Missing Members

Started by Cato, October 24, 2011, 07:14:12 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Ganondorf and 4 Guests are viewing this topic.

Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

vandermolen

Sounds like a nightmare Leo and all strength to you and your family.
Do you have any right to comeback on the negligent surveyor?
We have water coming down the wall after it rains - that will not be inexpensive to put right I think.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Cato

Quote from: vandermolen on October 01, 2021, 02:35:12 PM

Do you have any right to comeback on the negligent surveyor?

We have water coming down the wall after it rains
- that will not be inexpensive to put right I think.


We might look into having a lawyer analyze whether we have a case: I suspect it will be difficult to prove, as we would need a good number of people to swear about similar incompetence.

A waterfall in your own house!  If it had been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, that would make it valuable!   ;)    "Not inexpensive" sounds like a very polite, very British understatement!   8)


Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on October 01, 2021, 01:54:34 PM

Good luck Cato!

PD

Many thanks!  We think that the Wheel of Misfortune must eventually stop running us down!   0:)
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Mirror Image

#3423
Quote from: Cato on October 01, 2021, 10:01:58 AM
I recently discovered that John of Scotland has returned and I am very gratified!

My own absences in the last month I explained once elsewhere, but here are the reasons: by daring to retire on the other side of 70, and buying a "retirement house," and therefore also selling the house where we had been living, I opened up a Soul-Gate through which we entered an Earthly Purgatory with Multiple Whammies descending upon us throughout the last 3 months!   ???

Despite having the retirement house inspected by a professional recommended by the realtor, it turns out that he must have taken massive bribes from the previous owners to overlook all kinds of problems in plumbing, wiring, insulation, and basic architecture, all of which were not obvious to our 70+-year old eyes and not obvious because we did not crawl through the attic and under the floor to look for problems.

Other problems were hidden by the previous owners' furniture and decorations: they also lived like pigs, which again was disguised by all of their clutter.

Let's just say that e.g. when we pulled the stove away from the wall, we nearly had to call the Environmental Protection Agency to warn of the release of assorted toxins!  Literally after 10 + hours of work, we finally had a clean stove and oven! At one point I suggested that we just buy a new stove!

So far, the bill for these unexpected repairs is c. $10,000, with possibly another $25,000 to go!

Despite all of that, the house's price was good enough - and what we profited from our previous house's sale was high enough - that we can handle these repairs and upgrades.


Soon, I will be "editing" my CD collection and offering things for sale e.g. Alois Haba's incredible quarter-tone opera The Mother and Arvo Paert's Miserere CD.

Best Wishes to all!

Wowzers! I'm sorry to hear about this, Cato. What a headache and frustrating situation. Hoping better days are ahead for you and your family.

DavidW

Sorry to hear about that Cato.  My neighbor recommended me an excellent home inspector.  The inspector saved me from buying a house like yours where the renovation made it look nice but hid a lot of problems.  He told me that when houses are renovated they usually do everything on the top but neglect the bottom (the crawl space).

Cato

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 01, 2021, 07:11:40 PM
Wowzers! I'm sorry to hear about this, Cato. What a headache and frustrating situation. Hoping better days are ahead for you and your family.


Quote from: DavidW on October 02, 2021, 04:40:12 AM
Sorry to hear about that Cato.  My neighbor recommended me an excellent home inspector.  The inspector saved me from buying a house like yours where the renovation made it look nice but hid a lot of problems.  He told me that when houses are renovated they usually do everything on the top but neglect the bottom (the crawl space).

Thanks for the sympathy!   8)

A few things improved today, e.g. a door which was misfitted and had nearly 1-inch gaps here and there was repaired by our new neighbor, a skillful and creative craftsman!



"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Cato on October 02, 2021, 11:56:19 AM

Thanks for the sympathy!   8)

A few things improved today, e.g. a door which was misfitted and had nearly 1-inch gaps here and there was repaired by our new neighbor, a skillful and creative craftsman!
How old is your new home Cato?

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Cato

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on October 02, 2021, 12:34:46 PM
How old is your new home Cato?

PD

The house is 60 years old: so one expects some things to be awry, but if previous owners had not done stupid things, or had addressed problems properly when they occurred, most of our troubles would not have existed.

Delayed maintenance: it will bite you every time!
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Cato on October 01, 2021, 10:01:58 AM
I recently discovered that John of Scotland has returned and I am very gratified!

My own absences in the last month I explained once elsewhere, but here are the reasons: by daring to retire on the other side of 70, and buying a "retirement house," and therefore also selling the house where we had been living, I opened up a Soul-Gate through which we entered an Earthly Purgatory with Multiple Whammies descending upon us throughout the last 3 months!   ???

Despite having the retirement house inspected by a professional recommended by the realtor, it turns out that he must have taken massive bribes from the previous owners to overlook all kinds of problems in plumbing, wiring, insulation, and basic architecture, all of which were not obvious to our 70+-year old eyes and not obvious because we did not crawl through the attic and under the floor to look for problems.

Other problems were hidden by the previous owners' furniture and decorations: they also lived like pigs, which again was disguised by all of their clutter.

Let's just say that e.g. when we pulled the stove away from the wall, we nearly had to call the Environmental Protection Agency to warn of the release of assorted toxins!  Literally after 10 + hours of work, we finally had a clean stove and oven! At one point I suggested that we just buy a new stove!

So far, the bill for these unexpected repairs is c. $10,000, with possibly another $25,000 to go!

Despite all of that, the house's price was good enough - and what we profited from our previous house's sale was high enough - that we can handle these repairs and upgrades.


Soon, I will be "editing" my CD collection and offering things for sale e.g. Alois Haba's incredible quarter-tone opera The Mother and Arvo Paert's Miserere CD.

Best Wishes to all!

All the best to ya, sir. Take care!
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Cato

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on October 02, 2021, 07:49:42 PM

All the best to ya, sir. Take care!


Thank you!  We have had some good luck, in that our wonderful neighbor, the head of maintenance for a small factory in the area, knows all kinds of things about metal-working and carpentry, and offered to fix one of our main problems, a badly framed door with large gaps everywhere, so large they defied the usual solution of weather-stripping.

We paid him, of course, and were happy to do so!
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Madiel

Thinking of buying a house.

Now I'm scared...
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

JBS

Eventually I will need to sell my current place and buy another condo, so I'll get whammied both coming and going.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Karl Henning

Quote from: JBS on October 04, 2021, 04:43:15 PM
Eventually I will need to sell my current place and buy another condo, so I'll get whammied both coming and going.

Woof!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

JBS

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on October 04, 2021, 04:55:07 PM
Woof!
Originally my mother and I were going to do it together, but along came Hurricane Wilma and the real estate bust. My main motive is not wanting stairs (this unit is a townhouse) so a smaller one level condo will be the goal. But the effort of fixing this place up (it's 40 years old now, and my mother was the original owner) means I will have to wait until I'm retiring, and that's a few years off. (I suppose I could take the As-Is route if I'm willing to take a hit on the selling price.)

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

DavidW

Quote from: Madiel on October 04, 2021, 01:30:18 PM
Thinking of buying a house.

Now I'm scared...

It is a terrible time to buy now.  I got into a bidding war on two different houses (where you end up bidding well over the listing price).  Sellers are also likely to skip you if you have any kind of contingencies (inspections, appraisal) and are likely to refuse any requested repairs.  Prices are double to triple what they were just a few years ago.  And sellers are not bothering to renovate or even make their houses presentable.  My rent was going to increase so much that it was still worth it for me to buy a house now, but if you can help it... don't buy now.

DavidW

btw since mortgage forbearance is ending (this is US specific) I would expect the market to start swinging the other way (and not just due to forclosures).

Spotted Horses

Quote from: DavidW on October 05, 2021, 04:41:43 AM
btw since mortgage forbearance is ending (this is US specific) I would expect the market to start swinging the other way (and not just due to forclosures).

There are many factors. Mortgage interest rates are at historic lows, so even though purchase prices have increased dramatically people's payments haven't gone up much because of the cheap loans. In addition to pandemic foreclosure protection expiring it seems that interest rates are about to go up (inflation and Fed policy). That would push valuations lower. Someone who purchased now would still be okay, because their mortgage payment would be reasonable, as long as they didn't have to sell and take a loss.
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington

Cato

Quote from: DavidW on October 05, 2021, 04:37:51 AM

It is a terrible time to buy now.  I got into a bidding war on two different houses (where you end up bidding well over the listing price).  Sellers are also likely to skip you if you have any kind of contingencies (inspections, appraisal) and are likely to refuse any requested repairs.  Prices are double to triple what they were just a few years ago.  And sellers are not bothering to renovate or even make their houses presentable.  My rent was going to increase so much that it was still worth it for me to buy a house now, but if you can help it... don't buy now.


We were fortunate in that our previous house was in a "hot " market, but the one we bought was in a much smaller town (c. 40,000 vs. over 1 million) where prices were "cooler."  And we did not need a mortgage: we paid cash.

Yes, people were bidding on our previous house in the first hours, without seeing it in person!  :o   ???    We did in fact clean and repair our house and left it in perfect condition for the new owners.  Unfortunately, the 30-somethings here, whose house we bought, were clueless about cleanliness.

Undoubtedly, a collapse is coming: whether it will be slow or sudden...?
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

DavidW

Quote from: Spotted Horses on October 05, 2021, 05:37:58 AM
Mortgage interest rates are at historic lows, so even though purchase prices have increased dramatically people's payments haven't gone up much because of the cheap loans.

Yes for that reason I have no regrets over my purchase.  The interest rate is phenomenally low.

Madiel

#3439
Quote from: DavidW on October 05, 2021, 04:37:51 AM
It is a terrible time to buy now.  I got into a bidding war on two different houses (where you end up bidding well over the listing price).  Sellers are also likely to skip you if you have any kind of contingencies (inspections, appraisal) and are likely to refuse any requested repairs.  Prices are double to triple what they were just a few years ago.  And sellers are not bothering to renovate or even make their houses presentable.  My rent was going to increase so much that it was still worth it for me to buy a house now, but if you can help it... don't buy now.

Well the market is different in different places. Though prices here have been shooting up, everything else you're telling me about your corner of the USA isn't terribly relevant to my corner of Australia.

Also the whole way mortgages work here is different, unless the USA actually reformed the process after the GFC.

The house I was particularly interested in on the weekend, the bathroom and laundry had both just been renovated. I inspected it on Saturday. I've just been told it was sold to "family friends" who somehow saw it on the internet on Monday and sorted out a deal on Tuesday. So I'm annoyed.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!