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I use Farm Bureau and have been happy with them. You have to pay some upfront member cost to join each year a lot like Costco, but they've been super easy to work with on the few times I've had to contact them. The price while not the absolute cheapest when I was shopping around was only like $2-3 more than the next cheapest.
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Mar 8, 2021 14:56
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I'm moving into a house that does not have a mailbox... Uh, I have never had to deal with this as a problem? Any advice on the logistics of this, like what will happen to my mail, what's the easiest way to install a mailbox, etc.
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Mar 8, 2021 14:57
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GunnerJ posted:I'm moving into a house that does not have a mailbox... Uh, I have never had to deal with this as a problem? Any advice on the logistics of this, like what will happen to my mail, what's the easiest way to install a mailbox, etc. Does you sub division have a community mailbox setup? Something like this somewhere https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...b418045d8c27acf
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Mar 8, 2021 15:03
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Well it's not really a subdivision. It's on a main road but it's one of those roads where all the mailboxes are supposed to be on one side of the road. The opposite side from my house, it seems. So I also have to install it into what I am assuming is not my property or owned by the town? (There's no other house or anything across the road.) Odd situation, maybe I should ask the local post office.
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Mar 8, 2021 15:15
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GunnerJ posted:Well it's not really a subdivision. It's on a main road but it's one of those roads where all the mailboxes are supposed to be on one side of the road. The opposite side from my house, it seems. So I also have to install it into what I am assuming is not my property or owned by the town? (There's no other house or anything across the road.) Odd situation, maybe I should ask the local post office. It's a right of way, owned by whoever owns the property on that side of the street but with an easement, just like your property, where half of the road goes as well as utilities/poles/mailboxes. And yes, you need to ask the post office to be sure that's where they want it. They may be specific about location along the front of your property as well.
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Mar 8, 2021 15:23
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Motronic posted:It's a right of way, owned by whoever owns the property on that side of the street but with an easement, just like your property, where half of the road goes as well as utilities/poles/mailboxes. If you're in the USA, here is the USPS guide: https://www.usps.com/manage/mailboxes.htm Still, ask your local post office, as they may have some local preferences or tips. Like, if your road gets plowed by a wing plow you'll want to stay on the high side of 'standard' mounting height. Most lumberyards stock pre-cut mailbox posts - not beautiful, but functional and fine.
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Mar 8, 2021 15:39
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Yeah, this general concept is apparently not too unusual. The place I'm buying is set up this way so the postal service can avoid coming down my street which is more of just a driveway for two houses. I also get to install a new mailbox on someone else's land, but in this case it's because the seller of my house is taking their customized John Deere mailbox with them.
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Mar 8, 2021 15:42
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Thanks, everyone. 
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Mar 8, 2021 15:45
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PageMaster posted:Are you locked for a full year after you sign up for home insurance? We are starting to talk to independent brokers, but for the sake of keeping the lending process moving for our timeline sent in a quote from State farm (a lot of companies have pulled out of insuring CA). I'm assuming, but not sure that after we close, if a broker finds something that's better we can always switch? You're not locked in to the best of my knowledge. Just like car insurance, you can cancel the policy and switch to another company, but the billing side of things could get a little messy. I've never switched homeowners in the middle of a policy before, and I also handle insurance through my escrow account. I did cancel my homeowners on my old house when we sold it a few years ago, took about a month to get the premium refund since it got routed to the escrow account, and then they cut me a check from that. Agent and broker may be able to be used interchangeably... although when I think of agent, I think of someone representing a singular company, like a State Farm, Farmers, or Allstate insurance agent. A broker has access to dozens of insurers. Like my guy's business is called and his insurance agency, but he's really a broker I guess. I'm not sure. Short answer, yes you can switch, but double check the policy fine print, CA might be different from TX where I'm at. I could be wrong, and I think there's an insurance thread in A/T proper with some actual insurance agents in there.
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Mar 8, 2021 15:53
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Spots in your condo floor that seem to flex beneath your feet way more than the areas around them: Abnormal, or dangerously abnormal? 
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Mar 9, 2021 20:55
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Sundae posted:Spots in your condo floor that seem to flex beneath your feet way more than the areas around them: Abnormal, or dangerously abnormal? Unfortunately common crappy construction.
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Mar 9, 2021 21:03
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OSU_Matthew posted:Home Ownership Thread: I threw my fluke clamp meter on the bidet and dropped a dookie New thread title?
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Mar 9, 2021 21:47
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Sundae posted:Spots in your condo floor that seem to flex beneath your feet way more than the areas around them: Abnormal, or dangerously abnormal? Most floor structures are controlled by deflection rather than strength; you're probably okay but it's not like you should be happy with it. Now, if this is a concrete floor, then....
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Mar 9, 2021 22:11
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Fence progress update: Taking the day off work to try to get most of the rest done. It's smooth sailing now that we don't have to dig concrete out of every hole.
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Mar 10, 2021 12:42
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Our house has a three-season back porch, the aluminum kind with jalousies. We were thinking of putting in some new flooring - it's just painted wood now - so we could start making more use of it. The enclosure itself is original aluminum, so it's got some pitting from over the years. If we put in new floors this year (some kind of porcelain tile, most likely), and maybe next year or thereafter had the old aluminum porch removed and replaced with a more modern enclosure, would we have to re-do the flooring or could we keep the updated flooring in place? We'd keep the footprint and layout of the old enclosure, which looks like it's held in place by screws into the wood flooring of the patio.
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Mar 10, 2021 15:32
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I just defeated a bogus rezoning proposal with a neighbor 
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Mar 10, 2021 21:43
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Zone to a different type of zone or upzoning?
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Mar 10, 2021 22:44
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Corner lot in a compact 1950s neighborhood changing from SFH residential to Unrestricted Commercial. It's a street over from being on the border of the residential/commercial break but it's not there, and the lot lines of it are literally 5 feet away from neighbors windows. Our argument was that it was unnecessary commercial encroachment and the board agreed.
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Mar 10, 2021 22:50
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Sundae posted:Spots in your condo floor that seem to flex beneath your feet way more than the areas around them: Abnormal, or dangerously abnormal? How about mild but noticeable flexing in a number of spots in hardwood flooring? I feel like this is relatively normal for hardwood, right? I would have never noticed it but my partner did. We’ve lived here 8 months. Either it’s new or she just noticed it and can’t un-notice it.
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Mar 10, 2021 23:17
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The flexing depends on a lot, what kind of foundation, is it sloping towards a wall, or a chimney, or what used to be a chimney, how much flex etc In one house we had pier and beam and it'd been 20 years since they leveled the foundation and there was some minor flex In another house the foundation hadn't been adjusted in 70 years and was so bad if they tried to fix it the house would likely fall apart. There was a central chimney that the floors tied into it all sloped dangerously towards it on both floors Hadlock fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Mar 10, 2021 |
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Mar 10, 2021 23:25
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Hadlock posted:The flexing depends on a lot, what kind of foundation, is it sloping towards a wall, or a chimney, or what used to be a chimney, how much flex etc It’s a bi-level with a concrete foundation. There is no chimney. Not really any sloping going on. I don’t know when I would have even noticed if my partner hadn’t said anything. What types of foundations need to be adjusted? I didn’t even know that is a thing.
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Mar 10, 2021 23:40
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hobbez posted:It’s a bi-level with a concrete foundation. There is no chimney. Not really any sloping going on. I don’t know when I would have even noticed if my partner hadn’t said anything. In your case it could be the way floorboards tend to expand and contract; without sufficient gaps to float over the surface they can buckle upward slightly, creating gaps that when you step on them, the floor yields a bit. Post and beam foundations are the most common to need "adjusting." Buildings with foundations and slabs are not really ones you can adjust (and repairs can get stupidly expensive).
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Mar 10, 2021 23:47
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hobbez posted:How about mild but noticeable flexing in a number of spots in hardwood flooring? I feel like this is relatively normal for hardwood, right? Also - is it actual hardwood flooring, or is it click-lock? They can both flex, and the causes can be completely different. 
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Mar 11, 2021 22:13
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Sundae posted:Also - is it actual hardwood flooring, or is it click-lock? They can both flex, and the causes can be completely different. Are you asking if it’s some kind of laminate? pretty sure it’s real, no repeating grain, it feels like wood, and my dogs paws sure scratch the varnish up like wood...
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Mar 12, 2021 04:47
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Not sure if anyone can answer this or not but I just bought my first house in late November of 2020. My first mortgage payment was in Jan 2021. I literally have 0 idea how anything financing wise tax wise etc... works with home ownership and it's a little overwhelming for me. I JUST learned how escrow works on a basic level hah so be gentle. This will be the first year I've done taxes any other way than just the basic simple tax method. I'm curious how much buying a house in 2020 but not actually making a payment until 2021 will alter/mess with my taxes this year. Does anyone have a clue that a 5 year old could understand? It was a standard loan with a 3% down payment so there is mortgage insurance.
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Mar 12, 2021 17:33
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Tax-wise, depending on the size of the mortgage you will potentially have enough deductible interest in 2021 that when you combine it with your local tax bill it will make sense to itemize deductions rather than take the ~12k standard deduction. It likely won't change much for 2020. Your mortgage provider will send you a 1098 form outlining deductible interest if it's over $600, so then you just weigh itemized deductions vs. the standard to determine what's bigger.
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Mar 12, 2021 17:49
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Comfortador posted:Not sure if anyone can answer this or not but I just bought my first house in late November of 2020. My first mortgage payment was in Jan 2021. I literally have 0 idea how anything financing wise tax wise etc... works with home ownership and it's a little overwhelming for me. I JUST learned how escrow works on a basic level hah so be gentle. Just to elaborate a bit on the post above me: In most situations your first mortgage payment would be in January because you pre-paid December when you closed in November (plus pro-rated payment for the remainder of November). So you would technically have just over one months worth of mortgage interest in 2020, which is generally what is deductible.
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Mar 12, 2021 18:07
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KS posted:Tax-wise, depending on the size of the mortgage you will potentially have enough deductible interest in 2021 that when you combine it with your local tax bill it will make sense to itemize deductions rather than take the ~12k standard deduction. It likely won't change much for 2020. Your mortgage provider will send you a 1098 form outlining deductible interest if it's over $600, so then you just weigh itemized deductions vs. the standard to determine what's bigger. Squinky v2.0 posted:Just to elaborate a bit on the post above me: Yeah I got the form and I don't think it's that much I'll have to double check. Thanks guys, I can probably delay my anxiety until next year!
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Mar 12, 2021 18:51
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Comfortador posted:Yeah I got the form and I don't think it's that much I'll have to double check. Thanks guys, I can probably delay my anxiety until next year! Feel free to bug people in the US Income Tax thread if you have any questions .
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Mar 13, 2021 00:18
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Ugh, it's been >50F here for a week or two, and the mosquitos have already come out. I put out the trap last night and caught around 100 of them, I can't believe they're already out in such numbers :/ On the plus side I sent a picture of the catch results to my county, and they're sending someone out to collect them and figure out wtf they are. Hopefully that prompts some further investigation of the surrounding area.
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Mar 13, 2021 01:32
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devicenull posted:Ugh, it's been >50F here for a week or two, and the mosquitos have already come out. I put out the trap last night and caught around 100 of them, I can't believe they're already out in such numbers :/ What kind of trap are you using? I had s small zapper for my balcony, but I'm not sure it works so well. Someone in our social circle just died of dengue, so I've got mosquitos on the mind at the moment.
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Mar 13, 2021 13:49
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The house we're buying does not have a garage, and I'm trying to get a feel for the cost of buying a prefab and connecting it to the house by a breezeway/mud room. Having a hard time figuring out the right search terms for this, does anyone have experience?
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Mar 13, 2021 14:56
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"Prefab garage" worked fine for me. Depending on what you want the garage for and what the weather there is like, you may want to look at carports too. They're significantly cheaper. No idea about the mud room. Sounds like a job for a builder/contractor to me.
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Mar 13, 2021 17:04
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Inner Light posted:Alright, had the 2/2 condo inspection today. Most stuff is fine! Some light switches are hosed so I will get those replaced, I guess. x-post from the house buying thread. Is there a renovation/design thread that I'm remembering somewhere? Anyone think it's worth it to spend ~$4K to refinish these floors before I move my stuff in after I close? It's frustrating since it's all in pretty good condition except that one weird ugly shiny square. I don't really want to have to put a rug down. 'Buffing and coating' apparently might be an option at $1.5K but I am not sure if it would remove the damage, and it would suck to spend that for nothing.
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Mar 14, 2021 01:54
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if it were me, I'd explore my rug options, or pieces of furniture for that area (on top of or in front of it). If it really bothers you and you have plenty of money, then the only thing that matters is how you feel about the trade-off. Consider that down the road you may end up with other floor scratches, etc, and you could take care of everything at the same time. I personally refinished my whole house's hardwood floors when I got my place. I would definitely pay someone next time, as it was arduous, high stress, and of course didn't come out as well as it should (although I think only i notice). I come to the same conclusion about a lot of stuff I did DIY, forgetting that I did it DIY because I had a lot less money at the time.
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Mar 14, 2021 02:14
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Thesaurus posted:What kind of trap are you using? I had s small zapper for my balcony, but I'm not sure it works so well. This one - note it's designed to catch tiger mosquitos, and would need the CO2 adapter to catch other kinds. It's also crazy expensive for what it is (12v fan in a plastic case), but it's crazy effective (assuming what it catches here are all mosquitos, which I'll find out soon!). The same company makes a bunch of researcher grade traps, so they know their stuff! It does use a lure (lasts 8 weeks, you get 3/$50) - note that smells pretty bad, and you probably don't want to use it on a small balcony (since you'll end up attracting mosquitos to where you are). This is two days worth of mosquitos:  It's also not even spring here, so I'm amazed there's this many.
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Mar 14, 2021 02:24
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Two things we want to do when we move in in May: a) run ethernet to the bedrooms/living room (it's a two-floor townhouse plus basement, so very few rooms have LoS to each other) b) install security cameras, probably an Abode system First house, I've never done either of these before. Will a low voltage tech do both, and will it break the bank if we hire one?
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Mar 14, 2021 16:06
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I don't know of any residential "low voltage techs" - that's not really a thing around here. Regardless, what it's going to cost depends on your market and the construction of your home. It's nearly impossible to predict a cost without specific knowledge of just how hard it's going to be to pull cable, how much drywall may need to be cut to do it, etc.
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Mar 14, 2021 16:38
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I don't understand why line of sight is important. I mean I'd like ethernet in every room for convenience but not because wifi won't work without line of sight. I live in a two story split level, my wireless router is in the highest room and my Roku is in the lowest room, and it works without much issue.
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Mar 14, 2021 16:48
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GunnerJ posted:I don't understand why line of sight is important. I mean I'd like ethernet in every room for convenience but not because wifi won't work without line of sight. I live in a two story split level, my wireless router is in the highest room and my Roku is in the lowest room, and it works without much issue. Yeah, that too. I have a Ubiquiti AC access point on the first floor that covers from the basement to the second floor just fine.
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Mar 14, 2021 16:53
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