House Hunt Thread #3

[snide]

Originally Posted by mrvette

Cphone pix are out of focus......too much fur on the lens....

[Will]

Viewed both again with Mrs. tonight.

As predicted she was not thrilled about 70s house and all the updates needed.

Thinking about making offer on the other house.

[DAB]

replacing cabinets, flooring, painting walls is all doable. moving a house you like to a location you like is impossible.

Mrs. DAB lived with a kitchen in various stages of construction for almost a year. because she knew it would be better when done.

[Will]

Originally Posted by DAB

replacing cabinets, flooring, painting walls is all doable. moving a house you like to a location you like is impossible.

Mrs. DAB lived with a kitchen in various stages of construction for almost a year. because she knew it would be better when done.

Well location is good either way, both are on our current street.

Would be thrilled to stay in the neighborhood. LOVE it out here. And now I know from experience how superior septic is to city. As well as private trash collection.

My landlord just had the worst case scenario - total drain field replacement. $1,300. You'd spend that much on city bills in a few years, and a field will last decades if you take care of it.

[DAB]

Originally Posted by Will

Well location is good either way, both are on our current street.

Would be thrilled to stay in the neighborhood. LOVE it out here. And now I know from experience how superior septic is to city. As well as private trash collection.

My landlord just had the worst case scenario - total drain field replacement. $1,300. You'd spend that much on city bills in a few years, and a field will last decades if you take care of it.

our field failed a few years ago. $5,000 to fix it. we took his advice and pump the tank every 2 years.

[Will]

Originally Posted by DAB

our field failed a few years ago. $5,000 to fix it. we took his advice and pump the tank every 2 years.

Well, your in the big city. Gotta pay those big city prices.

And yeah, pump every couple of years.

My dream is to one day also have solar panels that provide enough energy to never owe the power co. and be totally self-sufficient with water, sewer, and power.

[DAB]

Originally Posted by Will

Well, your in the big city. Gotta pay those big city prices.

And yeah, pump every couple of years.

My dream is to one day also have solar panels that provide enough energy to never owe the power co. and be totally self-sufficient with water, sewer, and power.

aside from the upfront cost, the maintenance, the slow degradation of the panels, and the need to have a ton of batteries somewhere (where they don't freeze or blow up), it sounds like a great idea.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by DAB

aside from the upfront cost, the maintenance, the slow degradation of the panels, and the need to have a ton of batteries somewhere (where they don't freeze or blow up), it sounds like a great idea.

Even here in Sunny Southern Texas, solar doesn't make much economic sense. Don't forget the extra insurance to cover all that expensive solar equipment, by the way. Also, don't forget that batteries go bad and (I have it on good authority) that batteries should be replaced every 3 years, even more often if they are Canadian batteries.

[Will]

Originally Posted by DAB

aside from the upfront cost, the maintenance, the slow degradation of the panels, and the need to have a ton of batteries somewhere (where they don't freeze or blow up), it sounds like a great idea.

Hence the "someday"

I'm Republican as all hell and think the artificial govt. push of "renewable energy" is b.s. but I am excited about the future of solar.

One day the technology will be cost-effective and it's going to be awesome for consumer applications.

I have doubts about it ever fulfilling any large scale, industrial, commercial, etc. needs though.

[Will]

Need to verify that house is cable internet ready. Couldn't find router, but could be behind large entertainment center. Peeked behind and saw a blue light coming from somewhere.

I've never seen it done, but I always ask to verify that satellite installer ran separate coaxial lines and didn't take over the cable co.'s lines. House has a DirecTV dish. And older folks often DGAF about having internet for some reason.

Told realtor even before inspection I already know they will need to repair crawl space access and get out an exterminator, in that order (exterminator first = rodents could still access crawl space). Otherwise any major repairs needed discovered by inspector would need to be addressed if urgent or built into price.

Offering $200k plus they pay closing costs.

Let's see what they say.

[DAB]

Don't sweat the coax. You can run new cables.

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by Will

Need to verify that house is cable internet ready. Couldn't find router, but could be behind large entertainment center. Peeked behind and saw a blue light coming from somewhere.

I've never seen it done, but I always ask to verify that satellite installer ran separate coaxial lines and didn't take over the cable co.'s lines. House has a DirecTV dish. And older folks often DGAF about having internet for some reason.

Told realtor even before inspection I already know they will need to repair crawl space access and get out an exterminator, in that order (exterminator first = rodents could still access crawl space). Otherwise any major repairs needed discovered by inspector would need to be addressed if urgent or built into price.

Offering $200k plus they pay closing costs.

Let's see what they say.

I've had DirectTV installed in two places and both times they insisted on running their own lines, even though Mediacom was already there.

[Will]

I like a hardwired connection to my PC from the router.

THAT is going to be a biatch. Room that will be office is over garage, no cable connections upstairs. Likely spot of cable connection in house is living room. On other end of house. No attic above living room, vaulted ceiling.

I may have to spend a few hundred on a high end wireless setup. The cable company linksys router gives me about 45 mb/s, I get double with a hardwired connection.

[DAB]

Try DSL!

[mrvette]

Solar is a joke, pay no attention to the BS, the largest thing about it is the power inverters going from the DC power to 60 hz......and every damn time an electrical storm comes around, they are at high risk.....

and as you should know anyway, that is plus all the other issues....



Running a coax cable around the outside of the house is much more preferable to trying drops through the attic and vaulted ceilings....if done in white cable it don't show at all.....

[Will]

Originally Posted by DAB

Try DSL!

The Horror (Marlon Brando) - YouTube

[VatorMan]

NEVER put panels on your roof unless it's brand new. You'll have to replace the inverter at least once during it's lifespan. New NFPA (Fire code) regulations state there must be a disconnecting means available to the Fire Dept. However, many fire departments now let the roof burn instead of putting it out if it has panels. Water/electricity don't mix. Talk to your local fire dept for their solar powered house procedures.

[snide]

Originally Posted by VatorMan

NEVER put panels on your roof unless it's brand new. You'll have to replace the inverter at least once during it's lifespan. New NFPA (Fire code) regulations state there must be a disconnecting means available to the Fire Dept. However, many fire departments now let the roof burn instead of putting it out if it has panels. Water/electricity don't mix. Talk to your local fire dept for their solar powered house procedures.

Would be interesting to see how Tesla's solar shingles are going to work...

[VatorMan]

Originally Posted by snide

Would be interesting to see how Tesla's solar shingles are going to work...

I wish I could find some information on how the whole system works-how easy to repair or replace, can you walk on it, Is it the actual shingle or is there an underlayment etc... Those could be game changers.

[bsmith]

There was an article in the paper this weekend saying how overheated the housing market is here (relatively), and inventory is historically low.

A coworker told me that his house sold over the weekend...closes March 21st.

They have no plans moving forward.
Husband & wife, kids about 14 & 10, two dogs, etc...
To complicate things further, he's the mayor of the town of less than 1000 people.

I showed him this thread.

He's got bigger balls than I.

Another guy I know sold their house, and moved in with the inlaws for over a year while building a house.
Husband & wife, three kids and a dog.

rent is cheaper than divorce on that one...