Neither The Father nor I have lived in a neighborhood where there has been a Home Owner's Association. We really don't know what to expect. In fact, it's making me really nervous! What if we aren't allowed to have a clothes line or rain barrels? Or TF can't wash his car using the water from said rain barrels? What if there are some rules that make absolutely no sense whatsoever?
But, in all honesty, I'm really not too worried about it becuase we will be installing a six foot privacy fence. What they can't see won't hurt 'em right? Unless of course someone rats me out and we have to take down the clothesline. I really don't foresee these being an issue, but I do know that some HOAs don't allow clothes lines and that's just sad.
Our realestate agent is working on getting us a copy of the rules so we can review them before making our list of plans for our new home.
We now have the list of recommended repairs from the home inspector. Nothing too major, but a few annoying things like the master toilet needs new fixtures in the tank and the there is some peeling paint outside (we'll get back to that in a moment.) TF and I are going to try to do most of the repairs ourselves, but for a few we'll be hiring a good ol' handyman.
Here is what we'd like to do:
While we are fixing the master toilet we'll install a duel flush kit
Rain barrels- at least two in the back for our gardens
Heavy curtains in the south facing windows which happen to the be front of the house
Install Evolve shower heads
Install digital thermostat- I'd like one with a remote if possible
Of course our compost bin will be moving with us this time around. I think I might have even convinced TF that I need a super fancy one for my birthday. We'll see if it happens.
I'm super excited to get this show on the road!
Showing posts with label Our Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Our Home. Show all posts
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Our house... In the middle of the street
I haven't talked to much about our house buying adventure. I believe that it is possible to jinx a wonderful situation and I just wasn't going to have that happen.
Early last year, we listed our very first house on the market. The Father was getting out of the Army and we knew we weren't staying in the area. We loved our house and our neighborhood. How can you not love your first house especially when it was in the perfect neighborhood complete with the "crazy cat lady" living next door? It wasn't big enough for LBG, our two dogs, two birds, and us. Sardines, anyone?
We sold it for our asking price, but it left us in a percarious sitch- TF had taken a temporary job an hour away and we had animals. He were very rushed to buy that house and we didn't want a repeat. But, at the same time, who is going to rent us a house with 2 dogs, one of which is over 100lbs? As luck would have it, we found a house in our same city about 15 minutes away who would let us live there month to month.
In the meantime, TF was offered a permenant position at his current job! We started to look for houses in the Big City. In December, we found our dream house. It was listed as a short sale and we jumped on the opportunity.
Short sale= we'll move in in 2 weeks... WRONG! Come to find out, it was in the process of becoming a short sale. The bank hadn't chosen their representive yet or even knew the price of the house. The selling agent had listed it at a price that she thought was fair. We offered a few K lower and asked that they pay the closing costs.December, January, February March brought us news! We were one of 5(!) offers on the house! The bank was just collecting offers before they started doing their work.
The second week of this month, a representive was assigned to the property and appraisal was done. Meanwhile, another stick was thrown into the spokes on the wheel of life. TF would we away almost the whole summer! We made the decesion that if we didn't hear anything regarding the house, we were going to have to go with a conventional sale on a house we knew we'd win.
Then yesterday happened! I was at lunch with my mommy's group when TF called. He said the bank looked at our offer (it was submitted first since we offered first) and countered... if you could even call it that. They wanted 7k more than the asking price, we'd have to pay all back utilites/HOA fees, we cover the closing cost, and the house is sold as is. With a big ol' stamp that said FINAL OFFER. I cried. These people probably stopped paying their stuff when they moved out last year! There is no way we could afford it plus, it isn't our job to pay other people's bills.
Last night our REA called us back and said there no unpaid fees and gave us the break down of costs. Know that this is our *dream* house and that there are a few more families who'll gladly take the house-- and of course fighting with a corporation, known as Chase Bank, would be a losing battle, we've decided we can handle it. We don't want to lose this house. Of course, if our inspector says we need thousands of dollars in repairs done, I'll kick him in the shins and we'll walk away from everything.
You are probably wondering what is so special about this house.
Just imagine: 5 bedrooms with a closet in the master that could be a 6th room, 3 full bathrooms, a two tiered deck that overlooks a HUGE backyard (the lot is 0.4 acres and there is very little front yard!) and a private path down to a lake. Not to mention, simple things like an open floor plan down stairs, a huge walk in pantry, and a two car garage. Sounds like a dream right? From what we understand, the original owners camped out on the lot so they'd be the first ones there to buy it!
This house will give us plenty of room to grow, our dogs will have more than enough yard and I'll be able to have all the gardens I want. The Father will be able to take LBG out on the lake to fish or just explore the woods. We could even possibly grow veggies for LBG to enjoy. With a 6 foot privacy fence in place, the backyard will be LBG's own secret garden.
So now I have a job for you... Please keep your fingers crossed that the inspection goes well and we will be able to enjoy this house for many years to come.
Early last year, we listed our very first house on the market. The Father was getting out of the Army and we knew we weren't staying in the area. We loved our house and our neighborhood. How can you not love your first house especially when it was in the perfect neighborhood complete with the "crazy cat lady" living next door? It wasn't big enough for LBG, our two dogs, two birds, and us. Sardines, anyone?
We sold it for our asking price, but it left us in a percarious sitch- TF had taken a temporary job an hour away and we had animals. He were very rushed to buy that house and we didn't want a repeat. But, at the same time, who is going to rent us a house with 2 dogs, one of which is over 100lbs? As luck would have it, we found a house in our same city about 15 minutes away who would let us live there month to month.
In the meantime, TF was offered a permenant position at his current job! We started to look for houses in the Big City. In December, we found our dream house. It was listed as a short sale and we jumped on the opportunity.
Short sale= we'll move in in 2 weeks... WRONG! Come to find out, it was in the process of becoming a short sale. The bank hadn't chosen their representive yet or even knew the price of the house. The selling agent had listed it at a price that she thought was fair. We offered a few K lower and asked that they pay the closing costs.
The second week of this month, a representive was assigned to the property and appraisal was done. Meanwhile, another stick was thrown into the spokes on the wheel of life. TF would we away almost the whole summer! We made the decesion that if we didn't hear anything regarding the house, we were going to have to go with a conventional sale on a house we knew we'd win.
Then yesterday happened! I was at lunch with my mommy's group when TF called. He said the bank looked at our offer (it was submitted first since we offered first) and countered... if you could even call it that. They wanted 7k more than the asking price, we'd have to pay all back utilites/HOA fees, we cover the closing cost, and the house is sold as is. With a big ol' stamp that said FINAL OFFER. I cried. These people probably stopped paying their stuff when they moved out last year! There is no way we could afford it plus, it isn't our job to pay other people's bills.
Last night our REA called us back and said there no unpaid fees and gave us the break down of costs. Know that this is our *dream* house and that there are a few more families who'll gladly take the house-- and of course fighting with a corporation, known as Chase Bank, would be a losing battle, we've decided we can handle it. We don't want to lose this house. Of course, if our inspector says we need thousands of dollars in repairs done, I'll kick him in the shins and we'll walk away from everything.
You are probably wondering what is so special about this house.
Just imagine: 5 bedrooms with a closet in the master that could be a 6th room, 3 full bathrooms, a two tiered deck that overlooks a HUGE backyard (the lot is 0.4 acres and there is very little front yard!) and a private path down to a lake. Not to mention, simple things like an open floor plan down stairs, a huge walk in pantry, and a two car garage. Sounds like a dream right? From what we understand, the original owners camped out on the lot so they'd be the first ones there to buy it!
This house will give us plenty of room to grow, our dogs will have more than enough yard and I'll be able to have all the gardens I want. The Father will be able to take LBG out on the lake to fish or just explore the woods. We could even possibly grow veggies for LBG to enjoy. With a 6 foot privacy fence in place, the backyard will be LBG's own secret garden.
So now I have a job for you... Please keep your fingers crossed that the inspection goes well and we will be able to enjoy this house for many years to come.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
A New House for LBG
I don't think I've mentioned it, but The Father and I are in the process of buying a new house for LBG. We've put in an offer on one that is pretty amazing, but the process is taking a bit longer than expected. Nonetheless, I've started giving some thought into how be can make our new house as energy effecient as possible. Even if we don't end up in the house we hope to, these plans will work in just about any abode!
Our most exciting plan is for an energy audit! We would really like to know what repairs or improvements we could make in order for our new abode to be as energy efficient as possible. I haven't done much research on how to go about getting one or how much they will cost, but I will be looking into both topics very soon. Not only will it be beneficial to us, it will be super fun to learn some new techniques for saving energy!
In our last house, I spent a great deal of time replacing all the light bulbs from regular incandescent bulbs to the ultra-nifty compact florescent lightbulbs (CFLs.) Of course, when selling the house we replaced our ceiling fans that the new light fixtures took a special size bulb. So, we packed up our regular sized CFLs and brought them with us! We fully intend to use them again! Maybe if we can find them for a great price, we might try a LED lightbulb or two. I saw them on "Living with Ed" and thought they seemed like something fun to try out.
Another plan we have will be a bit on the hard side for me. I love natural lighting. I'm known for having the front door open with the storm door locked, raising up all the blinds (or even removing them,) and leaving all the lights off in the house. While it is a great idea for saving the light bulbs, it isn't a great idea for cooling the house in the summer. We will be making some heavy curtains to hang across all the South facing windows. Those windows are great for warming the house in the winter, but they also warm the house in the summer and that's not very productive! I know our air conditioner will thank us for this minor change.
If our new house doesn't have a digital thermostat, one will be installed pronto! The Grandfather installed one at our former residence and it was a life changing event! I fell in love with in 24 hours. I was able regulate exactly what temperature the house was at certain times of the day. There was no guess work needed and our house didn't get super warm or crazy cold when we weren't expecting it. These little gadgets aren't expensive and are will worth the money!
We've decided to install a few rain barrels around the perimeter of the house. These attach to the gutter drains and catch the rain water. You can then use it for watering the plants, washing the car, putting out the camp fire, etc. We could even shovel all the snow into one and save it for the summer! There aren't very expensive to purchase, but if you are super crafty, you can make your own!
In addition to the rain barrels, we have a few other minor plans for our backyard. We will have a clothes line for sunning LBG's diapers and drying our clothing in the great outdoors. We'll also be raising the blade on our lawn mower. I've been reading that by doing this, the soil and roots are more shaded which results in needing to be watered less. We aren't big fans of watering our lawn to begin with and only do it during the hottest summer months. This technique should make our watering a bit more effective.
No, we won't be installing a gray water system or solar panels- right away anyways ;) They are expensive and a bit out of our league. If we knew that we'd spend the rest of our years in the same house, those are investments we might be willing to take. Just like the sweet little boy in our lives, we will be taking baby steps!
Our most exciting plan is for an energy audit! We would really like to know what repairs or improvements we could make in order for our new abode to be as energy efficient as possible. I haven't done much research on how to go about getting one or how much they will cost, but I will be looking into both topics very soon. Not only will it be beneficial to us, it will be super fun to learn some new techniques for saving energy!
In our last house, I spent a great deal of time replacing all the light bulbs from regular incandescent bulbs to the ultra-nifty compact florescent lightbulbs (CFLs.) Of course, when selling the house we replaced our ceiling fans that the new light fixtures took a special size bulb. So, we packed up our regular sized CFLs and brought them with us! We fully intend to use them again! Maybe if we can find them for a great price, we might try a LED lightbulb or two. I saw them on "Living with Ed" and thought they seemed like something fun to try out.
Another plan we have will be a bit on the hard side for me. I love natural lighting. I'm known for having the front door open with the storm door locked, raising up all the blinds (or even removing them,) and leaving all the lights off in the house. While it is a great idea for saving the light bulbs, it isn't a great idea for cooling the house in the summer. We will be making some heavy curtains to hang across all the South facing windows. Those windows are great for warming the house in the winter, but they also warm the house in the summer and that's not very productive! I know our air conditioner will thank us for this minor change.
If our new house doesn't have a digital thermostat, one will be installed pronto! The Grandfather installed one at our former residence and it was a life changing event! I fell in love with in 24 hours. I was able regulate exactly what temperature the house was at certain times of the day. There was no guess work needed and our house didn't get super warm or crazy cold when we weren't expecting it. These little gadgets aren't expensive and are will worth the money!
We've decided to install a few rain barrels around the perimeter of the house. These attach to the gutter drains and catch the rain water. You can then use it for watering the plants, washing the car, putting out the camp fire, etc. We could even shovel all the snow into one and save it for the summer! There aren't very expensive to purchase, but if you are super crafty, you can make your own!
In addition to the rain barrels, we have a few other minor plans for our backyard. We will have a clothes line for sunning LBG's diapers and drying our clothing in the great outdoors. We'll also be raising the blade on our lawn mower. I've been reading that by doing this, the soil and roots are more shaded which results in needing to be watered less. We aren't big fans of watering our lawn to begin with and only do it during the hottest summer months. This technique should make our watering a bit more effective.
No, we won't be installing a gray water system or solar panels- right away anyways ;) They are expensive and a bit out of our league. If we knew that we'd spend the rest of our years in the same house, those are investments we might be willing to take. Just like the sweet little boy in our lives, we will be taking baby steps!
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