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Home ownership is... expensive. Anyway, I'm looking into yearly termite plans and I'm curious what people's experiences are. Home is about 110 years old. On the termite inspection that was evidence of staining from a nest by one window in the basement... at some point, in the last 110 years. And there are some small holes in the original wood beams. Everything is structurally sound and there is no active infestation (good!) so this is not something that needs to be taken care of urgently at all I had a company come out and they're quotiing me $800 in 'upfront' costs for a treatment for their piece of mind (and on my wallet..), and then $120ish a year after that for basically a termite bond on the property. Good? Bad? Also found the one thing the PO kind of cheaped out on: the edge of our balcony floor is covered in this water sealant window tape, which: a. looks bad, and b. will only last 3-5 years. Its brand new so whatever, but at some point in the next 5 year going to have to spend $1500ish to get that redone properly. Also have a furnace guy checking out the boiler since it suddenly got cold.
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Oct 21, 2021 13:30
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Our termite warranty is currently around $150/year. Don't know what the treatment costs, but there are several different types that have different costs associated. PO had re-treated a year before we bought, so we're not due for a few more years. If you're in an area that has termites, and there is evidence that they once visited your dining establishment, it's probably a good idea. Treatment at minimum, of course, but fixing termite damage costs thousands of dollars (both to eliminate the infestation and to repair the damage), so it's a good idea to protect against via the warranty. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 13:48 on Oct 21, 2021 |
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Oct 21, 2021 13:44
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DaveSauce posted:Our termite warranty is currently around $150/year. Don't know what the treatment costs, but there are several different types that have different costs associated. PO had re-treated a year before we bought, so we're not due for a few more years. Yea, I think we'll do it. Its not at the top of the list, and we just had the inspection so know everything is fine today, so this can wait for a few months. Will get some other bids too. We are not a termite prone area and the house is mostly brick, concrete and steel, but better safe than sorry!
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Oct 21, 2021 13:55
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How do you know if you live in a termite area? The maps I see online say we're in an area that has "light to none." (Thank you all for answering my basic questions)
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Oct 21, 2021 14:13
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Isn't it just a proxy or heat? Hotter = more termites.
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Oct 21, 2021 14:25
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Thank god. Late 1980s boiler still trucking along, just fine. Perfect shape, runs well. Just need to keep it serviced 
Upgrade fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Oct 21, 2021 |
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Oct 21, 2021 14:34
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Lucky you, my 60 year old boiler is still trucking along but also might kill us with carbon monoxide if we seal our goose too tightly. $20k replacement.
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Oct 21, 2021 15:59
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Steam heat?
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Oct 21, 2021 16:29
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Our 3 year old dishwasher just stopped working two days ago. It fills, it heats, it drains, but it doesn't actually wash. According to the self-test on it, it's just a bad circulation pump, which is "only" $145 for the part. My wife wants to sign up for the gas company appliance service contract, which is $60/month for all the appliances. Just to avoid having to spend $145 on a pump. I don't understand 
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Oct 21, 2021 17:15
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Is title insurance worth it? My mom saw one of those commercials targeted at old people and is now interested.
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Oct 21, 2021 17:47
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NotNut posted:Is title insurance worth it? My mom saw one of those commercials targeted at old people and is now interested. If you have a mortgage you don't have a choice. In every state I'm aware of you have paid for "lenders title insurance". In a lot of places you can also add "owners title insurance" or "enhanced title insurance" (the terminology varies) that will cover you, not just the bank, in the very unlikely event of some kind of title issues not already addressed by the lenders insurance. It's generally not something recommended unless you are in some pretty specific circumstances (that you probably shouldn't be putting yourself in when purchasing a home).
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Oct 21, 2021 17:51
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Motronic posted:If you have a mortgage you don't have a choice. In every state I'm aware of you have paid for "lenders title insurance". In a lot of places you can also add "owners title insurance" or "enhanced title insurance" (the terminology varies) that will cover you, not just the bank, in the very unlikely event of some kind of title issues not already addressed by the lenders insurance. Yeah, she owns her home. The commercial just convinced her that cyber thieves or glib phone tricksters are going to steal her title if she doesn't get insurance.
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Oct 21, 2021 17:53
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NotNut posted:Yeah, she owns her home. The commercial just convinced her that cyber thieves or glib phone tricksters are going to steal her title if she doesn't get insurance. Genera rule is if it’s advertised on TV it’s not worth it. If it’s advertised on TV with scare tactics it is NEVER worth it.
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Oct 21, 2021 17:54
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Thanks for all that permit advice, DaveSauce!
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Oct 21, 2021 17:55
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I have a small repair that I’m not sure how to go about. There’s a small linen closet creating an outside corner in our hallway- it gets bumped into a bunch. Recently, a scrape damaged some apparently structural paint and the ancient paper underneath the paint has started flaking off in a sort of damage chain reaction. This wall of the closet is old scrap-ish wood (no drywall or plaster) and it looks like there is a paper layer over the wood and underneath the latex paint. The damage extends pretty much exactly an inch from the edge, for scale. Most of what I can find are drywall patches and joint tape but ehhhhhh. I feel like the corner joint tape is close to the right idea but I want to make sure I can reinforce the whole area. At this point it doesn’t need to look perfect, but I do want to protect it from further cat, laundry basket, and toddler damage. 
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Oct 21, 2021 18:54
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Fixing that correctly is likely to involve the entire corner from ceiling to floor and mudding in a piece of corner bead. Is that the kind of thing you want to get into? If not, scrap away as much of the loose stuff as you can take off.......which still might be a lot.......fill with lightweight patching spackle, sand as necessary, and paint it.
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Oct 21, 2021 19:01
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PitViper posted:Our 3 year old dishwasher just stopped working two days ago. It fills, it heats, it drains, but it doesn't actually wash. According to the self-test on it, it's just a bad circulation pump, which is "only" $145 for the part. $720 dollars per year. That's insane. You could randomly replace an appliance every two years and come out ahead.
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Oct 21, 2021 19:18
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TacoHavoc posted:$720 dollars per year. That's insane. You could randomly replace an appliance every two years and come out ahead. These types of "service plans" reply on homeowners not having any idea how much appliances actually cost. And not asking many questions about the quality of parts and replacement appliances they may get.
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Oct 21, 2021 19:32
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Motronic posted:Is that the kind of thing you want to get into?  no. Maybe once the kids are older, since mudding and plaster patching are weirdly relaxing. I did consider the very PO move of attaching a piece of drywall the size of the short, stubby wall over the existing layer, but a drywall wall would be conspicuously smoother than the plaster walls making up the rest of the hallway and I spend enough time getting frustrated at the 120+ years of previous owners to join them.
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Oct 21, 2021 19:34
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If the corner is subject to easy damage like that, I'd seriously consider some form of corner protector / moulding that's more resistant to impact.
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Oct 21, 2021 19:41
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Motronic posted:These types of "service plans" reply on homeowners not having any idea how much appliances actually cost. And not asking many questions about the quality of parts and replacement appliances they may get. I was incorrect on the pricing. It's $46.95/month, and covers any multiple of the normal appliances (furnace, AC, washer/dryer, water heater, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, gas fireplaces, and gas grills). $563 per year, and they'll attempt to repair any number of the above in your house. Basic plan is $20/month, but only covers furnace, water heater, range and clothes dryer. Having added that up for her, I've got a circulator pump being delivered tomorrow, and should be able to knock it out in an hour or so. Edit: for another $19/month they'll add replacement for any appliance that can't be repaired. $792/yr, $15,840 every 20 years. That's insane. $16k to limp appliances along for 20 years, or replace them with what I assume would be the least expensive comparable unit. PitViper fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Oct 21, 2021 |
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Oct 21, 2021 20:16
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these things are universally poo poo. they'll fix your poo poo with the lowest contractor they can find and the lowest quality parts. 563 a year in a savings account should save up enough to replace / repair most items as needed unless you have big expensive items. your expenses are going to mostly be your HVAC, my washer/dryer/fridge/freezer maybe is 3-4k total they have all outlasted that replacement /repair cost. My HVAC is new due to replacing a 1960's oil convert so I dont expect major issues until 7-8 years in so again, not really worth the coverage. ' edit: Generally a lot of these warranty services / service plans are popular because people suck at saving so when their furnace needs a fix they don't have 250 for the fix because they're spending their paycheck every month instead of going "my furnace may need a repair I should put money away for that in a fund / budget line etc. If you sock money away for automobile / home repair stuff you universally come out ahead. these companies have like a 60+% profit margin. tater_salad fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Oct 21, 2021 |
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Oct 21, 2021 20:37
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Yeah the math on offering a service plan that's even remotely break even for the end user, and paying outrageous rates for TV ad time does not pencil out Planet money did a podcast/show a couple months back about the guy who invented the "extended car warranty"; this sounds like the latest extension of that business model. Legally it's not a scam, but only because they paid a lawyer to structure it so you can't sue them over the quality of the service you're paying for
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Oct 21, 2021 20:51
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It sounds like that utility company is just reselling a standard 'home warranty', you can google that to read more about it and how lovely it is. I have one because my condo sellers threw it in to assuage my concerns about my 15 year old HVAC. I'll have to decide if I want to re-up next Spring, they're all around the same price at $600 per year or so. The $100 per incident fee they have kinda kills any possible benefit too. So they offer a re-key for my locks but it'll cost $100, which is very close to what it would cost without the plan at all. I had an electrical receptacle fail so that would be $100, but it is a $4 part and a few minutes in labor. The one thing I will probably use them for is to replace a failed AFCI breaker, since I'm not confident enough to go behind the panel, and it's a nice excuse to get a licensed electrician to do a spot check on everything else for the first time since I bought the place. (hopefully they send an actually licensed electrician) And if my ceiling fan starts ticking more, since $100 will be less than what the part and labor is worth to me. Doubt I'm going to re-up! Better start shoveling more fun bucks into that HVAC repair fund. Inner Light fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Oct 21, 2021 |
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Oct 21, 2021 22:19
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NotNut posted:Yeah, she owns her home. The commercial just convinced her that cyber thieves or glib phone tricksters are going to steal her title if she doesn't get insurance. Title insurance covers issues things that cause the existing deed to be invalid. Undiscovered liens or unfiled deeds for example. Sometimes it covers fraudulent deeds. Basically it covers a situation where your purchase doesn't result in you actually owning your property at the moment you signed the papers. It doesn't cover any future activity.
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Oct 21, 2021 23:04
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Ugh. Do not fall for any "your refi will be easier if you just go through your existing mortgage servicing company" garbage. I made the genious move of applying for a new credit card about two weeks after starting my refi, and underwriting has held up the loan for going on three weeks now. Them: "We need a statement from this new credit card." Me: "It's so new I haven't even received the card yet. There aren't any statements to give you." Them: "We still need a statement." Me: "I have none to give you. I can give you a screenshot showing the application email, or how it's on my Chase account with no balance or statements, but I literally won't have a statement until November 25th at the earliest." Them: silence A week later, they call my wife on her cell with a robocall asking for me (she kept her last name, so it was suspicious on its face that they asked for me). Something about "CredCo needs a conference call with you to get your credit card number". She rightfully thought it was a scam and didn't respond. Then a week after THAT, the loan originator calls me following up on this. I get the conference call out of the way, aaaaand two days later it's back to underwriting again. Lock expires in 3 days after yet another extension. Fun! I want to go into underwriting as my next job so I can just take my slow time and reject people
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Oct 22, 2021 15:42
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MJP posted:Ugh. Do not fall for any "your refi will be easier if you just go through your existing mortgage servicing company" garbage. I made the genious move of applying for a new credit card about two weeks after starting my refi It really doesn't matter who you use for a mortgage or refi, if you do this you've make your life miserable. It's like, the second or third thing any loan officer should tell you NOT to do when you're first seriously making an application.
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Oct 22, 2021 15:58
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Yeah dude, you did that to yourself. When I refi'd my last house with my existing mortgage company it was painless (this would have been 2015 or 2016 or so). A lady showed up at my house with a stack of papers to sign and it was done. I got to skip a months mortgage payment, and started paying the new note the month after.
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Oct 22, 2021 16:01
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Yeah, on second glance, that's a fair call. Don't churn and refi. I'm pretty sure "if your credit score changes from when we first pull it or if we see recent applications, we're gonna ask about it" is probably somewhere in the paperwork. I don't recall anyone saying it, but I also probably gave off the air of "I've done this before, I know what I'm doing" and thus made the LO think she didn't have to go through the shpiel. At least it's not a world-ender if I gotta do another payment on the current mortgage; it's definitely a good time to refi even if we did it back in 2020. That was for a cash-out, so now we bring it back down to a lower principal, lower rate, and to a 15-year term. The hassle is worth saving $45k over the life of the loan given principal curtailment payments.
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Oct 22, 2021 16:19
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IOwnCalculus posted:If the corner is subject to easy damage like that, I'd seriously consider some form of corner protector / moulding that's more resistant to impact. As a bonus to this, if you get a big enough piece of corner protector/moudling you can completely cover the damaged area without having to fix it first. Join the PO ranks!
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Oct 22, 2021 16:37
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ECM motor on the furnace has decided to poo poo itself and make an ungodly racket this morning. Anybody got $500 they don't need?
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Oct 22, 2021 17:56
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Very excited to drop five figures on windows tomorrow morning and get some not-plate-glass installed. Just in time for winter!
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Oct 22, 2021 20:54
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moana posted:Very excited to drop five figures on windows tomorrow morning and get some not-plate-glass installed. Just in time for winter! very nice.. I have some Plate glass taht's on the list to re-do but the issue is it's part of a remodel which includes window delete, which includes resiiding the house which includes.. which includess... 50k later.. I do think I may get some cheap tier lowesdepot drop in windows that will fit my existing frames just to stop the air from bleeding out / in
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Oct 22, 2021 21:09
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Beef Of Ages posted:ECM motor on the furnace has decided to poo poo itself and make an ungodly racket this morning. Anybody got $500 they don't need? $1100. 
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Oct 22, 2021 21:13
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biracial bear for uncut posted:As a bonus to this, if you get a big enough piece of corner protector/moudling you can completely cover the damaged area without having to fix it first. Join the PO ranks! I would unashamedly do this.
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Oct 22, 2021 23:01
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I was quoted 3000 to fix the grading around my house. "We'll have to dig, then put topsoil down, then the rocks again". I'm in Denver. I suppose it needs to be done but the house is fine so far with no water intrusion. Is that a normal sounding quote? It's about one and a half sides of the house, not the whole thing. That is a landscaping company quote.
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Oct 23, 2021 08:05
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It's $500 just to get a mini excavator on site, plus operator and planning, prep, finish work. $2500 would seem normal, but you're getting work done in the tightest labor market in a generation, sounds like a deal to me
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Oct 23, 2021 10:06
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Seen a lot of furnace woes in the past few pages. I had my oil burner forced hot water furnace crack a casting two years ago in January. Limped through the rest of the heating season with the help of JB Weld and priced out a propane case replacement. 3 quotes from 8k to 18k. Learned a few things in the process
After install I had my oil distributor come out and run an efficiency test on the system to make sure the burner was tuned properly. They were super impressed in the work and only had one or two suggestions prior to inspection by my local fire department. Passed without any issues. This is not a project you want to tackle on a whim but it is doable if you are comfortable learning as you go. There are some fantastically helpful people on the HeatingHelp.com forums who are happy to answer any questions you might have and frankly even the installation manual for the furnace was enough to get the job done.
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Oct 23, 2021 17:52
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redreader posted:I was quoted 3000 to fix the grading around my house. "We'll have to dig, then put topsoil down, then the rocks again". I'm in Denver. I suppose it needs to be done but the house is fine so far with no water intrusion. Is that a normal sounding quote? It's about one and a half sides of the house, not the whole thing. That is a landscaping company quote. You might not see the water. Hillsides can be a pain as your house traps the high side water. As the backfill settles you need to build it back up if they did a bad job planning for that settlement so the water goes around. Good news is this isn’t rocket science if all they are doing is piling up dirt back to where it started when new.
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Oct 23, 2021 23:57
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IOwnCalculus posted:I would unashamedly do this. I couldn't live with myself, I would add least fix it in some terrible way without caring about detail work before covering it up. Even just shoving spackle in there. Exposed not-studs would skeev me out.
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Oct 24, 2021 00:12
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