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That estimate for an hours work is pretty high but since you are using it to get a concession all the better. I am still laughing that someone is suggesting you live in San Francisco in a place that is $2,500 a month. (Assuming you are not locked into a rent control situation). Anyway I would ride out that cheap rent for as long as you can stand it instead of buying.
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Jul 29, 2015 19:35
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DrBouvenstein posted:Got estimates for some basic contractor and electrical work, and while the estimate for a couple stair railings is about what I expected, hoo-boy, what I would think is basic electrical work is more expensive than I thought. Every one of those things is something you can do yourself with parts from Home Depot. Ground rods $11.28 x2 Basement outlets $0.68 x2 Garage outlet cover $0.28 GFCI outlets $10.00 x 4 Single pole 20 amp GFCI breaker $35.97 x2 "Closet rated" Halo 6" IC remodel recessed fixture $15.98 x3 Lithonia 5"-6" LED recessed retrofit bulb $14.97x3 First Alert battery-operated CO detector $15.00 x3 Total $273.99 + 15% misc parts & pieces = $315.09 I'd not worry about it and make the repairs yourself. Just don't tell your town.
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Jul 29, 2015 20:04
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Stefan Prodan posted:Hm ok, for some reason I had the impression that most states have to give you notice that they're firing you ahead of time and you have to give notice ahead of time that you're quitting whereas here you can do either the same day, but I guess I was mistaken "At will employment" is obviously a lot more complicated than "you can be fired at any time no matter where you are"; most states have exceptions, and some states even have unions (those without "right to work" laws) that can protect you from being fired for no reason. In practice, most employers will at least tell you why you're being laid off or fired Omne posted:I'm in that dead period of closing where I don't have to do anything...and it's very strange. All documents are in to my lender (and have been for a week), inspection is done and repairs signed off on, occupancy agreement signed by both parties. Appraisal is scheduled for this week as well, and our closing date isn't until August 20th. This is going to be a long three weeks. Anyone else been in this position? Most home buyers, I think. We certainly were. At some point you're just waiting on the bank or the underwriter or whatever and there's not a lot for you to do.
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Jul 29, 2015 20:22
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Economic Sinkhole posted:Every one of those things is something you can do yourself with parts from Home Depot. If the town finds out he did the work they can make him rip out the work and have it redone. He has a sellers concession. Just let things go through the normal channels
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Jul 29, 2015 20:45
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I'm working on buying my second home and got a great rate/closing costs from eLend. Has anyone heard anything about them? I did some digging online, and they have some complaints (like all lenders do) but I want to make sure I'm not in for a terrible ride. We have 20% to put down and credit scores over 800, so I think we're good to go on the finances front.
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Jul 29, 2015 20:46
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Zeta Taskforce posted:If the town finds out he did the work they can make him rip out the work and have it redone. He has a sellers concession. Just let things go through the normal channels How would the town find out he replaced an outlet cover without a permit?
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Jul 29, 2015 20:52
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^ ^ ^ It's not the town I care about, it's the appraiser. ^ ^ ^ It's definitely something I'm going to have to look into, but from what the inspector and my agent told me is that the process works like this: 1) Appraiser comes out, sees stuff that needs work (likely several of the issues the inspector found, but probably not all of them.) 2) Have the seller get the work done and show proof, or we can have it done within X days of moving in (30?) 3) If we get it done, when they come back, they are going to want some sort of proof it was done. A statement of work from a contractor, and a copy of the permit + inspection from the city. I can do it myself, but I still have to get a permit and have it inspected: quote:Can I do MY OWN PLUMBING OR ELECTRICAL?
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Jul 29, 2015 21:12
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I don't think the appraiser cares about GFCIs or anything like that. My understanding is that the normal process is that the appraiser comes out, says your home is worth $X. Then if you are still at 80% LTV then the bank goes ahead with the loan and thats all. I don't think the GFCI issue would even make it onto insurance company's radar, but I could be wrong. Also, most states/cities say that you need a permit to do anything. The majority if people ignore it because there's very little risk of there being any repercussions.
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Jul 29, 2015 21:24
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If this is an FHA appraisal, then the stuff may have to be fixed and re-inspected. They have specific standards for a home to meet in order to approve FHA loans.
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Jul 29, 2015 21:33
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Leperflesh posted:If this is an FHA appraisal, then the stuff may have to be fixed and re-inspected. They have specific standards for a home to meet in order to approve FHA loans. He said earlier its conventional. And while FHA loans do have property standards, they are still pretty lax. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fha-inspection-standards-checklist-1540.html
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Jul 29, 2015 21:35
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Well that's good to know. The inspector just made it seem like this would HAVE to be done. But if the appraiser doesn't care, then it's not a huge deal. I'll just do it myself, aside from possibly the stupid Jacuzzi tub and possibly properly grounding the water pipe since I don't know what that actually entails. The handrails on a couple of stairs I'm 90% sure will have to be done...I have two friends who bought homes recently in the area, and both of them needed handrails on some stairs. Appraisers go crazy for handrails up here.
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Jul 29, 2015 21:41
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Jealous Cow posted:Can you buy a single family in Chicago proper for 300? Or are you looking at apartments? I'm not sure about Chicago proper (see mastershakeman's for a broader Chicago perspective), but there are a few of those available in the near western suburbs, still connected to the city by the L. Personally, though, I'm looking at condos, ideally something in a 6-8 unit building with a building-managed HOA.
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Jul 29, 2015 21:44
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DrBouvenstein posted:The inspector just made it seem like this would HAVE to be done. But if the appraiser doesn't care, then it's not a huge deal. I'll just do it myself, aside from possibly the stupid Jacuzzi tub and possibly properly grounding the water pipe since I don't know what that actually entails. Many inspectors flip their poo poo over anything that could possibly ever be a problem. It protects them from lawsuits. The electrical work in question can be safely done with a couple of Youtube videos worth of education and a $10 tool to check to see if wires are live or not.
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Jul 29, 2015 21:52
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Zeta Taskforce posted:If the town finds out he did the work they can make him rip out the work and have it redone. He has a sellers concession. Just let things go through the normal channels I don't see anything in there that screams "I need a permit". Only thing it says to me is  for miscellaneous outlets at home depot and fifteen minutes to watch a few people replace an outlet on YouTube and de-mystify the great magical black box of household electricity.The quote, however obscene, greatly works in your favor--take the credit and just do it all work yourself after closing, simple as can be. If you're looking at that quote and think that's anywhere near reflective of the work/skill involved, then you probably deserve to be bilked outta every dime ya got. Omne posted:I'm in that dead period of closing where I don't have to do anything...and it's very strange. All documents are in to my lender (and have been for a week), inspection is done and repairs signed off on, occupancy agreement signed by both parties. Appraisal is scheduled for this week as well, and our closing date isn't until August 20th. This is going to be a long three weeks. Anyone else been in this position? Just hope the folks you're buying the house from read the contract and realize that you're going to be taking possession of the house upon closing. Mine didn't, and instead thought they had a month to move out afterwards. I should have walked at closing, but being gullible gave them an extra week to move out. This meant no final inspection for me, by which they thanked me by leaving the place a wreck as well as leaving stuff like a collection of used motor oil in betty crocker butter containers in the garage. The things I've fixed since then have really cemented the impression that they were not smart people(tm). Further proved by the fact that they only had 5,00$ equity in the house after living in it for twenty years. Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 04:43
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OSU_Matthew posted:I don't see anything in there that screams "I need a permit". Only thing it says to me is You're probably right. I tend to get conservative and dealing with a municipality that cares about stuff like that put me in cocoon mode.
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Jul 30, 2015 05:00
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OSU_Matthew posted:The things I've fixed since then have really cemented the impression that they were not smart people(tm). Yeah, this is me with my previous owners, except instead of $500, or $5000 equity in the house, they brought over $6000 to closing. They paid over $6000 to not have a house anymore. If I had understood that from the beginning, I would have run away in the opposite direction. It wasn't until after closing that I realized that happened.
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Jul 30, 2015 05:13
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baquerd posted:Many inspectors flip their poo poo over anything that could possibly ever be a problem. It protects them from lawsuits. The electrical work in question can be safely done with a couple of Youtube videos worth of education and a $10 tool to check to see if wires are live or not. Would you recommend a specific resource for basic DIY electric work? We have a bathroom switch that turns on a light and a fan, and it'd be nice to turn this into two switches, but I don't want to burn the house down
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Jul 30, 2015 05:19
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QuarkJets posted:Would you recommend a specific resource for basic DIY electric work? We have a bathroom switch that turns on a light and a fan, and it'd be nice to turn this into two switches, but I don't want to burn the house down http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3090739
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Jul 30, 2015 05:31
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Pros: Selling a house in a red hot market (norcal). It's been on the market for one week, been seen by 2 dozen realtors, and we have a bunch of offers ready to go. Looks like we'll make 50-60% above what we paid for it 4 years ago. Cons: Buying a house in an equally red hot market (denver) sometime in the next year. Really not looking forward to house hunting again.
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Jul 30, 2015 06:33
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LabyaMynora posted:Yeah, this is me with my previous owners, except instead of $500, or $5000 equity in the house, they brought over $6000 to closing. But hey at least they weren't throwing away money on rent!
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Jul 30, 2015 13:54
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ixo posted:Pros: Selling a house in a red hot market (norcal). It's been on the market for one week, been seen by 2 dozen realtors, and we have a bunch of offers ready to go. Looks like we'll make 50-60% above what we paid for it 4 years ago. Rent for a year. E: We sold our house in this market, and of course immediately bought a new one in a new area. We got lucky, since I love the neighborhood and the suburb we're in, but we paid more than the house should've gone for, even if we'll have no trouble getting our money back out of it. (Until the bubble bursts again.) Ex2: They say that bathrooms and kitchens are the only remodels that you'll get your money back out of. For my kitchen, I'm just going to refinish the hardwood, and refinish all the cabinets/add a granite countertop. My master bath is what concerns me. It's huge, leads to the closet, has a two-door wide opening linking it to the bedroom with no door, and has a little shitter closet for the toilet. I think to actually do anything beyond "update the poorly place vanities" and "replace the shower stall" I'm going to have to move like... everything. It's a legit giant bathroom, but I'm not sure what I can do to it for 20k that's going to make a house worth 20k more. Maybe I'll just replace the vanities and put a nicer toilet in. No Butt Stuff fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 14:09
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^^ Don't do what you think will make you money, just fix what will make your life better, and don't have the expectation you'll get your money back out of anything you do. A lot of stuff is really cheap, easy, and personally satisfying to do on your own. Also, just think how badly dated granite countertops will look in ten years time and how the future occupants of your house will be itching to tear it out for the new glamorous kitchen hotness.QuarkJets posted:Would you recommend a specific resource for basic DIY electric work? We have a bathroom switch that turns on a light and a fan, and it'd be nice to turn this into two switches, but I don't want to burn the house down This a fantastic book, worth every penny for having a good reference of everything around the home in case you need to fix something and don't know where to turn: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1588163024/ Also the wiring thread is a good reference too. To add a switch, you'll first need to disconnect the power at the breaker. Get a voltage sniffer to be 100% sure it's not live before you start tearing into to as well. Remove the cover, old switches. You'll probably need to install a larger work box to accommodate the extra switch, which means you'll have to cut out a larger hole in the drywall. If you have a fish tape, you can run additional 14g romex wiring along the path to the fan and add that in, presuming you have an easy path with no disruptions, eg straight up into the attic and over to the fan. You'll need access to the fan wiring too, preferably from an attic to redo everything. Then you'll need to figure out how to wire all the switches together to accommodate everything and long story short it probably isn't worth the hassle. Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 14:21
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OSU_Matthew posted:This a fantastic book, worth every penny for having a good reference of everything around the home in case you need to fix something and don't know where to turn: http://www.amazon.com/Household-hin...+and+handy+tips
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Jul 30, 2015 14:36
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LabyaMynora posted:Yeah, this is me with my previous owners, except instead of $500, or $5000 equity in the house, they brought over $6000 to closing. I had to bring 35,000 to closing, 30k of which was a loan, just to sell my condo. Hooray for buying in 2009 and then realizing I didn't want to live there a few years later.
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Jul 30, 2015 14:40
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OSU_Matthew posted:I don't see anything in there that screams "I need a permit". Only thing it says to me is The thing that screams "I need a permit" is the town ordinance saying I need a permit. Technically, from what I can tell about its wording, even just replacing an outlet (something I've done many times before,) requires a permit, and then an inspection afterward. But again, that's only if the appraiser calls it out and asks those items be fixed. The appraisal is next week, so all I can do now is just wait. Ideally, the seller will agree to our terms based on the quotes, and then the appraiser won't care one bit about those items the inspector found, and we've got some extra cash for stuff we actually want to do (some of which is the stuff I mentioned, but obviously if I only need to spend $100 on some outlets and not $1400 for overprices outlets and too many hours of labor then that's all the better. More cash on hand to replace the horrible countertops in the kitchen.)
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Jul 30, 2015 16:13
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OSU_Matthew posted:^^ Don't do what you think will make you money, just fix what will make your life better, and don't have the expectation you'll get your money back out of anything you do. A lot of stuff is really cheap, easy, and personally satisfying to do on your own. Also, just think how badly dated granite countertops will look in ten years time and how the future occupants of your house will be itching to tear it out for the new glamorous kitchen hotness. Exactly. Depending on what you do you will get 30% to 65% back out on price, but whatever you do, pay cash for it. After you have an emergency fund. Before then you can paint, decorate and get area rugs. Too many people justify borrowing money on expensive upgrades thinking they will pay for themselves, and next thing you know you will be one of those aforementioned people who have been in their house for 20 years and have $5000 of equity. Personally I think granite can look really nice, but I see cookie cutter renovations where they put it in to say they have it too. One thing I don't understand is why people get hardons over stainless steel appliances.
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Jul 30, 2015 17:53
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Well, I've painted some rooms myself, and honestly, will probably only end up putting down tile after I rip up some of the hardwood that wasn't laid correctly, and having the cabinets refinished along with the rest of the hardwood. The rest I'd love to do, but I have to remind myself that I'll be spending 5 years in this house or so, and I'd like to not lose money on it. I tend to just get carried away in regards to all the projects I'd like to do, even though I know I probably shouldn't/won't do them. I do need to replace some carpet, but that's 5k I don't want to spend right now either. Oh well.
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Jul 30, 2015 17:56
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OSU_Matthew posted:
Jesus... We have an occupancy agreement. I close on August 20th, I take formal possession on the 22nd. I inspect the property on the 19th or 20th (prior to closing), a certain amount of the sales price is held in escrow from the seller, and I re-inspect on the 22nd to verify that the home is in the same condition. If everything is satisfactory, the funds are released to the seller. Otherwise I hold them until issues are fixed or keep some of it to repair what was done. The seller has been excellent so far, the house is in immaculate condition. He's an Army pilot moving to Korea and he's been doing everything we've asked. We basically told him everything that came up in the inspection report and he's taking care of it all (contingent on re-inspection, of course).
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Jul 30, 2015 18:09
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OK so after living here for nearly 4 years I get a letter from the family in the house behind me asking for my cooperation in addressing a tree on my property whose roots are "creeping up on their slab". My back yard has a steep upward slope (probably 30 degrees) and there are 3 paper trees probably 15-20 feet from the edge of my property. The house in question sits on the plateau above my house (their slab is probably at around the same altitude as my roof. I don't want to be a dick here - I really do want to be courteous and help and do whatever I can to make sure that my tree doesn't damage their slab. But at the same time I really don't want to remove the tree - not just because of the cost but because without those trees I lose some privacy from same neighbors. If anything I was planning on planting more trees up there. Any advice on what I'm obligated to do? My wife thinks if we just kind of ignore it that the family will drive a copper nail into the root of the tree which according to her will kill the tree. Edit: I googled and came up with this (I'm in California) http://www.yourlegalcorner.com/articles.asp?ID=78&cat=estate Seems like as a good neighbor I could offer to contribute partially to them trimming back the roots pre-emptively knowing full-well that at some point they'll grow back. Slappy Pappy fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 18:34
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Spamtron7000 posted:OK so after living here for nearly 4 years I get a letter from the family in the house behind me asking for my cooperation in addressing a tree on my property whose roots are "creeping up on their slab". My back yard has a steep upward slope (probably 30 degrees) and there are 3 paper trees probably 15-20 feet from the edge of my property. The house in question sits on the plateau above my house (their slab is probably at around the same altitude as my roof. quote:Although adjoining landowners have almost an unfettered right to trim encroaching limbs, branches and foliage, that is not the case with tree roots. If roots encroach under adjacent property, you can sever the roots but only if the roots are in fact causing damage and then only if done reasonably (which may mean by a professional). If the tree roots of an adjoining landowner do in fact cause damage and the encroached upon landowner acts reasonably to sever the roots causing damage, the owner of the encroaching tree is liable for the actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a direct result of his tree's encroaching roots. This looks like the key clause here. I would ask to see what actual damage is happening. The mere presence of roots does not automatically mean they are damaging. If there is damage to their slab then you would be on the hook for having the roots pruned back. If they can't prove that their slab is being damaged, then not your worry. What is this about a copper nail? If only trees where that easy to kill....
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Jul 30, 2015 18:52
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If they're complaining about it, then it's probably because some minor visible damage has already occurred. If you really like that tree for some reason, then you should offer to have the roots trimmed. That solves the problem while keeping the tree. You could also remove the tree and replace it with a tree that doesn't have as much root expansion. If you want to put more trees in that area, I definitely think you should switch what kind of tree you're considering
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Jul 30, 2015 19:29
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Well, you have to dip it in the blood of a twin born on a full moon, and then after you drive it into the tree you electrocute the other twin to death.
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Jul 30, 2015 19:35
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Since I'm stuck at home taking care of a sick toddler I figured I'd take a picture to show you all how awesome these loving trees are. This is from my bedroom window. That house in the background is the one in question. gently caress my ice plants are all dead and the hill needs some attention.
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Jul 30, 2015 20:15
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Oh. Your trees with their nice spreading roots are helping to hold that hillside together. Maybe if you explained to your neighbors that killing or removing the trees could result in part or all of their property winding up in your living room, they'd be very open to carefully trimming roots where absolutely necessary while assuring the trees remain healthy and alive.
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Jul 30, 2015 20:18
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Spamtron7000 posted:Since I'm stuck at home taking care of a sick toddler I figured I'd take a picture to show you all how awesome these loving trees are. This is from my bedroom window. That house in the background is the one in question. gently caress my ice plants are all dead and the hill needs some attention. They aren't even that close to your neighbor. Are they talking about a concrete slab that the house is built on? I'm not there, but no way those roots are causing damage to it. Unless it is documented I would stand my ground and pay nothing
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Jul 30, 2015 20:27
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No Butt Stuff posted:Rent for a year. Holy poo poo we looked at a house that has *exactly* that layout. Top floor was: giant master bedroom, with two sides leading into a big master bath with no doors, and a tiny non-door leading to a toilet. There was a jacuzzi tub, too. Closet in the way back behind the master bath, attic stairs next to it. We got someone to come out to give us an estimate for turning the floor into something more usable (i.e. not just one room) but decided against it.
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Jul 30, 2015 21:10
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silvergoose posted:Holy poo poo we looked at a house that has *exactly* that layout. Top floor was: giant master bedroom, with two sides leading into a big master bath with no doors, and a tiny non-door leading to a toilet. There was a jacuzzi tub, too. Closet in the way back behind the master bath, attic stairs next to it. I'm getting to hate bedrooms on the top floor. People sleep better where it's cooler, and unless you're in a winter wonderland most of the year, it seems like bedrooms should really be on the main floor unless you are one of those "entertaining" fucks.
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Jul 31, 2015 02:17
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It's my feeling that a living room can basically go anywhere, but putting the kitchen on the second story is usually more expensive, so developers are less inclined to do it unless people want it and are willing to pay extra for it. It can also cost more to maintain. And there are a whole bunch of practical reasons to not want a bedroom under a living room/kitchen, including needing to worry more about sound insulation, having to repair and replace a lot more stuff if the kitchen ever floods while you're away, and having to loving walk up a flight stairs in the morning before you've had any coffee Meanwhile, cooling down a bedroom is pretty cheap and easy in most places, so I can understand why people would opt for that. QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 09:15 on Jul 31, 2015 |
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Jul 31, 2015 09:08
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If you have two stories, zone heating and cooling is what you shall get. No builder installs these and they love making giant holes between the downstairs and up to make sure the heat and cooling doesn't stay where you want it. You are going to need to move a lot of air to keep them the same temperature. Super insulated homes make this a little easier then trying to combat some victorian that is basically 6 opens windows of bad.
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Jul 31, 2015 15:25
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My A/C and Furnace both will need to be replaced in the next year or two (18 years old, electric bill has been 350 bucks for the past two months) So I'll be putting in zoned heating and cooling at that point. The duct work is pretty much ready for it, since we have one main duct basically feeding each floor. I dunno, maybe a heat pump, since it rarely stays below 20 degrees in the winter around here.
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Jul 31, 2015 15:33
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