gently caress and will break ankles, largely because of what seem to be dirt clods or something on the surface. There's mole tunnels here and there but the majority just seem to be general unevenness/those dirt clods. I'm wondering if borrowing a dethatcher would do something about that. I think your choices are Roundup and grade or carefully mow low, dump clean topsoil on and use a drag to level. Not enough to bury the grass, but starting to fill in the low spots. May take multiple applications, but you can do sections at a time. I don't think you want a roller as compaction is bad. I would be interested if your problem is actual grass knots/clumps that the dethatcher may take care of, but if it's the underlying soil I don't think it'd be powerful enough to bust it up without also destroying the turf there. I'm sort of just learning all this as I go, so take this as sourced from a random idiot on the internet. For sad lawn chat I'm currently in for about $800/year for about a half acre of real actual lawn on a 1-acre lot, and that takes into account the fact that I already had the mower and blower. Had to add a non-poo poo string trimmer and hedge trimmers to that, and will need a good spreader for next season as well. But this is just maintenance: fertilizing, liming, mulching, pre-emergent for crabgrass, trimming shrubs, etc. It's an ongoing fact of life if I want my yard to not look like rear end, and this was with a nice, well-established lawn with probably 6" of good topsoil. The old house was like a dusting of topsoil over a beach, and I basically just mowed down weeds every week, I can't even imagine how much it would have cost to get and keep a good lawn going there. Also factor in the time it takes to mow up to twice a week during peak season and do your trimming, and pretty much weekly leaf removal in the fall (forget where you are). Make sure your beds are edged and mulched! Spot treat those weeds! Oops, you have a fountain in your lawn now, gotta grab another sprinkler head. Lawns are a lot of work.
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Aug 11, 2014 17:20
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Speaking of trimmers/edgers, does anyone have any good recommendations? I got the mower but that pesky tall grass near the edges and the fence just sits there...growing...taunting me.  Jastiger posted:That sounds like you bought a fixer upper though. I hopefully don't have those kinds of renovations required for our place. Was your home built in the last 20 years or so? If not, bad news, everybody! ex post facho fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Aug 11, 2014 |
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Aug 11, 2014 17:22
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a shameful boehner posted:Speaking of trimmers/edgers, does anyone have any good recommendations? I got the mower but that pesky tall grass near the edges and the fence just sits there...growing...taunting me. I'm on my second model of a B&D automatic string trimmer and I'm not happy with it. It seems to jam pretty easily. If someone can suggest a a good bump and feed I'm interested.
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Aug 11, 2014 17:31
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a shameful boehner posted:Speaking of trimmers/edgers, does anyone have any good recommendations? I got the mower but that pesky tall grass near the edges and the fence just sits there...growing...taunting me. Well, it depends on your power tool philosophy. If you just need something to get stuff trimmed, I used a throwaway $60 Sears one for a couple years. It will make your hands numb, may starve for gas when sideways (for edging), and is going to be temperamental to start and keep running. If you want something good that will last, you are looking for a solid-shaft (straight-shaft) trimmer from Husqvarna or Stihl. If you want it to do extra crap besides trimming, Stihl sells "homeowner" or "professional" split-shaft models that will take a shitload of attachments. I have the string trimming head, hedge trimming thing so I don't need to fall off a ladder with a running trimmer, and brush cutter attachment to keep the paths into the woods clear and a nice keepout zone along the edge of the yard. Once you buy a couple attachments the price is reasonable but if you only want to clean up around the edges or fence, just get a dedicated trimmer. I considered the edger but with an hour's practice you can edge fine just holding the trimmer sideways. There are intermediate options (including some split shaft deals at big box stores) but I only really have experience with the garbage and really nice ones. PM me if you want more info on the Stihl one I went with. e: This thread may have more, I haven't specifically looked about trimmers though. uwaeve fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Aug 11, 2014 |
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Aug 11, 2014 17:39
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Trimmers, As a guy that waits until rabbits and other varmints are infesting my weeds before I consider trimming, get a straight shaft whatever, don't waste your time with a curved shaft. The little coils always break when I get into some serious weed remediation. I am currently rockin a $70 weed eater straight shaft. It is under powered, but $70 you can't really expect much. The previous recommended brands are the go to brands. Echo seems legit also. 55 gallons of bleach or bags of salt also work wonders.
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Aug 11, 2014 19:30
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Leperflesh posted:How old you are doesn't really matter because different people have different kinds of lives. That's too far out to worry, imo. Who cares if you marry a mail order bride 10 years from now and any Corporate job stability at the non-Executive level has been loving GONE for 15+ years anyway. Goons, buy a house unless you enjoy lovely old appliances, chalky navajo white walls, stinky bathrooms and blood and poop stained carpets. ...and when you do buy a house and get a yard, prepare to start your eternal and futile battle against yellow nutsedge! You can drop millions of gallons of Spectracide, Sedgehammer, or even ROUNDUP or gasoline on this evil horrible weed and it will spring right back and say "gently caress you" every single summer. gently caress you, nutsedge. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Aug 11, 2014 |
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Aug 11, 2014 20:50
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shortspecialbus posted:I have over an acre of nice grass, crab grass, and god knows what other plants are around, and for whatever crazy reason the whole thing is bumpy as gently caress and will break ankles, largely because of what seem to be dirt clods or something on the surface. There's mole tunnels here and there but the majority just seem to be general unevenness/those dirt clods. I'm wondering if borrowing a dethatcher would do something about that. Aroundtheyard.com is a very nice resource for all things yard related. Very nice people there. uwaeve is right though, your two options are to completely regrade your property, or try to level it by filling it in. Both options are time consuming, and will suck. Don't know where you live, but it's basically an all summer job to level a yard, and that's assuming you live in the south with a fast growing aggressive grass like Bermuda. I maybe have 5000 sq ft of yard, I can't imagine doing an acre. We're thinking about putting the house up for sale next spring so I've been going all out repairing my neglected yard this summer. I have an easy 600 bucks plus a few weekends into it, and a big rear end water bill. The good weed killer costs a fortune.. paid 100 bucks for a little bottle of Celsius.
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Aug 11, 2014 21:10
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Keyser S0ze posted:That's too far out to worry, imo. Who cares if you marry a mail order bride 10 years from now and any Corporate job stability at the non-Executive level has been loving GONE for 15+ years anyway. as far as your last point: Renting a house will give you everything owning a house will give you, sans migraines and $1k plumbing bills.
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Aug 11, 2014 21:15
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Personally I've owned several houses and getting ready to buy another since i just sold mine (well in contract at least). There is no way to ever be sure your company or job will be around these days, no matter how good you think you are. 10+ years at the same company is nearly non-existent these days. So yes, have ample cash reserves and don't overbuy. Also, in some respects it's easier to miss payments on your mortgage over a payment to some corporate owned apartment if one was to quickly become catastrophically broke.
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Aug 11, 2014 21:26
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Question specific to UK mortgages, is there something off with the HSBC mortgage calculator? Why does it want a £50k deposit for a £160k mortgage? Seems a bit excessive, considering I'm on just under average UK salary with no dependents.
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Aug 11, 2014 22:06
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Are there any books out there that serve as a sort of home repair / renovation manual? Bonus points if it deals specifically with old pre-war apartments. This place we're likely moving to has good bones and has been well kept but it still has masonry walls, lead paint etc. so I'm a little out of my element. I'm trying to figure out what I can do myself and what needs a contractor.
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Aug 12, 2014 13:27
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Lowness 72 posted:Are there any books out there that serve as a sort of home repair / renovation manual? Not trying to be rude, I'm just curious though on what the general thought is....aren't masonry walls, lead paint, old plumbing, etc. considered bad bones?
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Aug 12, 2014 15:16
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Keyser S0ze posted:Personally I've owned several houses and getting ready to buy another since i just sold mine (well in contract at least). There is no way to ever be sure your company or job will be around these days, no matter how good you think you are. 10+ years at the same company is nearly non-existent these days. So yes, have ample cash reserves and don't overbuy. HaHa, yeah it takes a year and a half to get foreclosed on, it takes 2 week to get evicted for non payment of rent. Especially in a non recourse state buying is a no brainier for housing security if you can have no money down.
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Aug 12, 2014 16:05
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Jastiger posted:Not trying to be rude, I'm just curious though on what the general thought is....aren't masonry walls, lead paint, old plumbing, etc. considered bad bones? Nope. Gut and renovate. The shell of the house is still in good condition, and that's all that really matters. The lead paint is going to be a bitch, though.
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Aug 12, 2014 17:29
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Jastiger posted:Stop you're scaring me.
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Aug 12, 2014 20:42
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What's the lowdown on home warranties like ServiceOne? I've heard horror stories and success stories in equal measure.
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Aug 13, 2014 02:44
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Propagandalf posted:What's the lowdown on home warranties like ServiceOne? I've heard horror stories and success stories in equal measure. I don't know about ServiceOne specifically, but after reading the fine print on the one that came with the house, I decided it was close to worthless. The specific parts of major systems that are covered are the parts that don't break, the deductibles were high, and the limits were laughable. Oh your $1600 dishwasher poo poo the bed? Was it the pump, because that's not covered. If the dishwasher spontaneously combusted, you can have $300 to shop for a new one by paying a $100 deductible. poo poo like that. Basically, read the fine print, know what is covered and make some intelligent decisions about whether the specific covered items are likely to fail during the warranty period. I think ours cost the sellers $400 for 10 months, and taking a step back, you have to realize they're structured so they, on average, have to pay out much less than that.
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Aug 13, 2014 03:31
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I figured, it's like the underbody coating of home buying.
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Aug 13, 2014 03:38
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They are basically worthless. I got one in the first place because it's a standard thing for the sellers to throw in around here. I renewed it for a year because there was trouble with the AC and I knew it was 95% likely to happen again. After the cost of the warranty I think I broke even at the end of the day. In any normal situation don't waste your money. The right approach is to have plenty of cash left after the purchase and cover stuff yourself.
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Aug 13, 2014 03:43
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Finished the inspection. Found an old oil furnace tank in the ground the previous inspector missed, but it's cheap to fill so we'll do that ourselves. Iron plumbing is functioning but will need to be replaced down the road. Sewer is good. Roof is great, old wiring needs a replacement. We're moving to closing as we knew all of that in advance. Cash buys are insanely fast.
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Aug 13, 2014 22:51
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Keyser S0ze posted:That's too far out to worry, imo. Who cares if you marry a mail order bride 10 years from now and any Corporate job stability at the non-Executive level has been loving GONE for 15+ years anyway. Tenure at a specific employer averages around 4 or 4.5 years I think. But I was talking about a job/career, not necessarily a position at a specific company. In my own line of work, if I lost my job tomorrow I'd have a new one within a couple months, because I live in an area where people with my experience and skills are in high demand. That gives me the security I need to commit to house payments for 8+ years. (I've also been continuously employed with my current employer for over 10 years, and many of my coworkers are at 15+, so it can happen, even at silicon valley technology companies.) I realize things are hosed up and a lot of people don't have that kind of job security. I think a lot of people shouldn't buy houses, too. Each person has to assess their own level of risk, and there are no absolute certainties. But since you're a serial homeowner you obviously know how much risk is involved with buying a house and then having to sell it two years later... your transaction costs on top of all the other costs are likely to destroy whatever equity you gained during that period, leaving you with a net loss compared to renting. This is BFC. Our job in this thread is to give people sound financial advice. Sure you can just risk it and buy anyway, and lots of people do, but that's not something I am ever going to advise someone to do. None of this YOLO go for it bullshit, just because it's worked out for you doesn't mean it doesn't explode in the faces of a million people every year.
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Aug 14, 2014 03:40
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Goddamn is he right about that yellow nutsedge though.
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Aug 14, 2014 04:17
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FCKGW posted:Goddamn is he right about that yellow nutsedge though. http://www.sedgehammer.com/ Apparently takes a lot of repeated dosing.
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Aug 14, 2014 05:30
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Just ordered our inspection and a radon test. Lets hope that nothing major jumps out at us.
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Aug 14, 2014 15:36
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Leperflesh posted:Tenure at a specific employer averages around 4 or 4.5 years I think. But I was talking about a job/career, not necessarily a position at a specific company. I hear ya. I sold (just hit 17 days so it's probably a go) my recent house after 5 years......getting the boot soon so I'll have to move into either a six month rental or a month to month place and buy another place in Q4 or wait until March 2015. I use Pentagon Federal for my mortgage and their closing costs and fees are minimal and most are waived, great deals there. I will use them again for sure. Another note for buyers: beware of slimy brokers using your offer (and your subsequent counteroffer after they come back to you) to play with their on the side cash buyer they had waiting the entire time - just happened to me on a sweet place in Arden Park - Sacramento, CA area. It really hosed my timing up getting out of my current place. This poo poo happens outside of SF/LA so beware (but obviously not at the same obnoxious levels.) I left the Bay Area to get away from this type of garbage. Meh. Nutsedge is EVIL. Most of the hardcore poo poo that will actually kill that disgusting plant is banned in California, of course. I did carpet bomb it with several batches of Sedgehammer that I snagged off Ebay though - to little effect unfortunately. Anyway....it's the next owners problem now. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Aug 14, 2014 |
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Aug 14, 2014 16:04
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Jastiger posted:Just ordered our inspection and a radon test. Lets hope that nothing major jumps out at us. You may know this but if your radon test comes back over the limit, it is usually taken care of by the seller, as it's something they have to put on the disclosure list for any other buyers. That's how it was explained to me, and true to form, our radon system was put in by the sellers. As with anything else the sellers do for you, it's gonna be a minimum effort install. In our case the company guaranteed the radon level (and had to come back to install more ducting to make good on that), which is good. But the price they quoted was for an exterior installation. I chose to have it installed inside, which cost more. The seller agreed to credit me the lower price, as that was where his responsibility ended. I ponied up the extra cost to have it done the way I wanted it. So this is less a story about a radon system, but more of a recommended approach to handle inspection items. In all cases, the seller is going to do as little as possible to solve the problem, and in some cases you could wind up with lovely work that will be your problem.
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Aug 14, 2014 16:26
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uwaeve posted:You may know this but if your radon test comes back over the limit, it is usually taken care of by the seller, as it's something they have to put on the disclosure list for any other buyers. That's how it was explained to me, and true to form, our radon system was put in by the sellers. As with anything else the sellers do for you, it's gonna be a minimum effort install. In our case the company guaranteed the radon level (and had to come back to install more ducting to make good on that), which is good. But the price they quoted was for an exterior installation. I chose to have it installed inside, which cost more. The seller agreed to credit me the lower price, as that was where his responsibility ended. I ponied up the extra cost to have it done the way I wanted it. Yeah they were really stingy on the selling price so I'm a little worried about how they will handle any issues. YOu can tell they put money into the place in order to make it sellable, with new carpet and a lot of painting touch ups. I think they feel justified in saying no to any kind of changes, so my wife, realtor, and mom ( to watch our daughter and check out the place) will all be there with the inspector while he does his thing. How exactly do they "fix" radon? Do they have to install new wall work with lead or something like that? I also saw the paperwork for the warranty company that the sellers provided through a company called HSA Warranty. Anyone have experience with this company?
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Aug 14, 2014 16:59
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Update on the pipes: the family friend/master plumber took out the leaky galvanized pipes and holy poo poo they were almost completely clogged. I took a flashlight and shined it in one end and looked down the other and could only see a pinpoint of light. I'm very, very glad I had that taken care of sooner than later. Dealing with a burst pipe and mold in the middle of winter sounds like hell. He replaced them with brand new copper over the course of about 3 hours. Now I've got everything separated by the dielectric unions properly. The only other section of pipe that might need a replacement is the main water supply heading from the street through the crawlspace, but since the water pressure is still good, going to hold off on that for now. Including parts and labor, he only charged me $325. About 25% of what it was quoted from the lovely plumbing company we originally got a quote from. However, since he completed the replacement of the galvanized piping last night, I've noticed two issues: the water pumps for the upstairs toilet tanks are very slow to refill (as compared to how they were before the pipe replacement) and the kitchen sink faucet water pressure has also dropped significantly. He let me know before he left last night that he thinks some buildup may have been forced into the faucet as a part of his work last night as the sprayer still works and has strong pressure, and that we should probably just replace the entire faucet, which I'm not opposed to, since he said he'd do that as well for $50. Is it normal for water pumps in toilet tanks to take a bit to fill after plumbing work after he shut off the main water supply to the house? I've asked him in an email, but it's just a bit concerning to see them also taking several minutes to completely re-fill when they did pretty rapidly beforehand. Other than the kitchen sink faucet, the pressure elsewhere in showers and faucets is completely fine. I don't think it's the pump assembly or the valves since the tanks were refilling fine prior to the replacement of the pipes. The only thing I can think of is that similar to the kitchen sink faucet there may have been some buildup forced into the assembly that's clogging the fill mechanism. Get your plumbing checked, goons. ex post facho fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Aug 14, 2014 |
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Aug 14, 2014 17:00
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Jastiger posted:How exactly do they "fix" radon? Do they have to install new wall work with lead or something like that? You install a vent pipe that goes from under the foundation to above the roof. This gives the radon in the soil a path to vent that's not through your house. Typically, a fan is also installed to make sure radon uses the vent, though it's not always necessary.
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Aug 14, 2014 17:15
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a shameful boehner posted:Is it normal for water pumps in toilet tanks to take a bit to fill after plumbing work after he shut off the main water supply to the house? I've asked him in an email, but it's just a bit concerning to see them also taking several minutes to completely re-fill when they did pretty rapidly beforehand. Other than the kitchen sink faucet, the pressure elsewhere in showers and faucets is completely fine.
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Aug 14, 2014 17:16
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adorai posted:Toilets don't have pumps, they just rely on the pressure from the city water (you probably knew this and simply had poor wording). It should be back to normal after the first flush or two, so if it is really slow it could be that some gunk was let loose in the other operation. If it were me, I would get a big container, turn off the water to the toilet, remove the supply hose, and check the pressure there. If it is still good, just buy a new valve for <$10. Takes just a few minutes to install. Yeah, sorry - poor wording, meant the mechanism that fills the tank. Yesterday evening after he had just finished the install the water flowing in was trickling in drips, then this morning I noticed a steadier stream. If it doesn't correct in the next day or so I'll give what you suggested a shot.
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Aug 14, 2014 17:23
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uwaeve posted:You may know this but if your radon test comes back over the limit, it is usually taken care of by the seller, as it's something they have to put on the disclosure list for any other buyers. That's how it was explained to me, and true to form, our radon system was put in by the sellers. As with anything else the sellers do for you, it's gonna be a minimum effort install. In our case the company guaranteed the radon level (and had to come back to install more ducting to make good on that), which is good. But the price they quoted was for an exterior installation. I chose to have it installed inside, which cost more. The seller agreed to credit me the lower price, as that was where his responsibility ended. I ponied up the extra cost to have it done the way I wanted it. My sellers just came back with extra credit as they didn't want to do the work themselves. I'm 100% ok with this, I just wish I could have gotten it in cash to have it done myself instead of paying out of pocket after I take possession. Oh well. I'm not exactly worried about the Radon thing even though it came back high.
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Aug 14, 2014 22:54
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a shameful boehner posted:Update on the pipes: the family friend/master plumber took out the leaky galvanized pipes and holy poo poo they were almost completely clogged. I took a flashlight and shined it in one end and looked down the other and could only see a pinpoint of light. I'm very, very glad I had that taken care of sooner than later. Dealing with a burst pipe and mold in the middle of winter sounds like hell. He replaced them with brand new copper over the course of about 3 hours. Now I've got everything separated by the dielectric unions properly. The only other section of pipe that might need a replacement is the main water supply heading from the street through the crawlspace, but since the water pressure is still good, going to hold off on that for now.
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Aug 15, 2014 05:11
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a shameful boehner posted:Yeah, sorry - poor wording, meant the mechanism that fills the tank. Yesterday evening after he had just finished the install the water flowing in was trickling in drips, then this morning I noticed a steadier stream. If it doesn't correct in the next day or so I'll give what you suggested a shot. I'd buy a 3 pack of some Fluidmaster 400As and just swap them out. Our toilets took forever to fill when we we moved in, swapped out the valves and they have been perfect since then.
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Aug 15, 2014 05:14
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So, we're several weeks into buying the foreclosure that I mentioned some pages back. The bank that owns the property signed our addendum requiring that the inspection contingency be valid up to 7 days after we receive notifications that water and electric are turned on. The bank has turned on the water, which is good; I was able to test all of the sinks, toilets, etc successfully. We're still waiting for electric, and then we can hire a home inspector to comb through the property. If the bank never gets around to turning on the electricity, then our only recourse is to walk away. We'll get back our earnest money, thankfully, since the contingency period would still be in effect. The electric company has been waiting for a month to receive a single document. The bank's agent and our agent are constantly yelling at the bank to get their poo poo together and get the electricity turned on. So I have a question. The scheduled closing date is late September. Does a deadline of two weeks prior to closing seem reasonable as a deadline for the bank to get the electricity turned on? All that we need at this point is a home inspection, an appraisal, and a survey; I don't want to pay for the latter two until the inspection is done, so does 2 weeks to schedule and finish those three things seem reasonable? What really sucks about the whole situation is that we really like the house, and we really like the price that we're getting, but we may be forced to walk away because the bank that owns the property is incompetent
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Aug 16, 2014 12:20
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If you are serious about the house just pull the meter and turn on the juice long enough to do the inspection. They seriously just put two caps on the back of the meter to turn off power. Say the previous owner did it. Don't electrocute yourself. Homeownership ain't for the weak.
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Aug 16, 2014 12:44
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