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It’s exterior insulation yeah. I’m not sure if it has to be stucco or not though. I think it uses a non permeable house wrap like zip sheathing and requires a bunch of hvac equipment to ventilate properly
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Feb 20, 2021 21:46
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pointsofdata posted:Buying a house sucks. Our sellers just pulled out and we're right back at the start again. I also feel weirdly relieved that we're no longer committed to a huge mortgage though. Was it a breech or a contingency condition? Specific performance makes it hard for sellers to breech.
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Feb 20, 2021 23:23
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We just checked out a McMansion, it's pretty nice and my wife likes it, no obvious problems other than being a little far from work but not that far, and it's in a good school district. We also checked out a more rural house with a bit more land. Owner has like 3 Chrysler cars in various states of disrepair in the garages (plural) and an early 1990s diesel Ram 2500 in the driveway filled with junk. Not sure how I feel about that. My dilemma is that there's another place coming up next week that has a more "contemporary" design with more wooded acreage, house looks nice but is older. There's again nothing wron gwith the McMansion we saw today, I just can't shake the feeling that I'm somehow giving up on life by going with a cookie cutter house instead of something more unique.
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Feb 21, 2021 01:48
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Throatwarbler posted:There's again nothing wron gwith the McMansion we saw today, I just can't shake the feeling that I'm somehow giving up on life by going with a cookie cutter house instead of something more unique. Being cookie-cutter is why you think the mcmansion is a problem? Not that by definition it's constructed out of the cheapest materials by people who happened to be hanging out in front of the closest home depot that morning at 6 AM?
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Feb 21, 2021 01:59
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I just refinanced my mortgage. So I'm pretty sure I understand how this works but uhh, my old bank stops charging me (correctly shows as paid in full). I get a check for my escrow remaining, I guess? I should get some sort of bill/invoice for my new mortgage in the mail some time and I just start paying that. Simple. Right? (No escrow for tax/insurance so I know I'll be paying those separately.)
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Feb 21, 2021 02:52
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Throatwarbler posted:We just checked out a McMansion, it's pretty nice and my wife likes it, no obvious problems other than being a little far from work but not that far, and it's in a good school district. We also checked out a more rural house with a bit more land. Owner has like 3 Chrysler cars in various states of disrepair in the garages (plural) and an early 1990s diesel Ram 2500 in the driveway filled with junk. Not sure how I feel about that. The cars don't come with the house, traditionally.
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Feb 21, 2021 03:02
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Motronic posted:Being cookie-cutter is why you think the mcmansion is a problem? Not that by definition it's constructed out of the cheapest materials by people who happened to be hanging out in front of the closest home depot that morning at 6 AM? Built in 2006 too. A fine vintage I hear. And yes, you can fix or mitigate most of the things that might go wrong on the structure itself, but you can't add a wooded lot later.
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Feb 21, 2021 03:54
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totalnewbie posted:I just refinanced my mortgage. Correct. I just did the same thing a month ago.
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Feb 21, 2021 06:31
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Sometimes I feel like I've figured out/calibrated my understanding to be able to know what things sell for in the bay area. And then one of my friends goes and buys a 3br 1900sq foot place in burlingame on a busy street corner and I realize that bay area madness has no actual depths in some neighborhoods.
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Feb 21, 2021 06:58
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Throatwarbler posted:We just checked out a McMansion, it's pretty nice and my wife likes it, no obvious problems other than being a little far from work but not that far, and it's in a good school district. We also checked out a more rural house with a bit more land. Owner has like 3 Chrysler cars in various states of disrepair in the garages (plural) and an early 1990s diesel Ram 2500 in the driveway filled with junk. Not sure how I feel about that. In regards to the McMansion, I will second that the cookie cutter aspect is not the main problem, especially if it was built in 2006 (  ). It’s going to be superficially nice and spacious, but you’re going to pay out the rear end to heat and cool it (I’m automatically assuming it has a lawyer foyer and a double story great room full of windows). And seeing that it was built in the run up to the crash, it was probably hacked together out of subpar materials to subpar standards, as Motronic has already mentioned. And with the location, my personal take is that if you’re going to have a long commute anyway, get a nice place with some land so you’re not still living on a suburban lot but with a longer commute.If I had to choose between a McMansion and a ranchette with a less big/fancy house, I’d take the ranchette. I’d also take a 150-year-old log cabin over a McMansion, but that’s just me. As for old cars, yes, they aren’t supposed to come with the property, but just in case, make sure you include language in the contract stating that the cars shall be removed from the property. My friend bought a house from a negligent landlord and it came with an abandoned car in the driveway (probably having belonged to the super lovely tenants). I don’t remember if he didn’t have a provision about the car being gone or if he just wasn’t able to enforce it. What made it difficult to get rid of was the fact that it was on private property (not public where you can report an abandoned vehicle and the city will come deal with it), and it had no title, so scrupulous towing outfits wouldn’t touch it. He eventually managed to find an unscrupulous guy who accepted a cash payment to drag it onto public property, but if that hadn’t happened his other option was to take it piece by piece to a scrapyard. SO.. if you end up going ahead with the place with the cars, include a strong provision about how the seller shall remove the cars on pain of
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Feb 21, 2021 07:40
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HycoCam posted:Hearing the sellers pulled makes me curious? Where you under contract? I'm in France so the rules are different. There are three main steps, an offer agreement one (which involves signing a short contact on both sides), a sale agreement which has all the terms fleshed out in detail and requires the buyer to put down a deposit, and then the actual act of purchase, when you gain possession. As far as I can tell they are technically in breech of a contract we made with them, but as there were further contracts which had to be signed it's a bit of a moot point, they could always have objected to them (I think? It's kind of dumb that there's this initial agreement made without the notaire's involvement, and then a second one where you actually have the terms drawn up). Their agent said something about a time limited right to withdrawal on their side over the phone but I can find no evidence of this, and he hasn't put it in writing, I think it's BS. Online people say you can in theory sue but there's no point, buying a house is barely a reasonable decision to make without the added cost of an iffy court case. The system seems to rely on people taking the initial agreement seriously, I think this is mostly enforced by estate agents though as they don't want to lose a sale.
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Feb 21, 2021 08:52
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Throatwarbler posted:We just checked out a McMansion, it's pretty nice and my wife likes it, no obvious problems other than being a little far from work but not that far, and it's in a good school district. We also checked out a more rural house with a bit more land. Owner has like 3 Chrysler cars in various states of disrepair in the garages (plural) and an early 1990s diesel Ram 2500 in the driveway filled with junk. Not sure how I feel about that. Wooded acreage is less area to mow, it provides a visual and sound barrier, and it sounds like that house was not built in a boom, which are all pluses. I love my house, but growing up in Vermont with woods was amazing. While I miss that, the open field I have now is good in that my toddler can just run. And run. And run. 
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Feb 21, 2021 15:27
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totalnewbie posted:I just refinanced my mortgage. Good timing because rates just went way up. I should have locked in the rate quote I got from Ally the other day but I dragged my feet and 2.875 with a $174 credit would now cost me $1783. 
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Feb 21, 2021 15:31
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Alarbus posted:Wooded acreage is less area to mow, it provides a visual and sound barrier, and it sounds like that house was not built in a boom, which are all pluses. Yeah, I thought about it a bit more and taking into account the negatives listed here, I'm going to pull back and offer only $32k over asking instead of $40k. If we don't get it, then on to the 1978 built house with the wooded lot.
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Feb 21, 2021 15:59
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Hadlock posted:Looking at building a grover Just saying please do this. 
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Feb 21, 2021 16:26
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Chiming in to say that I’m feeling pretty glad to have not yet purchased a house.
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Feb 21, 2021 16:37
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Another rejected offer yesterday despite waiving inspection because the seller provided an inspection from six months ago when they bought the house (seller passed away so estate is selling the house) and it was an inspector our real estate agent has worked with extensively in the past, plus it was done when the inspector could see the roof unlike now when it is covered in snow. It's quite frustrating, but I suppose that isn't news. 
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Feb 21, 2021 17:12
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I've been reading this thread for years in preparation for the day when we finally start seriously shopping. I feel so much more informed than the average first time home buyer, this thread alone was worth the  a thousand times over. We talked to a realtor yesterday who was recommended by a respected friend who worked with him to buy and sell two homes. Seemed to vibe well with the Mrs and I. Got a prequalification letter online yesterday with user-entered data, expect to get a verified preapproval next week. Got our down payment ready, although it's in half a dozen different accounts. I should've probably consolidated a while ago but didn't want to move a bunch of money around knowing we'd be house shopping in the near future. We've got our first showing scheduled for tomorrow. There's a lot we like about it and not much obvious that we don't like. Kind of funny, it feels like I've got house-buying thread bingo: bay area, open concept, street face dominated by the garage, master bedroom lofted with living room. Definitely not a big fan of the loft situation but with just the two of us and no plans for kids it's not a deal breaker. Depending on the size of the other two bedrooms, we might make one of those the master. Happy that the range isn't on an island at least. Excited to get started! http://www.919westgreen.com/ What else is horribly wrong with this house?
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Feb 21, 2021 18:14
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Mackieman posted:Another rejected offer yesterday despite waiving inspection because the seller provided an inspection "Waiving inspection" is only a plus if that's a unique part of your offer. Based on what you posted it sounds like every offer would have waived inspection. spf3million posted:What else is horribly wrong with this house? There's obvious water damage in the area labeled "storage", so there's definitely more that's not being shown. The siding doesn't match on one part of the house that is either an addition or who knows, but I'd want an explanation for that. No mechanicals are shown, so they are a dumpster fire. No good shots of tub/shower surrounds, so those are probably bad too. And a lot of the decking looks to be in need of replacement.
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Feb 21, 2021 18:27
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Motronic posted:There's obvious water damage in the area labeled "storage", so there's definitely more that's not being shown. And a lot of the decking looks to be in need of replacement. Do you mind describing how this is jumping out at you? Looking at those photos I see maybe mold growing on some of the beams in the ceiling in the storage room, is that why it's obvious water damage?
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Feb 21, 2021 18:40
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Look at the insulation. It's full of mold.
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Feb 21, 2021 18:41
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Just left a showing, and yoloing an offer tonight on a FSBO. My agent is awesome and knows another agent who had an offer outright rejected premarket so she’s gonna go hound that agent for the number. Hoping this goes well so I can be done. Also happy inspection here typically comes before contract signing so if something is shockingly bad we can get out easy.
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Feb 21, 2021 18:48
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A MIRACLE posted:Is eifs the same as the perfect wall concept I see on builder YouTube My education on the subject consists of some internet reading, but the perfect wall sounds like a rudimentary theoretical concept https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall?searchterm=perfect%2520wall Like most basic concepts, the real world is more complex. The structure itself is going to have air and vapor barrier properties. Further, most walls have sheet rock or some other finish on the interior side, again acting as a barrier. Finally, as I understand it, in some climates it's better to have a vapor barrier on the inside and in others you want it on the outside. Two vapor barriers can trap moisture in the middle (bad). Again, all i know about eifs is reading internet (mostly horror stories) but it sounds like they turned the rudimentary theoretical concept into a fraught practical application.
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Feb 21, 2021 18:59
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Motronic posted:There's obvious water damage in the area labeled "storage", so there's definitely more that's not being shown. The siding doesn't match on one part of the house that is either an addition or who knows, but I'd want an explanation for that. No mechanicals are shown, so they are a dumpster fire. No good shots of tub/shower surrounds, so those are probably bad too. And a lot of the decking looks to be in need of replacement. Furiously starts researching mold
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Feb 21, 2021 20:22
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Motronic posted:There's obvious water damage in the area labeled "storage", so there's definitely more that's not being shown. The siding doesn't match on one part of the house that is either an addition or who knows, but I'd want an explanation for that. No mechanicals are shown, so they are a dumpster fire. No good shots of tub/shower surrounds, so those are probably bad too. And a lot of the decking looks to be in need of replacement. For the area Motronic has indicated, take a deeper look and see if there is dry rot behind that insulation. It actually doesn't look insanely bad, as in the wood there may still be sufficient and no extra work needs to be done. That could indicate a problem with the outside siding with water potentially leaking in one corner or vapor intrusion. Not an immediate disqualifier (especially given SFBA prices), but it's something you probably should look at. If the water damage was bad, I would have expected to openly see more dry rot along the mudsill/bottom plate. This house appears to be decently maintained but old. The biggest two issues are (1) it's on a hill, so you need to be worried about mudslides which can happen once every n years in CA and (2) the external siding and decks need a lot of maintenance, and it looks to be around that time. The inside of the house appears to be using high quality cabinets from the 1980s which were maintained through the lifetime of the house. Given the lack of AC, it's likely the case that the ducts are old and the HVAC unit may end up needing replacing. This is often common with some of the well-lived houses in the SFBA, but just keep in mind that's an eventual cost. The house probably needs a good deal of work, but you probably knew that already.
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Feb 21, 2021 20:27
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I think that storage / crawl space is under the garage and the insulation is on an interior wall. I think the kitchen is on the other side. Not that that is necessarily any better. I had that thought about mudslides. I'm also concerned about wildfires since there is open space directly across the street. If we like the house I'm going to have my friend who is a wildland firefighter give me his opinion. The open space is on a steep uphill so at least the house is downhill from the fire prone area.
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Feb 21, 2021 20:56
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ntan1 posted:The house probably needs a good deal of work, but you probably knew that already. I feel like this is literally every house in the Bay Area. We looked at a house in Fairfax, asking 930k, literally falling over (noticeable lean/slope inside, part of foundation missing). Also it was tiny without parking. We looked at 4 other houses and only one of them seem like it did not need several hundred thousand in remedial work. It of course sold for more than we could afford.
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Feb 21, 2021 21:05
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Toe Rag posted:I feel like this is literally every house in the Bay Area. We looked at a house in Fairfax, asking 930k, literally falling over (noticeable lean/slope inside, part of foundation missing). Also it was tiny without parking. We looked at 4 other houses and only one of them seem like it did not need several hundred thousand in remedial work. It of course sold for more than we could afford. That's what happens in markets where the value of the land vs. the structure on it inverts. You aren't buying a house: you are buying land that happens to have something on it.
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Feb 21, 2021 21:12
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What's a reasonable demolition estimate anyway? My dumb real estate cost calculators still say 5 to 10 bucks a square foot to demolish a single family home but every time I encounter an actual estimate at work, it's more like 20 to 40 due to Job Specific Elevations, every single time Seems like that might just be what it costs now
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Feb 21, 2021 21:43
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:What's a reasonable demolition estimate anyway? My dumb real estate cost calculators still say 5 to 10 bucks a square foot to demolish a single family home but every time I encounter an actual estimate at work, it's more like 20 to 40 due to Job Specific Elevations, every single time 2d costs in a 3d environment. Serious question though: What are you demolishing? If you get it all tested for hazards and it shows negative, why not have friends over, everyone slaps on a N95/P100, and just go to town? Easy demo work is a lot of fun, if hard work.
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Feb 21, 2021 21:46
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H110Hawk posted:2d costs in a 3d environment. Serious question though: What are you demolishing? If you get it all tested for hazards and it shows negative, why not have friends over, everyone slaps on a N95/P100, and just go to town? Easy demo work is a lot of fun, if hard work. Oh I'm not demolishing anything, I was just curious since it comes up at work a lot now that people are knocking down homes on 10,000 SF lots and putting up 8 apartment units on em Also, are you suggesting exercise with a mask on? I've seen some convincing YouTube videos lately that it causes co2 poisoning and 5g radiation
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Feb 21, 2021 21:49
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H110Hawk posted:everyone slaps on a N95/P100, and just go to town? Mini-ex with a thumb please, thank you. Now stay out of the way while I mangle this thing into a series of dumpsters.
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Feb 21, 2021 21:57
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Oh I'm not demolishing anything, I was just curious since it comes up at work a lot now that people are knocking down homes on 10,000 SF lots and putting up 8 apartment units on em I haven’t read too deeply into this, because I have no plans to ever do it, because $$$, but it’s really hard to tear down a house in SF. Like, the city won’t let you. You have to gut and rebuild it from the inside. This is obviously a rich person building their dream home, but whoever bought this has the house completely gutted, completely off the ground, full renovation. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/273-Page-St-San-Francisco-CA-94102/15079015_zpid/ One guy famously was ordered by the city to rebuild the house he torn down. Granted it was a somewhat notable house, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. https://www.npr.org/2018/12/19/677929775/san-francisco-orders-man-to-rebuild-his-historic-home-after-it-was-demolished This house was a burned out husk for years. Someone bought it for 1.4m and now is selling it for 3.2m. It was not torn down. https://hoodline.com/2013/07/fire-on-haight-street/ I guess if you’re savvy you can make a lot of money remodeling a place. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/150-Glenbrook-Ave-San-Francisco-CA-94114/15130078_zpid/ I believe other cities around the Bay Area have similar regulations. There are definitely not 10,000sf residential lots in the city itself, except maybe a few along “Billionaires’ Row.” Most lots are 25’ x 120’, possibly smaller.
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Feb 21, 2021 22:36
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H110Hawk posted:2d costs in a 3d environment. Serious question though: What are you demolishing? If you get it all tested for hazards and it shows negative, why not have friends over, everyone slaps on a N95/P100, and just go to town? Easy demo work is a lot of fun, if hard work. The fact that you thing goons (and their “friends”) could demo anything without cardiac arrest is awesome.
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Feb 21, 2021 22:37
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The bay area price for demolition depends on the city. Also note that a large number of houses in the bay area are "remodeled" with a garage left standing. The rumor was that this was for assessment reasons, but that's actually not true. The reason for 'remodeling' while leaving small sections standing is that it may allow you to get away with certain new-construction building/environmental codes.
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Feb 21, 2021 23:16
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Motronic posted:Look at the insulation. It's full of mold. Lol that was what I first looked at but my thought was "uh is that how insulation is supposed to look? I.. think.. so...?"
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Feb 21, 2021 23:28
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:The fact that you thing goons (and their “friends”) could demo anything without cardiac arrest is awesome. Username / post combo is hilarious. Also I misread that as demo'ing like, a kitchen or portion of a sfh or whatever. Not the clearly described whole sfh which is a whole other thing. Either way labor isn't cheap right now, especially when you smell investor pockets. I had the most confusing experience with gutting a room for beer. Bunch of theatre people - as in union stage hands not like drama club - and another person whose parents worked in construction. Watching them try to figure out how to engage gravity to get the things on the wall into things on the floor was hilarious. Spoiler for goons: use the crowbar.
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Feb 21, 2021 23:28
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Johnny Truant posted:Lol that was what I first looked at but my thought was "uh is that how insulation is supposed to look? I.. think.. so...?" Yeah, I mean...part of being able to quickly sort through pictures and call out this stuff is having a deeply ingrained knowledge of what things looks like new, during a remodel, and when wrong/wet/broken. It's not something you can teach - it's just something you have to gain from experience. And you can be totally wrong, especially when just judging pictures. I didn't even mention anything in regards to the siding because we do NOT do that kind of siding in my part of the country. It would last about a year and a half. Maybe that stuff is shot, maybe it's not. ntan1 is more familiar with that area than I am. This is like when one of my friends out there asked me for advice on his house and it onvolved roofing and those clay tiles. I'm like...yeah, not your guy. That poo poo doesn't work out here so I have no idea. H110Hawk posted:Spoiler for goons: use the crowbar. Amateur hour. If the job is too small for a mini ex think more along the lines of a 5 lb sledge hammer and sawzall.
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Feb 21, 2021 23:42
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Motronic posted:Yeah, I mean...part of being able to quickly sort through pictures and call out this stuff is having a deeply ingrained knowledge of what things looks like new, during a remodel, and when wrong/wet/broken. It's not something you can teach - it's just something you have to gain from experience. And you can be totally wrong, especially when just judging pictures. Yeah I feel you. I'm just tryna get as much insight as I can before I start Seriously Looking. I feel like I've already learned so much just from this topic, but there's always more. Are you a GC or something similar?
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Feb 21, 2021 23:49
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Johnny Truant posted:Yeah I feel you. I'm just tryna get as much insight as I can before I start Seriously Looking. I've spent a lot of time doing construction/reno work earlier in life as well as in the fire service (you get to see a lot of building stuff) and as code enforcement as a fire marshal.....where you're getting training on not only arson investigation type things but actual construction/inspection/permitting. I've also built a handful of detached structures (barns, offices) and done a lot of reno and addition work for myself and others. I'm not a finish carpenter by any means, and I know my limits. But I have friends who do those things and trade computer touching services/equipment loans/money for them to do the things they are good at for me. I'm kinda retired at the moment, but spent most of my career as a telecom network engineer and in startups so.....yeah....it's complicated. I'm more blue collar even though the money comes from white collar jobs. My wife decided I'm more "ring around the collar".
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Feb 22, 2021 00:01
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