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Plumber found a bellied line under the foundation. He didn't suggest that we do anything about it; apparently tons of houses here have them, often way worse than ours, and they often don't result in problems. If we wanted to fix it, it'd be a huge repair bill since we'd have to jackhammer through the slab. e: And before anyone asks, the realtor didn't suggest a specific inspector QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Oct 30, 2014 |
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Oct 30, 2014 03:38
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Mahoning posted:I just want to warn everyone to make sure any advice you take from this thread is relevant to your area/state. I'm buying just outside of the metro Atlanta area anything I should know in regards to inspections or anything else? I don't think they're would be specifically, other than perhaps crime but there isn't any that I know of in this neighborhood.
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Oct 30, 2014 14:24
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Mahoning posted:I just want to warn everyone to make sure any advice you take from this thread is relevant to your area/state. Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but in what scenario do you not want to have a video pipe inspection? I guess a home with no plumbing? I can't really think of a reason that you'd just skip it aside from feeling absolutely confident that you're not hosed with some sort of obstruction, break, or roots messing it all up.
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Oct 30, 2014 14:38
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couldcareless posted:Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but in what scenario do you not want to have a video pipe inspection? I guess a home with no plumbing? I can't really think of a reason that you'd just skip it aside from feeling absolutely confident that you're not hosed with some sort of obstruction, break, or roots messing it all up. I've honestly never heard of one. It's just not commonly done around here, and I had a really good inspector who did IR on our pipes. What other specific advanced inspections are there? I've heard foundation and sewer, so far? Is there an electrical one?
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Oct 30, 2014 14:55
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Rurutia posted:I've honestly never heard of one. It's just not commonly done around here, and I had a really good inspector who did IR on our pipes.
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Oct 30, 2014 15:07
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couldcareless posted:Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but in what scenario do you not want to have a video pipe inspection? I guess a home with no plumbing? I can't really think of a reason that you'd just skip it aside from feeling absolutely confident that you're not hosed with some sort of obstruction, break, or roots messing it all up. I'm not saying its not good idea. I'm saying that I've never heard of anyone around here doing one. I don't even know anyone who does that kind of inspection. And trust me, if any inspectors around here do it, I would know it because every contractor/inspector/loan officer/etc drops off literature at our office. It could be that this area is behind the curve in regards to that, but I honestly just didn't even know it was a thing.
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Oct 30, 2014 15:48
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couldcareless posted:Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but in what scenario do you not want to have a video pipe inspection? I guess a home with no plumbing? I can't really think of a reason that you'd just skip it aside from feeling absolutely confident that you're not hosed with some sort of obstruction, break, or roots messing it all up. We didn't do one because there's nothing larger than a 4 foot tall bush between the house and the septic tank and the house is only 21 years old. And the bush is up high on landscaping.
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Oct 30, 2014 16:46
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Rurutia posted:I've honestly never heard of one. It's just not commonly done around here, and I had a really good inspector who did IR on our pipes. Yeah, I guess sewer inspections aren't done commonly here, either, because the general inspector looked at me funny when I asked about one and all of the plumbers that I called were genuinely surprised that I was asking for a sewer inspection (although the guy who actually did the inspection was like "this is a very good idea, I've seen some horrors") HVAC is another one that I've heard of people doing, but they're not done here because none of the homes have heat and most of the homes don't have central A/C I've also read of people hiring a construction engineer to examine the foundation, if they suspect that there's something wrong with it (huge cracks anywhere in the house)
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Oct 30, 2014 19:21
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Colorado here, never heard of a sewer line inspection being done before either. Chimney inspections/sweeping on the other hand should be mandatory, too many fires from all the pine being (poorly) burned.
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Oct 30, 2014 19:54
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So I closed after all the hubbub on the VA loan. They somehow messed the numbers around where I had to pay off one of my student loans to get it through. SO...I now have a house and one less student loan so yay! Radon testing was high and they DID mitigate it. There is now a pipe going up from the basement with a cover over the sump pump siphoning it into the piping. I am thinking of having another test done in a month or so just to make sure its safe. The refrigerator..well thats a story. The fridge that was in the house broke so they gave us $400 towards a new one. We went and found one at Best Buy that was normally $1400, but was on sale for $994. We had 10% off and got it for like $830. Then when we picked it up on moving day it had a dent in the front (clearly where someone in the warehouse had backed into it with a pallet jack). They gave us %15 off. So the whole fridge thing turned into a net cost of $330 for a brand new spanking fridge after all the discounts and sellers concession. NICE! The biggest problem we have now is that there seem to be wasps that are somewhere in the house. Every few days I'll find one or two wasps on the window downstairs. They are sluggish and unresponsive, but alive and inside. I am thinking the wasp might be somewhere IN the wall or IN the window framing where I can't see it or get at it. Otherwise, we're home owners and while yeah, there are extra costs for maintenance, its totally worth it over crappy loud neighbors and not being able to modify the internals of your living space. But check for wall paper. There was not one, not two, not three, but FOUR LAYERS of wallpaper along one entire wall. The previous owners must have seen the first two, gave up on taking it down and put up their own over it. Took us 4 hours to get all of it down. gently caress. That.
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Oct 31, 2014 19:40
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Jastiger posted:So I closed after all the hubbub on the VA loan. They somehow messed the numbers around where I had to pay off one of my student loans to get it through. SO...I now have a house and one less student loan so yay! We have a couple wasps getting in around this time of the year too, in Southern Wisconsin. We didn't have any in the house all summer, just some really lethargic ones in the last week or two. I wouldn't worry about it.
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Oct 31, 2014 20:18
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Jastiger posted:The biggest problem we have now is that there seem to be wasps that are somewhere in the house. Every few days I'll find one or two wasps on the window downstairs. They are sluggish and unresponsive, but alive and inside. I am thinking the wasp might be somewhere IN the wall or IN the window framing where I can't see it or get at it.
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Oct 31, 2014 23:21
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When my wife was a kid, wasps built a nest in the attic above her room, and eventually burrowed through the drywall into her bedroom. So, uh, yeah. Wasps man.
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Oct 31, 2014 23:25
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FISHMANPET posted:When my wife was a kid, wasps built a nest in the attic above her room, and eventually burrowed through the drywall into her bedroom. This post plus your cat avatar are hilarious together.
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Nov 1, 2014 00:43
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Honestly that is what I'm afraid of. I have a 2 year old and ain't nobody got time for that poo poo. I'm pretty sure the nest is somewhere by the window. Every time I've seen them they've either been directly on the window, in the window sill tract, or directly below it. Never across the room near the bathroom or by the fireplace. But...I look and can see no place within the window with the naked eye from the angles I have a hole that would be a nest. So....I'm going to keep a mega close eye on it come Spring time, and the first time I see them, I'm calling a bug man to knock them out.
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Nov 1, 2014 02:09
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Borrow or maybe rent a laser thermometer. Don't people use those to find beehives inside of walls? HVAC people usually own the laser thermometers.
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Nov 1, 2014 03:23
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Spermy Smurf posted:Borrow or maybe rent a laser thermometer. Don't people use those to find beehives inside of walls? When I had a yellowjacket nest in the wall, I could hear it by pressing my ear to the wall.
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Nov 1, 2014 03:47
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Stultus Maximus posted:When I had a yellowjacket nest in the wall, I could hear it by pressing my ear to the wall. Welp I know what's going in my nightmares tonight
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Nov 1, 2014 04:30
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Jastiger posted:Honestly that is what I'm afraid of. I have a 2 year old and ain't nobody got time for that poo poo. While that's prudent, I really wouldn't worry. We didn't see a single wasp in the house the entire summer and we've seen a few lethargic ones in the last couple weeks. I think in the summer they stay outside and in the cold they occasionally crawl through tiny cracks that they'd ignore the rest of the time. If you can find where that's happening, obviously seal it up, but don't fret too much I don't think.
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Nov 1, 2014 16:41
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Jastiger posted:But check for wall paper. There was not one, not two, not three, but FOUR LAYERS of wallpaper along one entire wall. The previous owners must have seen the first two, gave up on taking it down and put up their own over it. Took us 4 hours to get all of it down. gently caress. That. My previous owner likes the look of textured plaster, so he covered two floor's worth of walls in drywall mud that he made customs swooshes in. He then painted it pink and nailed towels over top of all that. And that's just the walls, on the ceilings he nailed silk flowers and beer mats.  So, you know, four layers of wall paper isn't that bad.
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Nov 1, 2014 17:21
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Antifreeze Head posted:My previous owner likes the look of textured plaster, so he covered two floor's worth of walls in drywall mud that he made customs swooshes in. He then painted it pink and nailed towels over top of all that. And that's just the walls, on the ceilings he nailed silk flowers and beer mats. I would not have bought that house unless there was a gun to my head or it was stipulated that the sellers had to have it professionally restored to normal.
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Nov 1, 2014 18:03
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Antifreeze Head posted:My previous owner likes the look of textured plaster, so he covered two floor's worth of walls in drywall mud that he made customs swooshes in. He then painted it pink and nailed towels over top of all that. And that's just the walls, on the ceilings he nailed silk flowers and beer mats. That is the most  thing I have ever seen that didn't involve feces of some kind. Maybe someone can do better with their home purchase?
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Nov 1, 2014 18:07
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Before I read the post I thought those were wasps nests in the ceiling. After reading the description, I'm not sure which is worse, my idea, or the reality.
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Nov 1, 2014 19:07
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shortspecialbus posted:I would not have bought that house unless there was a gun to my head or it was stipulated that the sellers had to have it professionally restored to normal. This. I mean I get you're trying to show how "not that bad" 4 layers of wall paper is. At least you know what kind of stupid poo poo you're getting in to. Ours was a surprise. Just demolish that and start over. Who wants plaster walls anyways, its 2014.
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Nov 1, 2014 19:19
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Antifreeze Head posted:My previous owner likes the look of textured plaster, so he covered two floor's worth of walls in drywall mud that he made customs swooshes in. He then painted it pink and nailed towels over top of all that. And that's just the walls, on the ceilings he nailed silk flowers and beer mats. Haha holy poo poo, post more pictures of your house. Multiple layers of wallpaper is not really a surprise depending on the vintage of your house. Mine had three layers everywhere I've stripped. If anything I was concerned about the condition of the walls underneath.
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Nov 1, 2014 19:56
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Antifreeze Head posted:
I just spent two days with a belt sander removing wallpaper that was glued down with some kind of alien superglue. Nothing else worked, and i still have the bathroom left. 
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Nov 1, 2014 21:18
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Trillian posted:Haha holy poo poo, post more pictures of your house. Ours took little bitty chunks off the wall. We painted it a dark gray and it actually looks kinda neat with the texture now 
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Nov 1, 2014 22:06
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Jastiger posted:
Here's a guy who hasn't experienced the sound and thermal insulation qualities of plaster. It being 2014, plaster has swung back into popularity on the higher end. I love my plaster. Drywall just feels like ramen noodle poor after living with plaster.
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Nov 2, 2014 00:29
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MickeyFinn posted:That is the most Oh... there was lot of feces too, you just can't see it. The guy had a real mouse problem... which wasn't helped any by the next door neighbour's wife being a hoarder. They've all been eliminated though. If it wasn't apparent, the guy that owned it before was mentally unwell so the sale was handled through the public trustee. They pretty much only sell as-is-where-is, but the upside is that I got a good deal on it as I paid below it's tax-assessed value. Based on what other stuff in the neighbourhood is selling for, every dollar I sink in is worth about two for resale, though that is really only true because I do my own work. MORE PICTURES! What I assume to be the kitchen:  At least I'm putting the kitchen there. I've eliminated that wall where the mirror is and have installed a door at the very back. The new door exits to the back yard, which used to look like this:  That's looking towards the house, though it may as well be taken in the middle of some forest. The lot is 155 feet long, so there are a lot of trees. I've spent much of the past couple of weeks clearing that all out. I think I cut down at least 25 trees. I left two apple trees and four apricot trees, because the jam made from the harvest of both of those was delicious. There was also this in the back yard:  In case you can't tell, that is art. It involves the skull of a horse. Apparently the artist that does that is quite famous in my city. I can only tell you that his works are a bit more scarce now because I dismantled whatever the hell is going on here. I will keep the skull though, because it is awesome. Here's what the yard looks like after most of my work:  I've since filled that with gravel for a park pad (with plans to build a garage later) and have Tyvexed around the door on the back of the house (the one to the right with the 9 lite window). The patio doors, as you can see, appear to open to nothing. There was a deck there, but it was wildly unsafe so I ripped it down. This is a view from those doors before the deck was ripped out:  As you might be able to see, the deck was made of OSB. That is not a good thing to make a deck out of. Sadly not shown is the foundation of that deck which was pretty much rotten wood and old carpet. Also of note is that where that window is there was once a door. I changed the window out. Also, I removed all of that "art". It was stuck to the wall with drywall mud. Back inside now for the bathroom:  The toilet worked but it was a very early priority to replace it. You can see more towels here, my grandma is washing them and giving them to my mom who is sewing them into blankets for the local dog rescue. And behind the towels here are a version of barn board, which didn't come from a barn but instead the guy's old fence. He just nailed them up to the wall then covered them in towels. Here's the loft:  I think this looks pretty much the same as it did when I got the place. I haven't been up there in basically the two months that I've owned the place. No, you cannot have the EARTH EARTH poster. Here is something I have worked on. Note both the knob and tube wiring and the asbestos wrap around the heating duct:  About 10 years ago some of the wiring in this place was updated, that is why there is Romex running up to the box. Now it is also Romex running from that box. The furnace was also upgraded about 10 years ago, though the guy that installed the new high-efficiency unit got lazy and didn't bother hooking up the ductwork that you can see in this photo. It runs to the master bedroom. Considering the place has sawdust insulation that largely has settled or entirely disappeared, the previous owner must have been freezing. I live in Winnipeg, so that combination of 20 dollars and an hour to connect that ductwork is probably the best I will ever spend to make my life better. So far I have shipped out just over 15-thousand pounds of trash (plaster is heavy) and spent maybe 12-thousand dollars. Windows are a healthy portion of that, same with a fridge and a new tub. Insulation is also a big portion of that as it basically has to go everywhere.
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Nov 2, 2014 01:06
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Excellent post, thank you. That house is haunted. I look forward to hearing stories of the walls bleeding.
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Nov 2, 2014 02:45
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was that place used in the filming of "True Detective?" 
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Nov 2, 2014 02:48
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That is amazing.
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Nov 2, 2014 03:02
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You, er, win. I hope that insulation's all installed now (or you aren't living there yet).
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Nov 2, 2014 07:33
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How exactly does financing a fixer upper work? Do you just need a shitload of cash laying around when you buy a house? Where do you borrow $100k from if you have no collateral, even if it's going to end up with you having at least $100k more value in the home?
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Nov 2, 2014 08:40
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FISHMANPET posted:How exactly does financing a fixer upper work? Do you just need a shitload of cash laying around when you buy a house? Where do you borrow $100k from if you have no collateral, even if it's going to end up with you having at least $100k more value in the home? FHA 203k allows you to borrow money for the purchase price of the house plus some for repairs. They set the allowable amount at a projected price when done. There's a lot more restrictions and such, but check it out on HUDs website. Freddie Mac has a similar program for bank owned properties. And lastly you can get a conventional renovation or construction loan. E: 203k, not 203b Bloody Queef fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Nov 2, 2014 |
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Nov 2, 2014 15:34
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FISHMANPET posted:How exactly does financing a fixer upper work? Do you just need a shitload of cash laying around when you buy a house? Where do you borrow $100k from if you have no collateral, even if it's going to end up with you having at least $100k more value in the home? From what I understand, you use it as part of the negotiations with the bank. I.E. The house appraises at X, we'd like Y much extra money and we think it'll appraise out to Z when we're done with the work, where Z is close to or higher than X + Y. Banks will occasionally include money for improvements in the house if they think it'll be worthwhile in the end, I think. Edit: /\/\/\/\ His answer is better.
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Nov 2, 2014 15:35
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I'm confused and maybe its because I"m a prude or whatever, but why in the world would you buy that? Why would you want to put that much effort into a house that is falling apart in a neighborhood of houses falling apart? What motivated you to get that instead of a modern home that needs fixing up?
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Nov 2, 2014 17:48
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It sounds like he got a great deal on the place since it had been maintained so poorly, if he has the skills/motivation to fix it up it would go up in price substantially more than what the repairs would cost. It's not a bad investment if you're willing to put in the work. I'm doing the same thing but just at a lower level - the previous owner of my place was just a self-styled artist with atrocious decorating taste instead of a person with a legitimate mental illness. I'm buying it for cheap as an 'ugly house/awesome location' prospect and figure it will take about $20k in work to get it to an 'awesome house/awesome location' condition. At that point I figure the value of the property will go up by $30k-$50k and it'll be a nice place for me to live, so it's well worth the extra effort.
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Nov 2, 2014 18:36
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Jastiger posted:I'm confused and maybe its because I"m a prude or whatever, but why in the world would you buy that? Why would you want to put that much effort into a house that is falling apart in a neighborhood of houses falling apart? What motivated you to get that instead of a modern home that needs fixing up? The bit about the hoarder wife next door may have unfairly coloured your view of the neighbourhood. While its high point was clearly from when it was built in the 1910s until probably sometime around the second world war, it hit a low and is now coming back. Like pretty much everywhere that isn't filled with honest to goodness mansions, neighbourhoods have ups and downs and this house is in a place moving out of a down. The neighbour with the hoarder wife divorced her and she moved out a few years ago, so now he's fixing up his place, across the back lane is a couple that is fixing up their place, two door down was redone within the past five or maybe 10 years, there is really quite a lot of work being done on a lot of homes in the area. And the house itself really isn't falling apart, everything that is weird about it is on top of something quite solid. The last guy, despite some design decisions that nobody else would agree with, did make some important upgrades. All the old galvanized plumbing was decommissioned ages ago so there's new copper, the foundation was shored up with a new interior wall, the old furnace was upgraded to high-efficiency and the fuse box was replaced with a 100 amp breaker box. That work was all done well, because he didn't do it. I know that because his ex-wife came by to steal some of the apples from my trees one day and we chatted for a while. She stayed involved in his life quite a bit after their separation and looked after some things like that for him. So really, it was actually farther ahead than some of the other homes of its vintage. And compared to them, there really isn't that much extra work that needed to be done here versus any other house that age that needed some modernization. I mean, if you're going to the extent of ripping down plaster and lath, it isn't that much worse when it is covered in another half inch of drywall mud and some towels. Plus, with it looking like the crazy bus pulling into town and never ever leaving, it allowed me to get the place for tens of thousands of dollars less than it would of had there not been towels on the wall and flowers on the ceiling.
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Nov 2, 2014 18:56
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Also some people just like projects. Yeah it's a ton of work but something about doing so much yourself and making all the decisions about how it all comes together can be really rewarding. It's like fixing up an old car or motorcycle or something like that. Sure, you could go buy a new/newer one for the same money but there's no project aspect to doing that.
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Nov 2, 2014 18:58
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