parking and house shopping

[knary]

As some of you know, my wife and I are house shopping. It is proving frustrating as we are buying our first home and budgetary constraints put us a small step above buying a crack house. We are shopping within the city (we're not suburbanites). Invariably the houses that we really like end up being ones without off-street parking. We had long ago agreed that at the least, the house needs to have something resembling a driveway. But as we plod down this path, my wife is pushing for a reconsideration of this. Any other riders been through this? did you buy that great house but have to stomach leaving your bike parked between cars on the street.

I suppose I'm just grumbling.

[1flyer]

Is there a sidewalk to the front door? ;)

Seriously though, I once had an apartment in an older house and had to park on the street. Only one time did I have any problem. It looked like someone had tried to parallel park and tipped my Z-1 over. Only a mirror needed replacing, I was lucky.

[Rob Nye]

As some of you know, my wife and I are house shopping. It is proving frustrating as we are buying our first home and budgetary constraints put us a small step above buying a crack house. We are shopping within the city (we're not suburbanites). Invariably the houses that we really like end up being ones without off-street parking. We had long ago agreed that at the least, the house needs to have something resembling a driveway. But as we plod down this path, my wife is pushing for a reconsideration of this. Any other riders been through this? did you buy that great house but have to stomach leaving your bike parked between cars on the street.

I suppose I'm just grumbling.

That great house would only be great if it met *both* your needs. Keep looking, or if you need to give up on the driveway add in a secure storage location into the monthly budget. Hopefully giving up the driveway would reduce the housing expense to make it a wash.

- Rob

PS: Crack house = fixer upper. Plus you are an artist. I have read that where you go, yuppies soon follow and gentrify the neighborhood. Get an uzi and get in on the ground floor. ;)

[username]

if you park on the street all the time in an urban environment, youre going to get dinged for sure. i've lived with on street only parking for my car, and i didnt care for it. i recently nearly bought a house in a more urban environment, and off street parking was a must. (ended up not doing it, so it was moot.)

knary - the house is your place of refuge. if you dont have peace of mind, because your bike is out on the street, and at risk, then that might not be a good thing. and imagine to the future if you have a newer bike, or maybe a newer car - it's nice to now it isnt on the street.

when buying a house, a big compromise will eat at you for a long time. i made one at my current place - one car garage (i know, i know, you dont even have parking) and i regret it, and i'm stuck. i basically need another house in order to get more garage space, and it bugs me. stick to your guns on your 'must haves.'

also, motorcycles are little, maybe you can put in a rock path and ride it around to the backyard or something? i dont know what youre looking at (brownstone would prevent this...) so it's hard to come up with a practical solution.

[knary]

That great house would only be great if it met *both* your needs. Keep looking, or if you need to give up on the driveway add in a secure storage location into the monthly budget. Hopefully giving up the driveway would reduce the housing expense to make it a wash.

- Rob

PS: Crack house = fixer upper. Plus you are an artist. I have read that where you go, yuppies soon follow and gentrify the neighborhood. Get an uzi and get in on the ground floor. ;)

Dude, if we had only moved here five or six years ago. There's an area in north/northeast portland that has become THE place to live if you're a funky urban yuppie. It used to be the scary part of town and is still one of the best places to go if you wanna get shot (this town is so safe, it's almost creepy). I was looking at a house over there yesterday and ended up chatting with the guy who owned the house next door. Seven years ago, he paid $37k for his house and said he almost bought another house down the street for $45k. These houses all go for $200k+, and this is not the most recovered area.

This is the house that inspired the question.
http://www.conary.org/bike/post/house2.jpg

[BradfordBenn]

BoxxxxxxxxxxxxerPerson parks in her backyard; so you might want to ping her about any problems. Another friend of mine lives in downtown South Bend (I did not know there was a downtown!) and he purchased a $700 storage shed for his backyard that he can access by an alleyway and parked his bike in there, never had a problem. Well he had one problem, when his neighbor tried to be nice and snowplowed the alley the snow formed a nice ice lock and he could not get into it for about a month.

So you might want to look at the idea of doing a shed.

[BradfordBenn]

This is the house that inspired the question.
http://www.conary.org/bike/post/house2.jpg

Scott you can't buy that house, it doesn't match the GS :stick

[username]

what does the back look like, no room back there? can you make a little ramp somehow and ride up into the yard?

[Hodag]

looks like the neighbor has a garage. I would ask them if you could rent a spot in it. if they are jerks do you really want to live next to them?
mark

[SweetT]

Maybe if you ask real nice, your neighbor will let you park the bike next to their garage?

I also agree with other comments on this board that if you REALLY want a garage (or off street parking at least) then you MUST buy a house that offers these options. Buying a house is the largest purchase people make. Do you really want to buy something you're not completey happy with?

[knary]

what does the back look like, no room back there? can you make a little ramp somehow and ride up into the yard?

There's no road access to the rear yard.

[knary]

Maybe if you ask real nice, your neighbor will let you park the bike next to their garage?

I also agree with other comments on this board that if you REALLY want a garage (or off street parking at least) then you MUST buy a house that offers these options. Buying a house is the largest purchase people make. Do you really want to buy something you're not completey happy with?

sound advice

[kbasa]

Remember that houses are malleable and you can change them suit your needs in any way you see fit.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

It looks like to could run your GS straight up the stairs into the hallway. Turning around in the room behind it and getting out should be no problemo :jose :D
All kidding aside, you should look at reselling the place in the future. If you have a problem with it now, think of what it may be like getting rid of the house. If ever you have second thoughts about a place go with your instincts and walk away from it. Don't be too much in a hurry and make the right decision. Remember: location,location,location.
Good luck!!

[lorazepam]

I just bought a place, and a garage was on the "no compromise" list. It is something I would rather not live without. I thank my stars I didnt have to pay 200k for something that small. I spent less than half that,and got an extra building lot 30 feet from a lake. I also get to see the sun on a regular basis.

[lorazepam]

Oh here it is, the garage and lake to follow.

[lorazepam]

Garage

[lorazepam]

Lake

[James.A]

Scott, I see that area off to the left, with the fence and vegetation. There's your spot. Here's the secret to buying anything. I've said this before here on the forum. Your job, as a buyer, is to destroy value in the eyes of the seller. If the house has been on the market for more than a week without selling, in the current market, it is overpriced. The seller needs to know that you would be seriously interested, if the property was just a little more to your liking. the neighbor has a driveway and garage, so a resident owner should be able to get zoning for at least a drive way and a slab. Call it improving an older neighborhood. Get a few landscaping contractors to shoot you some estimates to get a modification like you would want, then double the amount, deduct THAT amount from the asking price, and make an offer for the property. All the seller can do is say no, or maybe counter offer. You might also point out to the realtor that the housing market is the last part of the economy to keep it's legs, and you are not interested in buying into the "bubble", and this seller needs to work with you. Be advised that if the current seller has owned the property for more than 10 years, Their cost basis on the property is easily half of the current asking price. There is so much to know about buying property, and as a first time buyer you are at a tremendous dis-advantage. We're here for you, so push on fearlessly.

[James.A]

The house looks like a pre-war dwelling, maybe WW1. Most of these neighborhoods have alleys. I live in the old part of a town that is 175 years old and many of the alleys are no longer used and overgrown, but they still exist. If that be the case, you should be able to walk to the back of the lot and visualize an alley that is no longer used. Maybe kick up some dirt and find cinders. If the easement is not registered as abandoned to the existing lot owners, it would still be an alley, and encroaching obstructions could be made to be removed.

[RebeccaV]

Scott,

I bought a fixerupper with no garage. It's not ideal, but I've adapted.

Is the house as cute on the inside as on the outside? Is the wife in love with it? You could be in trouble, my friend...

By the way, my fixerupper in a formerly dicey part of town has quadrupled in value in the 8 years that I've had it. I say buy a crack house with a garage in a promising neighborhood.

[boomyr]

I believe if I had a nice big heated garage, all I'd need is a tent to sleep in. :nod


(I'm sure that idea will be a big hit with the wife)

[BradfordBenn]

There's no road access to the rear yard.

It's a GS why do you need a road?

[dbrick]

While I agree that a gen-u-wine garage is a Good Thing, getting your foot on the ladder of home ownership is also desirable. Sometimes we have to compromise. Your GS has lived outside a while, and outside could be OK if you can achieve two goals:

The first is keeping the bike out of view. While there's a small concrete wall in the way, you might find some way of running the bike up next to the house. Maybe there's room for a ramp up the middle of the stairs. Maybe a notch could be sawn through the wall, left of the stairs, and a ramp set into the garden. The bike could then be run up and parked close to the house. Some overhanging bushes would be nice. Maybe even a little shed. Some light sort of gate-thing, made of fence material, could be hinged on a post, or the side of the house. Maybe you could ride the bike into your back yard through a gate off your neighbor's driveway.

The second is keeping the bike there. The Brits do a good business in steel anchors, set into concrete. A serious big heavy chain and lock stay right there at the house, and run through the wheels and frame (yeah, I know, it doesn't have a frame...you know what I mean) when you park it.

[knary]

While I agree that a gen-u-wine garage is a Good Thing, getting your foot on the ladder of home ownership is also desirable. Sometimes we have to compromise.

You are a wise man. Where did you hide my friend? :D

As for this particular house, the decision was made for us. After being listed for just two days, it was sold shortly after I started this thread. :cry

We are commited to buying a house. At the moment, I have my sites set on a older bungalo with a little less room, but in a fantastic location. AND it has off street parking. The best part is that the house two doors down is no longer a meth lab!
:twirl

From an investment perspective, this area is the best we could ever hope to do in our price range. From a convenience POV, the commute won't be great for Erin, but there are coffeeshops, galleries, restaurants, etc all within an easy walk away on the closest cross street. Yes, we would change the color(s). :)

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse1.jpg

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse2.jpg

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse3.jpg

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse4.jpg

Even after having helped maintain them in the past, I have a soft spot for a funky old house.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

I guess the other house wasn't meant to be, but this new place you're looking at could be a nice starter project. It looks like the whole place has potential and like someone else mentioned before, just make the house into what you want and need it to be.
The colorscheme is somewhat phsychedelic :groovy but a can of paint will go a long way!
I hope you found what you were looking for!! :D

[kbasa]

I like the colors, though I'd change the front steps to something besides red. Mebbe gray.

But then again, you've seen the inside of my house. It looks like psychos live here. :wave :brad

[knary]

I like the colors, though I'd change the front steps to something besides red. Mebbe gray.

But then again, you've seen the inside of my house. It looks like psychos live here. :wave :brad

The colors almost work. The green is a bit too tangy for the building. Crossing my fingers.

[Braddog]

Knary, I hope this all works out for you, the quest for home ownership, that is.
When my wife and I were first married 25+ years ago, we were looking at houses within the city, some without garages, some without offstreet parking. I had just sold my motorcycle, but we did have 2 cars at the time. We looked at a ton of houses, until we got a new realtor to help us. This was the one that introduced us to........


the suburbs. I know, I know, that's NOT where you wanted to go, and frankly your reasons are good. But, I will tell you that I'm now on my 3rd home, and I haven't regretted moving any of the times, always to the nearer 'burbs. In fact, my 3 homes are within about a 2 mile radius of each other.

For my first home, I got a little 3 bedroom rambler starter home, about 960 sq. ft. finished, with a detached 1 1/2 car garage. Not much, but, I also got one frickin' HUGE lot, with trees, a garden spot, etc. This turned out to be great for pets, and for children (we had 3 while we lived there). Of course, your lifestyle is probably waaaay different than mine, but I'm just sharing my experience.

The home I live in now is pretty good sized, with a 2 1/2 car attached garage. I have a large house, with a small yard, which suits our lifestyle well right now. I no longer wish to spend long hours toiling on yard maintenance, I'd rather be out riding.

I guess the only advice I'd like to give here is to keep ALL options open, take your time and look at a lot of different house/yard/location configurations. You may be surprised at what you find.

[DarrylRi]

One thing I will never understand...

When we lived in LA, every house had a garage. It was only a matter of whether a 2 car garage would do, or if you needed something bigger for all your stuff.

When we moved to the Greyt Pacific Northwet, we were stunned to find that one would be lucky to find a house with an attached car port.

Hello? Does this make any sense at all? It's wet and drizzly much of the year, rains a lot, and occasionally snows, and you've got to leave your car(s) out in that? And what about all the stuff one normally keeps in the garage?

I still don't understand the perversity of it all.

[YB in IN]

Even after having helped maintain them in the past, I have a soft spot for a funky old house.

I dig it. Go for it.

[Emoto]

The colors almost work. The green is a bit too tangy for the building. Crossing my fingers.

Cool house. Does the inside continue the Arts & Crafts theme? Nice wood, built-ins, etc?

You need some Stickley furniture for that place!

http://www.stickley.com/gallery/images/intro_mission.jpg

[Bfish]

maybe get one of those PODS and just leave at the curb. your bike will fit in nicely , be out of the elements and secure. :brow

[kbasa]

Cool house. Does the inside continue the Arts & Crafts theme? Nice wood, built-ins, etc?

You need some Stickley furniture for that place!

http://www.stickley.com/gallery/images/intro_mission.jpg

Mmmm... Stickleeeeeyyyy.

The Thos. B. Moser stuff is pretty nice too.

[knary]

Cool house. Does the inside continue the Arts & Crafts theme? Nice wood, built-ins, etc?

You need some Stickley furniture for that place!

http://www.stickley.com/gallery/images/intro_mission.jpg

:D
If my wife in any way likes it, we're going to jump. Even if we find that it isn't perfect for us (no house will be), we should be able to recoup quickly if we decide to sell.

The house sorta predates "arts & crafts", if not in actual age, but in style and consruction. It has the feel of a New Orleans house from the late 19th century. Some of the original charm has been removed by subsequent owners and too many layers of paint. The fireplace is long gone, some of the room dimensions have been nudged, and there are no built-ins (though in this style house, there may never have been). But almost all of the original wood work remains. This is the first house for sale that I would be proud to own and can afford.

We'd probably fill it with an eclectic mish-mash of arts fartsy modern and interesting old pieces. It's what we like and it would work in this space. (and it's what we have an can afford)

now that I've said this, it will undoubtedly be sold before I can get my wife inside. :doh

[SCDorman]

Scott - You gotta do what I did. We were moving from Columbia, MO, to Cedar Rapids. It was Friday, I was already in Iowa, decided to casually look at a few houses. Walked into the first one, 1925 construction, had all original woodwork, nice hardwood floors, built ins, 2 car garage...captured my heart immediately. On the way back to Mizzou that night, I called and told my wife we had to buy this house FAST. We had tickets to Springsteen in St. Louis on Saturday. So, in the AM we faxed an offer to our realtor, told him to hold it. We had my father in law, a contractor, go look at the house. We ended up talking to him, and confirming our offer to the realtor, from the Broadway Oyster Bar in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon. Bought the house without my wife even seeing it.

Happily, we're still in it.

Steve

[knary]

We just put an offer in on the house pictured below. :clap
We'll know by tomorrow morning.
It needs love, but we are VERY excited.
Yes, it has a garage (though it is leaning).

Knary is movin' to the hood. :clap

off to Corvallis and the drinking...

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse1.jpg

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse2.jpg

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse3.jpg

http://www.conary.org/bike/post/colorhouse4.jpg

[knary]

erps. forgot to mention. There's another offer in on the house as well. Cross your fingers.

[BradfordBenn]

Good luck.

When is the house warming party? :stick

[knary]

Good luck.

When is the house warming party? :stick

Closing will be, if they accept the offer, around the first of the year. Give us a month or three to rectify the odd color choices, pour a slab in the basement, and ...and...and.. and then we party. :twirl

[dbrick]

I'll hold a good thought for you guys.

(And I'll come to the party, too)

[username]

i think that house rocks, and i dig the colors. it'd fit in here in austin in a second.

fingers are crossed.

[ian408]

But then again, you've seen the inside of my house. It looks like psychos live here. :wave :brad

It looks like the inside of any OLD SGI building :D

Ian

[ian408]

We just put an offer in on the house pictured below. :clap
We'll know by tomorrow morning.
It needs love, but we are VERY excited.
Yes, it has a garage (though it is leaning).

Knary is movin' to the hood. :clap



Good luck my man!

Hey, can you get chairs that have more than three legs this time?

Ian

[jgr451]

Love the colour scheme.(Note the Candian OU).
Want me to close the deal for you?Canadian Lawyer,I probaby could.


Garage is absolutley necessary,see a good carpenter,maybe they can unwrack it for you.

Good luck!

[lorazepam]

I hope you get it Scott, good luck and welcome to homw ownership.

[manicmechanic]

When DaWif and I were house shopping and found this place, the dickering was getting a little old. So we finally told the realtor, "They're living in OUR HOUSE!" We've been here 15 years, made a few changes, but it's been a good thing. However, I'd much rather keep up the bikes than the house. So, congrats in advance, and good luck with it. Once you've moved in and gotten acquainted, then you can start planning on making it truly yours. Wait, that almost sounds like buying a new bike, what with personalizing and such.

[knary]

They accepted our offer. :clap

There were two offers, including ours, on the house. They were very similar, but the other offer was slightly better. They chose us because they liked us more. :D I had talked with one of the owners for a couple hours over the last two days - shootin' the **** mostly. And included a nice letter of thanks for making the process so easily. Erin can no longer make fun of my habit of talking with anyone within earshot. :lol

Inspections in the next week.
Last papers to the mortgage broker tomorrow.
If no headaches appear, we close on or before January 5th.

:twirl

Time to start shopping for tools. :lol

Thank you everyone for the support and words of advice. It is very very much appreciated. :thumb

[ian408]

Dood! Let me be the first to congratulate you!

Ian

[dbrick]

Yeah he's first, but I've known you longer.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

[knary]

Yeah he's first, but I've known you longer.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

:lol

Thank you. It'll feel real once we get through the inspections. If anything, it's a little disturbing how easy, outside of actually finding the home, this process has been. More than anything, I'm just trying to stay calm.

[MrsKbasa]

Congrats to you and Erin, Scott... :thumb

[kbasa]

Congrats to you and Erin, Scott... :thumb

Totally STOKED!

So, Erin's gonna want you to stay in PDX and paint the house instead of painting in Maine. :evil

:thumb :clap

[jgr451]

Attago, PO'd painter!!

[knary]

Totally STOKED!

So, Erin's gonna want you to stay in PDX and paint the house instead of painting in Maine. :evil

:thumb :clap

:p

Not gonna happen. It's going to be tight, but we'll squeeze into the house in the two weeks we'll have between closing and when I head east. We knew that we wanted the house when that didn't bother us. We knew that we wanted the house when the thought of waving good morning to the local crank-head didn't bother us. We knew that we wanted the house when the thought of living, at least for a while, without a dishwasher didn't bother us. :D

Right now I'm thinking of a soft light sage green for the body of the house, and cream and burgundy for the trim.

p.s. I spent an hour or so chatting with one of the potential neighbor's friends - a landscape architect/painter. I had approached him thinking he was the neighbor. The next day, when Erin was finally seeing the house, the neighbor - a cabinet maker - introduced himself and asked if we wanted to join him and a few other neighbors for dinner. When we explained that we had to be somewhere else (see ADVrider), he asked if we could come the next night if they rescheduled. Jeebus. Living in a up and coming area with friendly interesting people? I dunno. Might not be a good idea. :lol

[Emoto]

:lol

Thank you. It'll feel real once we get through the inspections. If anything, it's a little disturbing how easy, outside of actually finding the home, this process has been. More than anything, I'm just trying to stay calm.


Very cool. Congratulations. About the inspections (having been through this a couple of times) hire professionals who specialize in each type of inspection. IOW, hire a pest control company to do the pest inspection, hire a heating and cooling company that you would liike to use for maintenance to inspect those systems, etc. Do NOT hire one of those "house inspectors" and expect a competent inspection of mechanical systems or pest infestation.

[BradfordBenn]

Congrats Dooooooooood :thumb

[knary]

Very cool. Congratulations. About the inspections (having been through this a couple of times) hire professionals who specialize in each type of inspection. IOW, hire a pest control company to do the pest inspection, hire a heating and cooling company that you would liike to use for maintenance to inspect those systems, etc. Do NOT hire one of those "house inspectors" and expect a competent inspection of mechanical systems or pest infestation.

Our plan right now was to go with a general inspector, and a specialized inspector for a any trouble areas - e.g. the foundation. Did I not mention that the basement is reminiscent of WW I trench warfare? :D

A couple of the local riding friends build are realtors and developers. We've got a good line on some excellent inspectors.

trying to not get too excited yet,
-scott

p.s. we might need to open a separate forum called, "Scott's Home Renovations". I'm going to be coming at you all with many questions. :lol

[Emoto]

Our plan right now was to go with a general inspector, and a specialized inspector for a any trouble areas - e.g. the foundation. Did I not mention that the basement is reminiscent of WW I trench warfare? :D

A couple of the local riding friends build are realtors and developers. We've got a good line on some excellent inspectors.

trying to not get too excited yet,
-scott

p.s. we might need to open a separate forum called, "Scott's Home Renovations". I'm going to be coming at you all with many questions. :lol

General inspectors are fine, and they are important, but they are not experts in all areas. I hired a very expensive and highly recommended one for this last house (if the realtor hates the inspection firm, you know they're good! :D )and he missed a small area of termite infestation on a porch and he missed that there were holes in the furnace heat exchanger which meant I needed a new furnace. I did have a pest control firm come out, so that was caught and repair costs then became part of the final negotiation, but I thought I could trust the guy on the furnace. That was a $3400.00 mistake on my part. :cry

The general inspector is going to find things like structural construction issues, and perhaps drainage and wiring issues, but you really need the other guys to find the stuff they specialize in. My pest inspection was around $60.00, I think, and on my first house the heating guy did the inspection for free (this included the furnace and the water heater) because I told him that I would be needing someone to look after the equipment after I bought the place (and I used his firm for years after) but even if I had to pay, it would be worth it. This is the largest purchase most people ever make, so it is really worth spending a little bit up front to identify problems before you own them...
:thumb

[knary]

General inspectors are fine, and they are important, but they are not experts in all areas. I hired a very expensive and highly recommended one for this last house (if the realtor hates the inspection firm, you know they're good! :D )and he missed a small area of termite infestation on a porch and he missed that there were holes in the furnace heat exchanger which meant I needed a new furnace. I did have a pest control firm come out, so that was caught and repair costs then became part of the final negotiation, but I thought I could trust the guy on the furnace. That was a $3400.00 mistake on my part. :cry

The general inspector is going to find things like structural construction issues, and perhaps drainage and wiring issues, but you really need the other guys to find the stuff they specialize in. My pest inspection was around $60.00, I think, and on my first house the heating guy did the inspection for free (this included the furnace and the water heater) because I told him that I would be needing someone to look after the equipment after I bought the place (and I used his firm for years after) but even if I had to pay, it would be worth it. This is the largest purchase most people ever make, so it is really worth spending a little bit up front to identify problems before you own them...
:thumb

I'll ask some of the locals some questions. Thanks for the warning. :thumb

[Emoto]

Don't ask the realtor for suggestions - remember, as nice as they may be, they work for the seller and will recommend "safe" inspectors who are not likely to find anythign that might affect the deal going through...

[knary]

Don't ask the realtor for suggestions - remember, as nice as they may be, they work for the seller and will recommend "safe" inspectors who are not likely to find anythign that might affect the deal going through...

We're working with a buyer's agent who comes highly recommended. Having someone on our side through this has been very helpful. Having said that, I asked a friend of mine who does, among other things, high end home renovations for a recommendation as to which inspectors to use and will probably go with his suggestion(s). He's also offered to walk through the house.

Considering the age and state of the house, they will find many problems. Hopefully none will be enough to dissuade us.

[Emoto]

We're working with a buyer's agent who comes highly recommended. Having someone on our side through this has been very helpful. Having said that, I asked a friend of mine who does, among other things, high end home renovations for a recommendation as to which inspectors to use and will probably go with his suggestion(s). He's also offered to walk through the house.

Considering the age and state of the house, they will find many problems. Hopefully none will be enough to dissuade us.

Sounds like a plan. I think that very few houses have such bad things wrong with them that the deal will go south (not that you shouldn't be on guard), and a cetain amount of stuff is fine, but knowing what you're buying before it is too late is good. Anything significant can be used to re-evaluate what you think the selling price ought to be.

Different states have different laws on this sort of thing, but see if there is any kind of disclosure paperwork about the house that you ought to review. You can also go to the local town building department and ask to see the permit history for the place, which will give you another view of what has been going on over the years.

[knary]

Sounds like a plan. I think that very few houses have such bad things wrong with them that the deal will go south (not that you shouldn't be on guard), and a cetain amount of stuff is fine, but knowing what you're buying before it is too late is good. Anything significant can be used to re-evaluate what you think the selling price ought to be.

Different states have different laws on this sort of thing, but see if there is any kind of disclosure paperwork about the house that you ought to review. You can also go to the local town building department and ask to see the permit history for the place, which will give you another view of what has been going on over the years.

We have an amazing resource here in portland. It's a website where you can look up any property and dig up zoning, permits, assessed size, aerial photos, etc.

Monday 4:30 PM - meet with realtor to sign papers
Tuesday 9:30 AM - meet with mortgage broker to sign and swap paperwork
Tuesday 3:00 PM - primary inspector goes in
Tuesday 3:30 PM - sewer inspector gives the house a colonoscopy.

Somewhere in all of that, I try to sleep and get some work done. :lol

Again, thanks everyone for the words of encouragement and the advice.

[lorazepam]

Buying a house is like having ducks nibbling at your wallet. It seems as though someone seems to want money for something every day. It looks like my closing will be on the 14th. I cant wait till it is over.

[knary]

All inspections are done. A few serious issues came up. Our offer was suitably amended. After a few counter offers back and forth, a compromise was achieved.
:clap

We close on January 5th.
:twirl

[dbrick]

Very good news.

But when's the party?

[James.A]

Congratulations! I'm happy for you, my friend. Owning your own home is the very best thing a person can do in building a comfortable and secure existence.

[Emoto]

All inspections are done. A few serious issues came up. Our offer was suitably amended. After a few counter offers back and forth, a compromise was achieved.
:clap

We close on January 5th.
:twirl

:thumb Congratulations!

FWIW, I have found it worthwhile to be in near continuous contact with the various groups and individuals who are supposed to provide various documents, etc., for the closing. they like to leave things until the last moment, and if there is a problem with getting anything (and sometimes there is) it can bump out your closing, so keep after them...

[TZOLK]

Dude, That house is totally sweet!!! I love old houses, so much character. Not held together with caulk like these ones today. What kind of Issues?

[knary]

Dude, That house is totally sweet!!! I love old houses, so much character. Not held together with caulk like these ones today. What kind of Issues?

We knew going in that it was an old house in need of work. One glance and you know, for example, the plumbing needs to be updated. Beyond that, the inspections turned up a couple mild surprises and one big surprise.

1. sewer line to street. There's some root intrusion and crumbling of joints. The line should be replaced at some point sooner than later. We opted to take care of this. It's a known quantity and we were more concerned with the other two issues.

2. Oil tank. Despite the current owners having removed an oil tank from the basement, it turns out there's another one rusting away buried outside the house. Around here decommissioning a buried tank is usually a $2,500 job, but the price can escalate if there are any suprises. We insisted that they take care of this.

3. Foundation. One of the previous owners in a foolish attempt to increase the useable size of the basement, decided to dig out part of a crawlspace. While they weren't successful at making the basement larger, they did succeed in underminding part of the foundation. We lowered our offer enough to cover the bulk of fixing this.

Can you guess which issue had our heart beating a little faster? :bolt

[TZOLK]

Sounds like you had some serious bargining power. We just bought an 80 year old house last spring and it too has some galvenized plumbing. Thats real easy to replace with copper. Hows the electrical? We still have some old post and wire in operation. They do have their character!!
Around here in the city, people put second floors and additions on these older homes instead of buying a newer one. Congratulations!

[dancogan]

Scott,
When you said, "Around here decommissioning a buried tank is usually a $2,500 job, but the price can escalate if there are any suprises. We insisted that they take care of this," you were right on. The cost, if the tank had been leaking, can become astronomical. Good move to have that taken care of before you close.
Good luck. As you can tell, not many of us homeowners regret our purchases! :D

[knary]

Sounds like you had some serious bargining power. We just bought an 80 year old house last spring and it too has some galvenized plumbing. Thats real easy to replace with copper. Hows the electrical? We still have some old post and wire in operation. They do have their character!!
Around here in the city, people put second floors and additions on these older homes instead of buying a newer one. Congratulations!

The only immediate needs for this house are the foundation and the electrical system. The latter is a hodge podge of home grown upgrades. It hasn't burned the house down yet, but I don't trust it.

As for the plumbing, we will upgrade it as soon as we can afford to. Some of the old pipes are showing signs of constriction. I don't know, at this point, if we'll use copper or one of the synthetics (e.g. PEX). We'll most likely wait until we're ready to make some changes to the bathroom and/or kitchen.

[knary]

:thumb Congratulations!

FWIW, I have found it worthwhile to be in near continuous contact with the various groups and individuals who are supposed to provide various documents, etc., for the closing. they like to leave things until the last moment, and if there is a problem with getting anything (and sometimes there is) it can bump out your closing, so keep after them...

I take it you ran into a few snags? Who did you have to hound?

[Emoto]

I take it you ran into a few snags? Who did you have to hound?

Hmmm. The insurance binder was one of them, IIRC. This recent house (only my 2nd) went fairly well. My first one, about 10 years ago, was worse, and I can't recall the details. In any event, the details and the various players are likely to be different for you, but there is a federally required(?) form, that your mortgager should issue to you very soon, if they haven't already - a long page that details all of the items necessary for the mortgage to be issued. Use this as your checklist and actively manage the process. It will at least keep you informed as to what is going smoothly and what is not. Or, if you're the type, you can just relax and go with the flow.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

The only immediate needs for this house are the foundation and the electrical system. The latter is a hodge podge of home grown upgrades. It hasn't burned the house down yet, but I don't trust it.

As for the plumbing, we will upgrade it as soon as we can afford to. Some of the old pipes are showing signs of constriction. I don't know, at this point, if we'll use copper or one of the synthetics (e.g. PEX). We'll most likely wait until we're ready to make some changes to the bathroom and/or kitchen.

Congrats on your home!! :thumb At the moment I am looking myself and know the feeling you go through when looking.
I hope that you are handy as a lot of issues can be addressed by yourself. If you aren't than you will learn pretty quickly, as plumbing and electrical work are fairly straight forward. Roughing everything in is the most time consuming and costly if jobbed out.
I am glad that you had the other party take care of the oil situation. The last thing you need is the EPA crawling around with a microscope.
In any case; Good luck with your new home!!! :clap

[dbrick]

Nice work, Scott. I agree that it makes sense to make sure that the job with the most possibilities of difficulty — removing the oil tank — is wholly in the sellers' laps, and not yours. Make sure that final post-work approvals (city inspection? county hazmat inspection? etc.) are secured by the Sellers and provided to you before escrow closes. The other jobs are much easier to estimate accurately, and therefore more appropriate to retain (with a reduction in price!).

Yer doin' great.

[dancogan]

My guess is that the paperwork Emoto is referring to is the title insurance commitment. The title insurance is something that you definitely want, and your bank or mortgage company will require. Once the title search is complete there may well be a list of requirements that have to be completed before they will issue the policy. You won't be able to close and obtain your mortgage without meeting all of those requirements. If the current owner bought with a mortgage, chances are there won't be any big, rude surprises there. But it's something to make sure your realtor rides herd over for you to keep your closing on schedule.
Again, good luck. You'll love having your own home.

[jgr451]

Scott,as a lawyer,I recommend you make contact with your lawyer's office sooner rather than later..that is a good way to avoid last minute surprises and difficulties.Actually go and see them,drop into the office and say hello,these are my concerns.I always like the early personal touch.Get the matter off paper and into the human being realm soon.
Congrats man.It looks like a sweet home thing.

[gambrinus]

Scott, Congrats on the house. VERY cool looking place. The wife and I are in week #3 of "House Hunting" urgh... We're looking at older places, but not THAT old! Late 50's through early 70's seem to be the age of the houses that have fallen into the "we can afford it and it's in the right area" matrix. The only sliver of advice that I'll slide your way is that you mentioned that you'll be doing some plumbing work and some electrical work in the future.. Save some sanity and some $$ and get it done at the SAME TIME. Work with a electrical contractor and plumber who have worked together in the past if at all possible. If a chunk of wall has to be removed to run a pipe, why not snake some wires at the same time? The wall will only get removed and fixed once... Just a thought since I watched my brother go through this with a 1920's vintage house that he dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century with all the expected wiring upgrades (220 to the workbench in the garage) Plumbing that could handle a disposal and a dishwasher... With any luck I'll be posting some shots of our new place before spring.

RW

[Braddog]

Scott,as a lawyer,I recommend you make contact with your lawyer's office sooner rather than later..that is a good way to avoid last minute surprises and difficulties.Actually go and see them,drop into the office and say hello,these are my concerns.I always like the early personal touch.Get the matter off paper and into the human being realm soon.
Congrats man.It looks like a sweet home thing.

This is very sound advice. My wife and I have bought 3 houses, and have had an attorney involved each time, no matter how simple and straightforward it may look. If not your personal attorney, most offices have someone whose specialty is real estate, and it's worth every penny to have them involved.

Congrats on the home purchase, it's one of the best investments you'll ever make. :clap

[lorazepam]

I am closing on Casa de Lorazepam on Thursday. Having gone the 20's era house route once, I went for late 70's "old lady's" house. It is overbuilt, and very solid. The crawlspace has a concrete floor. I found that having the checklist made the process much easier. The only snag was a lame effort put in by an appraiser. He submitted additional information and things went well.
It was tough to stay informed being in hospitals with the cell phone off. Being on the road 3 days a week has its complications as well.
Getting together the paperwork was fairly simple, and it was mainly settling on a price after a home inspection. Good luck man, home ownership rocks :thumb

[Bob_M]

Scott
Good job with the house. It will be a good friend. My wife & I had a 1905 house in south Portland that we put a ton of work into. (there was a Suzuki 450 twin rusting in the garage when we moved in). The house had been a drug house with a gravel basement, a gravel driveway and a leaning trapazoid garage. We upgraded it to much to where the real estate appriciation only just kept pace with the improvements. Trial and error is a great way to learn, especially if you can use someone elses error. I am still in Portland, and I would be happy to give you a plant walk of your property (I will bet you a pint of mirror pond that that old house has a vintage garden in dormancy)
I will keep my eye open for you
B :wave

[knary]

Scott
Good job with the house. It will be a good friend. My wife & I had a 1905 house in south Portland that we put a ton of work into. (there was a Suzuki 450 twin rusting in the garage when we moved in). The house had been a drug house with a gravel basement, a gravel driveway and a leaning trapazoid garage. We upgraded it to much to where the real estate appriciation only just kept pace with the improvements. Trial and error is a great way to learn, especially if you can use someone elses error. I am still in Portland, and I would be happy to give you a plant walk of your property (I will bet you a pint of mirror pond that that old house has a vintage garden in dormancy)
I will keep my eye open for you
B :wave

ANY advice you can offer will be much appreciated. A PM is on its way. :D

[knary]

Scott, Congrats on the house. VERY cool looking place. The wife and I are in week #3 of "House Hunting" urgh... We're looking at older places, but not THAT old! Late 50's through early 70's seem to be the age of the houses that have fallen into the "we can afford it and it's in the right area" matrix. The only sliver of advice that I'll slide your way is that you mentioned that you'll be doing some plumbing work and some electrical work in the future.. Save some sanity and some $$ and get it done at the SAME TIME. Work with a electrical contractor and plumber who have worked together in the past if at all possible. If a chunk of wall has to be removed to run a pipe, why not snake some wires at the same time? The wall will only get removed and fixed once... Just a thought since I watched my brother go through this with a 1920's vintage house that he dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century with all the expected wiring upgrades (220 to the workbench in the garage) Plumbing that could handle a disposal and a dishwasher... With any luck I'll be posting some shots of our new place before spring.

RW

GOOD LUCK on the house hunt. Hopefully your budget gives you some reasonable options. We looked lightly for the better part of a year and seriously the past couple months. We had just about settled on a house we felt less than great about when we found this charmer.