I assume you just tell the people that before they give their estimate, and they build it into the price.
If you want the area behind the toilet/mirrors painted, you might need to specify that. It's easier to just tape off the mirror, and I've lived places with a patch of different-colored paint behind the toilet. (Also, there are apparently paintbrushes for "tight spaces". No idea how well they work, but nobody's going to be inspecting that paint too closely.)
Just successfully removed, cleaned, and reinstalled the carb on our lawnmower to get it back in working order.
Pretty sure this is the most masculine I've ever felt. Also feeling a strong urge to fix all the things now.
"If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'."
Fuck guys, mortgage rates are so low and we bought our current house back in 2018 when mortgage rates were so high. Any chance at getting a refinance that doesn’t involve paying so much closing costs?
Fuck guys, mortgage rates are so low and we bought our current house back in 2018 when mortgage rates were so high. Any chance at getting a refinance that doesn’t involve paying so much closing costs?
They literally started going down like a week after I closed. Ughhhhhhhhh. But whatever.
I've heard someone advise calling up your mortgage company and ask if they can update the rate on your existing mortgage. They may be persuaded to do so to keep your mortgage in their hands.
Urgh. Today it started raining hard in Australia, which has revealed two things:
1. there's some water leakage problem with the front porch workshop of this house that I don't quite understand. The punchline is that whole area needs the pebble epoxy stripped off, an actual waterproofing membrane applied, and retiling. Thinking some silicone caulk might mitigate for now?
2. But the back deck - hoo boy. So, the lower floor has this overhand which has been done up with fibreboard and downlights and all looks really nice. This completely hides the fact that all of this was attached to the underside of the upstairs balcony, and there is no membrane or roof beneath the boards to catch the water. It's "mostly" okay because there's a cover over the upper part of the balcony, but it still means any liquids which blow in from the side, any leaks, any thing like say, washing the windows or spilling something, not to mention the leaves, is just falling right through onto the bottom part of that roof.
Which explains why the halogen downlights are blown out.
I am in awe at whoever the fuck installed this and went "she'll be right". I assume this was all repainted before they sold because one decent rainstorm and the paint is bubbling right off because the water is coming through - worse, I need to get in there and check it's not just pooling underneath an enclosed beam.
This is all incredibly stupid, though not catastrophic as far as houses go. I'm thinking I'll pull up the upper deck over this area, we'll see if the lower boards can be saved, and I guess I'll build a proper enclosed space with fibre cement decking over sarking foil, waterproof and tile it and it should be good? Would look nicer too.
With the front deck, silicone will likely be fine, but make sure sealing the leak doesn't cause pooling on the back side of the seal (i.e. try to seal the "outside" of the leak)
Urgh. Today it started raining hard in Australia, which has revealed two things:
1. there's some water leakage problem with the front porch workshop of this house that I don't quite understand. The punchline is that whole area needs the pebble epoxy stripped off, an actual waterproofing membrane applied, and retiling. Thinking some silicone caulk might mitigate for now?
2. But the back deck - hoo boy. So, the lower floor has this overhand which has been done up with fibreboard and downlights and all looks really nice. This completely hides the fact that all of this was attached to the underside of the upstairs balcony, and there is no membrane or roof beneath the boards to catch the water. It's "mostly" okay because there's a cover over the upper part of the balcony, but it still means any liquids which blow in from the side, any leaks, any thing like say, washing the windows or spilling something, not to mention the leaves, is just falling right through onto the bottom part of that roof.
Which explains why the halogen downlights are blown out.
I am in awe at whoever the fuck installed this and went "she'll be right". I assume this was all repainted before they sold because one decent rainstorm and the paint is bubbling right off because the water is coming through - worse, I need to get in there and check it's not just pooling underneath an enclosed beam.
This is all incredibly stupid, though not catastrophic as far as houses go. I'm thinking I'll pull up the upper deck over this area, we'll see if the lower boards can be saved, and I guess I'll build a proper enclosed space with fibre cement decking over sarking foil, waterproof and tile it and it should be good? Would look nicer too.
So I understand this right, there's leakage at the roofline of the front porch where it meets the house itself? Sounds like there's no aluminum flashing between whatever is acting as your porch roof and the house. Maybe they use membranes and epoxy in Australia, but here in the states we use bent aluminum flashing. It's essentially a thin aluminum sheet bent at a 90 (or whatever necessary) degree angle. The roof part is placed underneath the roofing material (shingles or what have you), the other part is nailed to the vertical part of the house then siliconed. This creates a permanent and long lasting barrier that doesn't allow any water to infiltrate at the junction of where the porch roof meets the house. A membrane sounds a hell of a lot more temporary (especially in a hot Aussie sun) and more expensive than aluminum flashing.
What is the roofing material on the porch? Asphalt shingles or shingle roll? It should be fairly easy to DIY, though not as pretty as professional roofers who have a flashing brake.
As for the back porch, honestly, I'd take the easiest route of just taking the false ceiling down and installing outdoor rated cafe lights. The only other option is to build a full sloped and waterproof 'false' roof underneath the upstairs balcony, which just seems like a waste, and difficult to do with the upstairs balcony in place.
Woo, gonna get a leather couch, loveseat, and chair on craigslist for $450. Gonna go and check it out today to make sure it looks good and isn't falling apart or whatever, but the pictures they posted looked solid. At that price, it's prooobably bonded leather, but idk how to check for that. But even if it is, I don't think that's that big a deal. Also possible it's real leather and it's that low cause it's used and kind of an ugly color. Who knows! The joys of craigslist.
Woo, gonna get a leather couch, loveseat, and chair on craigslist for $450. Gonna go and check it out today to make sure it looks good and isn't falling apart or whatever, but the pictures they posted looked solid. At that price, it's prooobably bonded leather, but idk how to check for that. But even if it is, I don't think that's that big a deal. Also possible it's real leather and it's that low cause it's used and kind of an ugly color. Who knows! The joys of craigslist.
From an earlier life as a furniture salesman:
If you press your finger into the leather, and the leather wrinkles, then it's leather. If it just goes down smoothly, then it's vinyl. Bonded is somewhere between the two.
It's common to use non-leather on the sides and back, as this isn't the bit people sit on. Testing this area just proves what they used on the sides and back.
Leather needs a bit of care to remain supple. You should use leather conditioner on it every 6 months or so.
Purchase was a success! The guy we bought em from was nice enough to hitch up the trailer to his truck and take em to my place for me, so i didn't have to rent a pickup and we only had to make one trip.
I think I'm leaning on it being bonded leather? There was a little sample of the leather under the couch that seemed to be real leather.
But there was also a small area on the loveseat that might be bonded leather damage? I don't know what wear/damage on regular leather looks like.
I also did the poke test and it wrinkled, so it's at least not vinyl.
Overall, pretty stoked with the purchase! I think I'm good for seats for now! Still need to arrange some of them and maybe build a riser or two for the back rows, but it feels good. Just need to get a shelf for my board games and some blinds for my windows XD
Yea, the house is built into a hill, so the main floor enters from the front and the basement exits from the rear. That basement is basically the reason I bought the house, lol. The whole house is like 3000 sqft, so that basement is probably 1,500 sqft all open. There's a little area behind the stairs that has all the plumbing and lighting and vents and outlets and whatnot for a 3rd bathroom whenever I get the money together to do that, too.
Emergency builder's plastic deployed along the front. Making a mental note to cut a secondary stormwater pipe into the garage drains, since if they *ever* block in a rainstorm the entire lower floor will more or less immediately flood.
That's a good looking couch but tbh I've never understood the appeal of leather couches/chairs.
Leather doesn't breathe for shit.
And I mean I love that with my coat because fuck off, winter.
But if I'm plopping my ass down on or laying down on something for a few hours it damn well better breathe :P
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firewaterwordSatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered Userregular
Well I've gone and submitted an application for mortgage pre-qualification. And I'm already scared! Renting a townhome in southern Denver right now, but the lease is up in July and I think it's time to call it quits on renting. Looking to be up further north, ideally somewhere around Louisville/Lafayette/Broomfield.
Anyway still no idea if I want to go house or condo route, but figured I'd try to qualify for the most I'd be willing to spend and then try to come in under that. Working with a first time home buyer's program and they said it's no sweat if the ideal purchase date is a few months out.
I will say that browsing realtor/zillow/redfin is both exciting and terrifying. And a great way to eat up a ton of time...
Well I've gone and submitted an application for mortgage pre-qualification. And I'm already scared! Renting a townhome in southern Denver right now, but the lease is up in July and I think it's time to call it quits on renting. Looking to be up further north, ideally somewhere around Louisville/Lafayette/Broomfield.
Anyway still no idea if I want to go house or condo route, but figured I'd try to qualify for the most I'd be willing to spend and then try to come in under that. Working with a first time home buyer's program and they said it's no sweat if the ideal purchase date is a few months out.
I will say that browsing realtor/zillow/redfin is both exciting and terrifying. And a great way to eat up a ton of time...
Check around to find a good realtor in the area and start doing them house tours. Being able to see the places first hand and having an expert point out issues I wouldn't notice was super helpful. Also, it's a ton of paperwork but legit is pretty easy to do. Surprisingly easy to be looking at houses at the start of the month and then signing on one at the end like whoa.
Well I've gone and submitted an application for mortgage pre-qualification. And I'm already scared! Renting a townhome in southern Denver right now, but the lease is up in July and I think it's time to call it quits on renting. Looking to be up further north, ideally somewhere around Louisville/Lafayette/Broomfield.
Anyway still no idea if I want to go house or condo route, but figured I'd try to qualify for the most I'd be willing to spend and then try to come in under that. Working with a first time home buyer's program and they said it's no sweat if the ideal purchase date is a few months out.
I will say that browsing realtor/zillow/redfin is both exciting and terrifying. And a great way to eat up a ton of time...
Check around to find a good realtor in the area and start doing them house tours. Being able to see the places first hand and having an expert point out issues I wouldn't notice was super helpful. Also, it's a ton of paperwork but legit is pretty easy to do. Surprisingly easy to be looking at houses at the start of the month and then signing on one at the end like whoa.
Yeah it's hard to know when to start doing tours and all that. I don't expect to be moving on anything until sometime around May at the earliest, but the more info I can get on potential neighborhoods, the better. Don't want to waste anyone's time though.
There's a pretty good chance I'll be doing this solo (my partner has it in her head that moving to Florida is a good idea, which is fodder for an entirely different thread, but I digress), which makes the whole condo vs house thing tricky.
My gut says it's easier to sell a family house than it is a condo, should the need arise...
My gut says it's easier to sell a family house than it is a condo, should the need arise...
I've heard that as well. Also that condos don't appreciate value nearly as well as a house, but that info is really old, so I don't know how true it is anymore.
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MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
Well I've gone and submitted an application for mortgage pre-qualification. And I'm already scared! Renting a townhome in southern Denver right now, but the lease is up in July and I think it's time to call it quits on renting. Looking to be up further north, ideally somewhere around Louisville/Lafayette/Broomfield.
Anyway still no idea if I want to go house or condo route, but figured I'd try to qualify for the most I'd be willing to spend and then try to come in under that. Working with a first time home buyer's program and they said it's no sweat if the ideal purchase date is a few months out.
I will say that browsing realtor/zillow/redfin is both exciting and terrifying. And a great way to eat up a ton of time...
Check around to find a good realtor in the area and start doing them house tours. Being able to see the places first hand and having an expert point out issues I wouldn't notice was super helpful. Also, it's a ton of paperwork but legit is pretty easy to do. Surprisingly easy to be looking at houses at the start of the month and then signing on one at the end like whoa.
Yeah it's hard to know when to start doing tours and all that. I don't expect to be moving on anything until sometime around May at the earliest, but the more info I can get on potential neighborhoods, the better. Don't want to waste anyone's time though.
There's a pretty good chance I'll be doing this solo (my partner has it in her head that moving to Florida is a good idea, which is fodder for an entirely different thread, but I digress), which makes the whole condo vs house thing tricky.
My gut says it's easier to sell a family house than it is a condo, should the need arise...
I looked without any real intent for maybe a month or two, but getting a (friend referred) real estate agent to start tossing me recs based on my needs and times to go see them jumped it into high gear.
Also yeah, you'll say $x is my hard high end and they'll go "omg this great $x+ place just opened up we should go see it!!!" on the reg.
I recall one of those home improvement / real estate shows saying that every $1000 more on a loan is $20/month (I think) on their home loan. So the $x+ is reasonable to them, 'cause hey, when you're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars over decades, what's another $100 a month?
You're going to get pre-qualified for WAY more than your budget. That's okay; stick to your guns on price range.
As my loan agent put it, "you can qualify for about a half-million easily, but you don't need what that will buy and you don't want those payments." (The fact that he said things like this is part of how he won our business, by the way.)
A good real estate agent will take into consideration what you want to pay. If they keep pushing you towards your max pre-qual numbers, bail hard (make sure never to sign an exclusivity agreement with an agent).
The reason the shit ones do that is because they're commission so the more you spend, the more they make from the sale, so the real grifty ones will always, always, always make a big deal about "well you can afford XYZ, let's look more towards that end"
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
Keep in mind sometimes a realtor will push you higher because what you are looking for is unrealistic for your budget. We initially went looking to spend $130K but it was impossible to find anything that wasn't falling apart and soaked in cat piss at that price. Our realtor encouraged us to spend a little more to have a better chance of finding something decent. We wound up spending $160K.
You're going to get pre-qualified for WAY more than your budget. That's okay; stick to your guns on price range.
As my loan agent put it, "you can qualify for about a half-million easily, but you don't need what that will buy and you don't want those payments." (The fact that he said things like this is part of how he won our business, by the way.)
Oh to live in an area where 500k is considered excessive. That's less than the median home price around me.
You're going to get pre-qualified for WAY more than your budget. That's okay; stick to your guns on price range.
As my loan agent put it, "you can qualify for about a half-million easily, but you don't need what that will buy and you don't want those payments." (The fact that he said things like this is part of how he won our business, by the way.)
Oh to live in an area where 500k is considered excessive. That's less than the median home price around me.
Even prices here are inflated - if I had wound up relocating to Dallas, I could have gotten twice the house for what we spent.
Keep in mind sometimes a realtor will push you higher because what you are looking for is unrealistic for your budget. We initially went looking to spend $130K but it was impossible to find anything that wasn't falling apart and soaked in cat piss at that price. Our realtor encouraged us to spend a little more to have a better chance of finding something decent. We wound up spending $160K.
Well yes.
But there's a difference of being approved for 250k and searching at 130k and being asked to step it up to 160k and your realtor going "you should go for 250k" every time you look at a house.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
the realtor shouldn't really know what you "could" qualify for. The lender will give an amount of what you want to ask for the loan which "might" be the max but could be far less. So, i could qualify for 500k but i'm only asking for 250k. There's nothing wrong with the realtor showing me homes up to that 250k range. If they are showing me homes for 500k, there's something bad faith between the lender and the realtor.
Buying a house outside of california sounds like a lot more fun.
Yeah places without foreign investors and NIMBY boomers are actually fairly good housing markets.
Even california isn't too bad if you're outside their 3 of the 6 most populous metropolitan areas in the country, still stupid compared to 160k though.
Putting an offer down and feeling nauseous about it. Not that I'm stretching my budget. Just that it feels stupid to do. I've been in the same apartment for years and years now. I'm fine with it, but yeah it's kind of a dump. I don't know why I'm doing anything. But I don't really want to live in the same apartment forever even if I could. And the only thing that feels like an improvement is a house. But ugh. I wish I craved owning a house like most people do.
I recall one of those home improvement / real estate shows saying that every $1000 more on a loan is $20/month (I think) on their home loan. So the $x+ is reasonable to them, 'cause hey, when you're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars over decades, what's another $100 a month?
Be careful with this slippery slope though. We had a budget of $700k max and ended up in a $1.1 million dollar home (my wife’s rich).
Putting an offer down and feeling nauseous about it. Not that I'm stretching my budget. Just that it feels stupid to do. I've been in the same apartment for years and years now. I'm fine with it, but yeah it's kind of a dump. I don't know why I'm doing anything. But I don't really want to live in the same apartment forever even if I could. And the only thing that feels like an improvement is a house. But ugh. I wish I craved owning a house like most people do.
/rant off my chest
You can always just rent a house. Also there are property types in between. Condos, townhomes, etc.
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If you want the area behind the toilet/mirrors painted, you might need to specify that. It's easier to just tape off the mirror, and I've lived places with a patch of different-colored paint behind the toilet. (Also, there are apparently paintbrushes for "tight spaces". No idea how well they work, but nobody's going to be inspecting that paint too closely.)
Pretty sure this is the most masculine I've ever felt. Also feeling a strong urge to fix all the things now.
They literally started going down like a week after I closed. Ughhhhhhhhh. But whatever.
1. there's some water leakage problem with the front porch workshop of this house that I don't quite understand. The punchline is that whole area needs the pebble epoxy stripped off, an actual waterproofing membrane applied, and retiling. Thinking some silicone caulk might mitigate for now?
2. But the back deck - hoo boy. So, the lower floor has this overhand which has been done up with fibreboard and downlights and all looks really nice. This completely hides the fact that all of this was attached to the underside of the upstairs balcony, and there is no membrane or roof beneath the boards to catch the water. It's "mostly" okay because there's a cover over the upper part of the balcony, but it still means any liquids which blow in from the side, any leaks, any thing like say, washing the windows or spilling something, not to mention the leaves, is just falling right through onto the bottom part of that roof.
Which explains why the halogen downlights are blown out.
I am in awe at whoever the fuck installed this and went "she'll be right". I assume this was all repainted before they sold because one decent rainstorm and the paint is bubbling right off because the water is coming through - worse, I need to get in there and check it's not just pooling underneath an enclosed beam.
This is all incredibly stupid, though not catastrophic as far as houses go. I'm thinking I'll pull up the upper deck over this area, we'll see if the lower boards can be saved, and I guess I'll build a proper enclosed space with fibre cement decking over sarking foil, waterproof and tile it and it should be good? Would look nicer too.
So I understand this right, there's leakage at the roofline of the front porch where it meets the house itself? Sounds like there's no aluminum flashing between whatever is acting as your porch roof and the house. Maybe they use membranes and epoxy in Australia, but here in the states we use bent aluminum flashing. It's essentially a thin aluminum sheet bent at a 90 (or whatever necessary) degree angle. The roof part is placed underneath the roofing material (shingles or what have you), the other part is nailed to the vertical part of the house then siliconed. This creates a permanent and long lasting barrier that doesn't allow any water to infiltrate at the junction of where the porch roof meets the house. A membrane sounds a hell of a lot more temporary (especially in a hot Aussie sun) and more expensive than aluminum flashing.
What is the roofing material on the porch? Asphalt shingles or shingle roll? It should be fairly easy to DIY, though not as pretty as professional roofers who have a flashing brake.
As for the back porch, honestly, I'd take the easiest route of just taking the false ceiling down and installing outdoor rated cafe lights. The only other option is to build a full sloped and waterproof 'false' roof underneath the upstairs balcony, which just seems like a waste, and difficult to do with the upstairs balcony in place.
From an earlier life as a furniture salesman:
If you press your finger into the leather, and the leather wrinkles, then it's leather. If it just goes down smoothly, then it's vinyl. Bonded is somewhere between the two.
It's common to use non-leather on the sides and back, as this isn't the bit people sit on. Testing this area just proves what they used on the sides and back.
Leather needs a bit of care to remain supple. You should use leather conditioner on it every 6 months or so.
I think I'm leaning on it being bonded leather? There was a little sample of the leather under the couch that seemed to be real leather.
But there was also a small area on the loveseat that might be bonded leather damage? I don't know what wear/damage on regular leather looks like.
I also did the poke test and it wrinkled, so it's at least not vinyl.
Overall, pretty stoked with the purchase! I think I'm good for seats for now! Still need to arrange some of them and maybe build a riser or two for the back rows, but it feels good. Just need to get a shelf for my board games and some blinds for my windows XD
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Yea, the house is built into a hill, so the main floor enters from the front and the basement exits from the rear. That basement is basically the reason I bought the house, lol. The whole house is like 3000 sqft, so that basement is probably 1,500 sqft all open. There's a little area behind the stairs that has all the plumbing and lighting and vents and outlets and whatnot for a 3rd bathroom whenever I get the money together to do that, too.
Leather doesn't breathe for shit.
And I mean I love that with my coat because fuck off, winter.
But if I'm plopping my ass down on or laying down on something for a few hours it damn well better breathe :P
Anyway still no idea if I want to go house or condo route, but figured I'd try to qualify for the most I'd be willing to spend and then try to come in under that. Working with a first time home buyer's program and they said it's no sweat if the ideal purchase date is a few months out.
I will say that browsing realtor/zillow/redfin is both exciting and terrifying. And a great way to eat up a ton of time...
Check around to find a good realtor in the area and start doing them house tours. Being able to see the places first hand and having an expert point out issues I wouldn't notice was super helpful. Also, it's a ton of paperwork but legit is pretty easy to do. Surprisingly easy to be looking at houses at the start of the month and then signing on one at the end like whoa.
Yeah it's hard to know when to start doing tours and all that. I don't expect to be moving on anything until sometime around May at the earliest, but the more info I can get on potential neighborhoods, the better. Don't want to waste anyone's time though.
There's a pretty good chance I'll be doing this solo (my partner has it in her head that moving to Florida is a good idea, which is fodder for an entirely different thread, but I digress), which makes the whole condo vs house thing tricky.
My gut says it's easier to sell a family house than it is a condo, should the need arise...
I've heard that as well. Also that condos don't appreciate value nearly as well as a house, but that info is really old, so I don't know how true it is anymore.
This is definitely the case.
I looked without any real intent for maybe a month or two, but getting a (friend referred) real estate agent to start tossing me recs based on my needs and times to go see them jumped it into high gear.
Also yeah, you'll say $x is my hard high end and they'll go "omg this great $x+ place just opened up we should go see it!!!" on the reg.
As my loan agent put it, "you can qualify for about a half-million easily, but you don't need what that will buy and you don't want those payments." (The fact that he said things like this is part of how he won our business, by the way.)
The reason the shit ones do that is because they're commission so the more you spend, the more they make from the sale, so the real grifty ones will always, always, always make a big deal about "well you can afford XYZ, let's look more towards that end"
Oh to live in an area where 500k is considered excessive. That's less than the median home price around me.
Even prices here are inflated - if I had wound up relocating to Dallas, I could have gotten twice the house for what we spent.
Well yes.
But there's a difference of being approved for 250k and searching at 130k and being asked to step it up to 160k and your realtor going "you should go for 250k" every time you look at a house.
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Hearing someone who bought a condo for what I bought a house for put it in perspective. Shit's crazy.
Yeah places without foreign investors and NIMBY boomers are actually fairly good housing markets.
Even california isn't too bad if you're outside their 3 of the 6 most populous metropolitan areas in the country, still stupid compared to 160k though.
/rant off my chest
Be careful with this slippery slope though. We had a budget of $700k max and ended up in a $1.1 million dollar home (my wife’s rich).
You can always just rent a house. Also there are property types in between. Condos, townhomes, etc.
Or. A different apartment.