26 year old A/C? That is past its useful life. Plan for it to be replaced and either ask the seller to do it or have it reflected in the price. The good news is you'll have a much more energy efficient system. Same with the water heater. Replacing and moving the water heater should be under $2000. No idea on the flue pipe. Termites absolutely need to be taken care of and the seller is going to have to do that if it is you as the buyer or someone else. I would just want to know what they are doing and that it is adequate. My realtor steered us clear of stucco because in our market it is frequently done improperly and causes moisture/mold issues 10-15 years down the road. Even if you test for moisture now it can check out fine but cause issues down the road. I don't know enough in other markets though.
Thanks. This was really helpful. Where are you at if you don't mind me asking? We're in Georgia so I'm fairly concerned with the moisture issues I've seen related to EIFS.
Minnesota. In the late 90s, stucco became trendy here. It wasn't a traditional siding in this market so the builders didn't know how to do it properly. A high percentage of stucco was done improperly here. I have no idea in other markets though.
You're going from renting to buying a condo. I'm not going from owning to renting. How do my nutz taste?
Finally got around to submitting the paperwork for the refi, now that the renovation is complete. Be interesting to see what the appraiser has to say.
no doubt, we are going to talk to them first and ask them to pay their share, the back fence line is split across three different neighbors. The fence actually belongs to them (was put up when they built their house), but they are never going to replace it on their own. If we can't come to some agreement then we will have to decide what to do.
looking for advice on mansard style roofs. bought a house 5 years ago and have had nothing but problems with the roof. The main issue is ice damming in the winter (Ohio). We get ice fortresses that form around the upstairs windows when we have snow on the roof. When that happens we get pools of water on the roof, and it ends up finding a way into the house, and leaks down walls, ceilings, etc. causing all kinds of damage. I've had two (2) roofs put on in 5 years, complete tear offs, and still have the issues. I know the roof will not solve the ice damming issue, so I need to address that. here is what I know about ice damming: This occurs when snow on the roof is heated from the underside of the roof, causing it to melt. water runs down the warm roof until it meets the edge of the roof, which is cold, and begins to freeze. This process happens continuously, building up a larger and larger ice barrier around the edge of the roof. The problem compounds as more snow melts and is trapped by the growing ice dam. Water pools and sometimes finds a way under the shingles, or finds any holes in caulk or flashing, and enters the house. ice damming is a function of 2 things: insulation and ventilation. You need to insulate the attic adequately that you do not get heat escaping and warming the underside of the roof causing the melting. You also need air flow to allow any warm air to escape and cool air to circulate through the attic space. I've been told that I have a fair amount of insulation (not great, but not so little that it would cause the level of damming I have), and have the proper number of static roof louvers for the square footage. yet I still have the ice damming. and not just a little, it's massive amounts of ice, so something is drastically wrong. I installed a power vent in the roof, but read that it should not be used in the winter (that it will make the ice damming worse). Solution #1 - I read that what you want to do is isolate the mansard section from the attic section. In a standard roof, it's simple, the walls go up to the attic space, and there is a barrier separation (ceiling and joists), where you insulate to keep warm air from heating the attic. In a mansard roof, the entire upper part of the second story roof (sides of the second story) is tied to the attic space (upper attic), creating one large space. There is no separation. So the idea is to create that separation so you can insulate them separately. The ice damming occurs on the top of the roof, not the side of the mansard portion, so leaving the side mansard sections "warm" should not be a huge issue, as long as the upper attic portion is cold. Solution #2 - install vents on the lower edge of the roof (where the shingled roof starts), to create sufficient air flow from top to bottom of the entire roof (so air will floor from these lower vents up to the roof vents). BUT the place where I read about Solution #1 said that this solution would not work and would make the problem worse. Both solutions seem to have some merit and make sense. I have talked to 6 or 7 roofing guys, and none of them seem to know a good solution. They all look at the house like I just asked them to solve a calculus equation. This is not my house, but an example of a mansard roof: TL;DR: how the fuck do I prevent ice dams on my mansard roof?
26 year old ac, the water heater and termites are all stuff I would have the seller take care of before closing. I have a phobia about having the cost for something taken off the price. The hardwood floors in my house had two spots with water damage. They had an estimate of 700 to get it fixed and said they would do it or take that off the price. I asked them to since I'm home so much. Turns out they couldn't match it and had to replace all the hardwood. Wound up being like 3k I think.
I think this is where I'm at. The stucco has me a little worried and I can't seem to get a consistent opinion on it. Just going to ask the seller to replace the AC, water heater, and take care of the termites. If he doesn't want to do that then I'll move on.
26 years old is very old for an A/C unit. You will more than likely have to replace that in the near future. Without knowing more, that's going to cost you at least $5,000, could be more. Water heater isn't a huge deal, could do all that for under $2,000 easy, unless you don't have a good spot to put one. I don't know much about termites, but long as there is not a lot of damage done they should be able to be killed/contained The last two I don't know anything about.
The thing about the termites is if it's an active colony you damn sure want to make sure it's handled before you sign any papers. I've got friends that do inspections/sales for Cooks and another company and I've heard horror stories about stuff they've found.
Talked to our realtor and the seller is already planning on replacing the downstairs a/c unit but won't replace the upstairs since its currently working. Apparently the seller is looking looking into a home warranty though.
I've heard that home warranties are almost worthless in many situations. Might want to look into the company that is the warranty company, as well as their past history compared to what issues you're attempting to protect against.
I'm actually an electrical engineer, and we deal with heat trace some, so that was an idea I had as well. I calculated the amount of that I would need, and it was like 180 linear feet. I think you have to triple that, with all the up and down you have to do, so I'm looking at about 550' of that stuff to do it right. Not sure exactly which kind I'd get, but I see 100' for $350. It's also 800 watts per 100' run, so I'll need to add 5 or 6 more circuits. I may have to upgrade my service to add 4KW of new load. So it's an option, yes, but it might be an expensive option. I'd also prefer to fix the underlying problem that's causing the issue, I guess, rather than addressing the results of the problem, if that makes sense.
I have a home warranty ( the sellers bought one for me) and it saved me about $500 on the water heater when it went out. It's a wonderful deal if 1) your a/c or water heater is old or 2) you didn't pay for the warranty.
Also benefited from a warranty that the seller bought for the house when we moved in. Be careful though, some of them are very specific on what they cover and what they don't. Like they will replace the AC condenser, but wont pay to upgrade the refrigerant lines (which might need to be done if you go to a more efficient unit), or will replace the furnace, but not the heating coil (or some shit). Like I said, it's good, but just know what you are getting into.
Our seller had bought one too. We tried to use it on our refrigerator when the water dispenser stopped working. That was specifically excluded and the repair woman they sent was clueless.
I'm guessing through the HOA. If the fence is in that shitty of a condition, the HOA probably wants it replaced as much as him
Yeah it definitely would, but they have to know that they are under the control of the HOA. If you dont want them forcing you to do stuff to your house, dont live somewhere that has an HOA
Has anybody bought a foreclosure before? I am looking at a house that went into foreclosure in march and is set to auction in july. Can I offer before the auction? Are auctions usually cash only? Any tips would help
Meeting with the mortgage lender friday to start all the paperwork. Even though I know I won't run into any issues this part is always nerve wrecking to me for some reason. Then going next saturday to design the house...granite, cabinet style/colors, paint, etc...should be fun.
A house in our neighborhood just went through that situation. I don't know much, but it went for about 20-30% of neighborhood value (needs a good bit of work), and it was cash only.
You're a Clemson guy, right? Pm me. Got a fantastic lender/ broker referral for ya. Give him the rate and fee sheet you get on Friday and he'll beat it more than likely.
Yeah I just found this house in a great neighborhood and its looking like it will go for like 30% less than its value. With a little work It could easily be valued 100k higher too
Thanks. Not a Clemson guy but don't have anything against them. Played baseball in Alabama until I tore my knee up and finished up at Miss. State. I've got someone I've been working with here that I think I'm going to go with. Rate is at 4%, his rates are very fair, and he's actually been getting in touch with me on things as opposed to me having to contact him.
Didn't really get into this because the majority of it happened during the crash but sold our house quick for a great price and have found another house. Sellers were a little difficult to deal with but no major problems during that phase. Inspection has happened and everything looks good on that end. Right now we are waiting on the appraisal to come through. It happened last sunday and we still don't have a number. Has anyone had any experience with this before. I am starting to get a little worried that something is up. The lender did have some questions for the appraiser that had to be resolved but it really shouldn't take 10 days.
Oh, I know what he said. I'm just very willing to take the other side of the bet that they raise rates in June. If you ask me, he is trying to get the bond markets riled up to steepen the yield curve and allow the Fed to remain on the sidelines with short-term rates.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its advance estimate of real gross domestic product for the first quarter of this year— covering January, February and March. The release showed output in the U.S. increasing at a rate of 0.2%. This is a huge deceleration from the fourth quarter 2014 when real GDP gained 2.2%. Economists on average were anticipating growth of 1% in Q1.
And ultimately we're probably talking about a $7/month per $100,000 borrowed difference, so not a huge deal either way
Our home warranty has been pleasantly reliable. They spent a couple thousand fixing leaking gas pipes, replaced a hot water heater at no cost, repaired two toilet wax rings and paid $1000 of the main plumbing line replacement I referenced above (they paid to replace the actual broken pipe, and did not pay for the tunneling which was most of the cost). Not bad considering we didn't pay anything for it.
I hooked my buddy up with one of my subs who did it for $750 plus supplies. It's awful to do yourself and needs to be sprayed rather than rolled on. Wood can be thirsty.
I hope it's said elsewhere but no way I let the seller go rock bottom on an AC unit. Get some estimates on good units yourself and either make them use one of your people or otherwise pay for it. You have to live with the replacement.
i had a house warrenty with my first year, a/c was 15 yrs but we got it checked prior to closing. i just replaced the water heater for 700 before prices go up, and then i replaced the washer/dryer, new fridge, and a new dishwasher anyway. if the only thing im gonna do now in 7-8 years before i sell is replace the A/C, id just the same keep my 4k and do it in 8 years than pay 500 a year and deal with fucktards not fixing shit and 75$ out of pocket everytime.