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just when negogations begin

working woman

working woman

New member
another house falls in my lap. Heres the deal. My lease is up this Fri, I had been kind of looking at houses, but had no intentions getting serious about the mattter. I had made up my mind to quit my job and open my own business in a matter of two weeks when low and behold I was on my way home from work the other night and took a back road. There on the corner was a realtor sign that said open house. Curisoty got the best of me so I took decided to take a look... I fell in love with the yard (over 1 acre) and the location. The house was buit back in 1955. 1292 sq ft. two bed one bath brick. One car gargae.(which had been converted to a workshop so I would have to rip out sliding glass doors and put in a garage door)Some updates such as windows. All app. come with the house, but are not new. (stove looks old) Carpets needs to be riped up with hardwood floors underneath.(dont know the cond) Bathroom has been updated. Old heating/ air. and about 10 yrs left on roof.
I'm thinking it would be a couple grand just to get me moved in.(this is my dad and me doing the work) I know that in time I would have to update the whole house. So over the years we are talking a nice chunk of change.

One of my sisters just moved to another state and is selling her house by owner.(I really like her house and is in a culdesak(sp). It has been completely updated. It literally needs no work at all. It is a two bedroom two full bath. 2 1/2 car gargage. It was ccompletely re-sided two yrs ago with extra installation. Yard is not as big, but a very nice size. The heating and air is 15 yrs old. New wiring. The sq. footage is 1255. Also about 10 yrs left on roof. I do like her location

Here is where I am torn. There is a 10,000. price difference in between the two houses:4_11_9: . I like them both. I am thinking that I will have to sink more than that in the house over time to get it updated. For some reason I also have the tendency to think that if for some reason down the road I had to sell the house that my sisters house would move faster and would I get my money back from the first house. The problem is that I do love the location and the yard of the first house

as for the loan amount, even though the one is 10 grand higher I would lay more of a dep. down so loan amount would be the same on either house.

what would you guys do????
 
Go with your sisters place . A 2/2 is much easier to sell later than a 2/1 . You will spend a lot more than $10,000 adding a second bath later too . There is no surprizes with your sisters place and who knows what you may find in the other one . Besides dad is tired and needs a break :drink: !

You can base my knowledge on a architectural major in college and upteen years in construction . No one will ever be happy with a one bath house . You need your own private bath off your master bedroom . GO buy Sis's house !
 
WW,

I agree with BigAl. The changes/updates to the other can/will add up. Getting a house in "move in" condition also relieves you of all sorts of issues you probably don't need piled on top of the move itself (e.g. garage door, ripping up carpets, refinishing floors...)
 
I agree with Big Al and Brian. The 2 1/2 car garage and the additional bath is the clincher to me. There is normally a reason to cover up hardwood floors ...and it can take a lot of work to get them back into shape. This might be a huge expense. Reconverting the garage would also be a major project and kind of expensive. I lived with a one car garage for awhile and found I could rarely get the car in it, because of storing this and that. A 2 1/2 stall garage will give you room for your car and plenty of storage space.
 
If you like the property of the first house but don't really like the prospect of sinking a lot of money into it, why not just tear it down and start over.
 
Abby said:
If you like the property of the first house but don't really like the prospect of sinking a lot of money into it, why not just tear it down and start over.
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Tearing it down and starting over is the quintessential of sinking alot of money into it. Particularly if the land value is less than the house.
 
YOU guys win!!!l After a thinking about it all night long (literally couldnt sleep )I came to the conclusion that It would be a mistake if I passed my sisters house up. If anything from an investment/ re-sale point of view.

I called my sis first thing this morning and told her to take her house off the market and consider it sold! She was absolutely thrilled to hear it. Not from the unloading of the house standpoint but it was really killing her to let the house go. (It was her good friends, and was in the family for a couple of generations) So she was really worried as to who was going to buy it. Said she was happy it was going into good hands.

So had two hrs to kill at lunch and went to visit my new house. Already met my new neighbor. He and his family just bought their house(he flips houses) and was telling me his plans for their back yard. He wants to put up a white privacy fence. I said great,cause I have to put up some kind of a fence as well becasue of my dogs. Needless to say he will let me back mine up to his. :)

Oh, after I talked to my sis, I called my Dad and told him not to worry about getting the tools out, that I was not taking the other house. Think I heard a sigh of relief.
So my sis is comming into town next weekend, and the fun paperwork begins!!!:alc:
 
Congrats Judy. :beer:
I'm sure that is a load off your mind. ...Now you can concentrate on the upcoming move, and your new business .... You are going to be one busy girl for sure.
 
Congrats!!!!

working woman said:
He wants to put up a white privacy fence. I said great,cause I have to put up some kind of a fence as well becasue of my dogs. Needless to say he will let me back mine up to his. :)
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If he's putting up a fence, why do you need to put up a fence on that side? Your dogs won't be able to get past his fence.
 
Doc said:
Congrats Judy. :beer:
I'm sure that is a load off your mind. ...Now you can concentrate on the upcoming move, and your new business .... You are going to be one busy girl for sure.
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Thanks! A load off my mind, but at the same time excited and frazzled?
One good thing is that when I moved into this place I knew it was only a stopping point so I never really "unpacked." Basiclly just took the stuff out of the boxes that I really needed. Didnt even hang anything on the walls or put valances in the kitchen. So I do have a leg up on the packing:) !
 
bczoom said:
Congrats!!!!


If he's putting up a fence, why do you need to put up a fence on that side? Your dogs won't be able to get past his fence.
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I would have to add onto that side of the fence so I can "enclose" my side of the yard. (Hope that makes sense)

Really wish I could post some pictures, but all I have is the camera on my phone.:smileywac (yes I know I'm a little behind the times)
 
working woman said:
I would have to add onto that side of the fence so I can "enclose" my side of the yard. (Hope that makes sense)
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I'm not the sharpest (and I did read your post very slowly) but (so far), I don't get it. Is his fence going to be several feet from the property line or something? You said "privacy fence" so I was thinking it's material was close enough to keep a dog from getting through.

working woman said:
Really wish I could post some pictures, but all I have is the camera on my phone.:smileywac (yes I know I'm a little behind the times)
Click to expand...
Well, I may be more behind than you... My cell phone is so old it doesn't have a camera nor the GPS receiver. Can't you download pics from your phone to your PC?
 
bczoom said:
I'm not the sharpest (and I did read your post very slowly) but (so far), I don't get it. Is his fence going to be several feet from the property line or something? You said "privacy fence" so I was thinking it's material was close enough to keep a dog from getting through.


Well, I may be more behind than you... My cell phone is so old it doesn't have a camera nor the GPS receiver. Can't you download pics from your phone to your PC?
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My yard extends past his yard. \ guess I should have explained that. sorry
yes, I can download pic. to my pc. Just never thougt of it!:pat: Will take some next time I go over there.
 
Hey, cool, since it's the weekend and I'll only work 19 hour days, I'll follow Judy around and take pics of her and post them. :thumb:

Oh, wait...or was that pics of her new house? I don't have a clue where that is. :o
 
Hey guys if anybody cares for an update. Everything is comming along great! My house is supposed to close on or before Oct 19. Move in date is mid Nov. Turkey day at my house:) .

I do have an ac/heat qusetion as well (didnt want to run away with someone elses thread)
I do know that the unit is 15 or more years old. I also know that the place is instalated to the hilt. My sister said that the heat bill ran high.(or maybe it was the air) Which is telling me that the unit is not running as efficient as the newer ones. My qusetion is should I wait for it to die, or would I be better off replacing it knowing that in the long run it would save me money?
 
WW,

Furnaces and Airs built in the 1970 range have an average life of about 20 years. So you pushing it. I would go out and get some quotes and find out what the cost is going to be with some different options as to efficiency. Then you can take the savings versus the cost and make a decision. If money is tight right now I don't think you have jump to changing it out.

murph
 
thcri said:
WW,

Furnaces and Airs built in the 1970 range have an average life of about 20 years. So you pushing it. I would go out and get some quotes and find out what the cost is going to be with some different options as to efficiency. Then you can take the savings versus the cost and make a decision. If money is tight right now I don't think you have jump to changing it out.

murph
Click to expand...

Our local Power Company will actually come out and make a inspection ,free of charge to see what upgrades may make your home more efficent in cooling and heating . Call yours and see what they say . I am betting its the cooling side that runs up the bill . You would be amazed what can be done to lower this by just doing some simple low cost repairs .
 
It would be worth having someone take a look at what you have. There are things that can happen to a unit that will drive up the operational cost and might be inexpensive to fix especially if the problem is with the cooling. A little low on freon, a dirty burner, dirty filters, etc.

Didn't you say you were allergic to cats? both the unit and ductwork should be cleaned.

Jim

edit: Al, you were posting while I was still writing!
 
Thanks guys all good advice. I"m begining to wonder if she ever had it looked at. Never thought to ask.
jim never gave the duct work a thought (cleaning)

Now there is one thing I can not put off is a fence for the dogs. I know its expensive, any ideas what that runs? Not sure of the lot size, but its a nice size. I know my Dad has offered to put it in for me(chain link) but I really dont want him out there digging due to an enlarged heart. Plus if I'm going to put one up I would Just rather bite the bullet and put a nice one up.

PS. I'm sure some of you guys are having a field day with all these "female" or dumb questions
 
Whats wrong with a chain link fence ???? They last forever and you can get the privacy slats to hide your backyard from the nieghbors . Any Fence Company should be able to give you a " Per lineal foot price" for a Chain link fence over the phone .
 
Have a project where I had to get several bids. There was a $900 difference between the highest and lowest bids. I questioned the lowest bidder and his response was that the job was right around the corner from his business. Here, driving is a consideration as there are alot of rural areas and the terrain is such that 20 minutes as the crow flies cand be 2+ times that driving. I priced out 300' of standard dog eared slat, 6' privacy fence w/ Posts to be cemented. $3300 was the low bid. His original price was $3600 until he learned I was getting other bids.
 
working woman said:
Now there is one thing I can not put off is a fence for the dogs. I know its expensive, any ideas what that runs?
Click to expand...
Is invisible fence an option for you? I'm pretty sure it'll be your most cost-effective option and you won't have a physical fence to mow and trim around nor gates to deal with.
 
If invisible fence is an option, I would highly recommend the one and only "Invisible Fence" company. The cheaper units are .....cheaper and don't work as well.
My son in law works for the invisible fence co. and he put one in for our Great Dane a couple of years ago. It works GREAT.
Biggest drawback is that other dogs & critters can still come in your yard.
An Average top of the line unit (batter backup in case power goes out and other nice features) costs around 1500 dollars installed.
 
Never even entered the brain on the invisible fence deal. I had heard from several people that don't bother with the less expensive one.
In the meantime I have three people lined up to give me estimates. Did you know that Home Depot does fence installation? Was surprised to find that out!
 
btw, I did find out that my sister had her ac/heat maintence last winter. But had to laugh when she said she changed her filter a couple of times last year..Thought those were supposed to be changed one a month or three months tops
 
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