So nervous...made an offer on a house

[ducky911]

i took a look back at your photo and now I am wondering if you are on septic?

When i bought my cabin a few years ago the owner had to have a new system installed for 20k before he put it on the market.

The home from the outside looks well cared for.

It is very likely that you can get an extenion on the inspection time, when needed.

 

[rbmrtn]

I think samclem raised a good point. Also with a 70 yr old house there maybe other issues than just repainting and replacing counter tops etc.

You may be looking at knob&tube wiring which would all have to replaced, or aluminum wiring. Lead or galvanized steel pipes are problems, clay sewage/waste pipes. Lead paint which has be removed. asbestos in insulation. Problem is you may not get into of this until the reno/demo starts.

 

[samclem]

FWIW, the house we are in now (built in 1959) had fuses rather than circuit breakers. My insurance company required that we get a new panel before they'd write a policy.

If it's 70 years old there won't be aluminum wiring, but there could be LOTS of other surprises. And, at least in my state (might be a new federal law?) folks who do even minor work (e.g. replace an interior door) in older homes now have to test for lead paint and take all kinds of special steps if (when) they find it. Cha-ching!

 

[haha]

I know that OP loves this place, but I've done an attempted transformation of an old farmhouse into a modern dwelling. I had some carpentry and concrete skills, and I learned enough wiring and plumbing skills to take it on. (Usually these things you think you will do over time, then one night you wake up with that funny smell of heated up bakelite. Wiring project starts next day! Better find a book!

And the time we came back from a Christmas vacation in Costa Rica. We are sitting in our nice little glass surrounded breakfast nook, watching birds in the feeder outside the window, and we notice a rather alarming slant to the room. Foundation project starts next week! Buy railcar jacks, buy choker chains, learn something about foundations. Then be very carefule not to get buried in rubble while you crawl around with the skunks and rodents, trying to find out just what is down there.

Old fashioned NW country construction. Fell a couple of old growth cedars. Limb and trim them, drag them into place, put your floor joists over them, and start building. They're called mud sills, for reasons that will become clear if you ever see any.

My task- to get those now rotting cedars ( 40 years on) out of there, without pulling down the house. Unbelievably risky, and tremendous fun too- but more for a 30 yo former hillbilly Mother Earth News reader (me at the time) than a middle aged, middle class person. I then excavated a crawl space lying on my back with a shovel, putting the dirt on a skid I made from sheet metal, and my 4 yo son and wife pulled it out with a rope and dumped it on a sheet of plywood. Think we didn't have good appetites at supper? Later a welder friend built me a nice mild steel skid, with a sled like bevel in front, and low sides to limit spills.

Next learn a lot about concrete and forms and piers and home construction of laminated beams, and wind and earthquake tiedowns, on and on.

Then later- hornet infestations which I also solved country style, and various other things requiring inventive plans and a certain strange and non-standard personality.

Is something like what OP is planning a good idea? Almost never. But it is very appealing to some people. For my part, it's like marriage. Give it a try if you must, but once out from under it you will likely never consider it again.

As an aside, the city of Seattle has possibly the worst housing stock selling for the most money that could be found. Most of the middle quality SFHs in the city are really horrible. Hard for someone from another part of the country to accept. In effect, much of the city is bungalow teardowns waiting for a parcel to be put together to allow some form of multi-family to be built. This is particualry true north of the ship canal to the city limits, excepting the premier neighborhoods along the sound and the lake.

Sometimes a particlarly nice view site, large enough for a luxury home and in an unquestionably safe neighborhood will get a $1mm+ quality sfh built. But if owner never needs to sell, he had better hope for some meaningful inflation, since he paid dearly for that nice lot.

Ha

 

[kyounge1956]

i took a look back at your photo and now I am wondering if you are on septic?

When i bought my cabin a few years ago the owner had to have a new system installed for 20k before he put it on the market.

I checked that with the city before making an offer. They told me over the phone it's connected to the sewer but I think I will request it in writing. Also the inspector should be able to verify whether it is on sewer or not. The "House that got away" was just beyond the end of the existing sewer system but I would have had enough money left after purchase to extend the sewer, and that house didn't need as much repair as this one.

The home from the outside looks well cared for.

Looks can be deceiving. The inside is a mess. I think the house must have been rented out for quite some time, and there is a notice in the window from when the last tenants were evicted.

It is very likely that you can get an extenion on the inspection time, when needed.

I hope so, because I think I'm going to need to!

 

[kyounge1956]

I know that OP loves this place, but I've done an attempted transformation of an old farmhouse into a modern dwelling. I had some carpentry and concrete skills, and I learned enough wiring and plumbing skills to take it on. (Usually these things you think you will do over time, then one night you wake up with that funny smell of heated up bakelite. Wiring project starts next day! Better find a book!

And the time we came back from a Christmas vacation in Costa Rica. We are sitting in our nice little glass surrounded breakfast nook, watching birds in the feeder outside the window, and we notice a rather alarming slant to the room. Foundation project starts next week! Buy railcar jacks, buy choker chains, learn something about foundations. Then be very carefule not to get buried in rubble while you crawl around with the skunks and rodents, trying to find out just what is down there.

Old fashioned NW country construction. Fell a couple of old growth cedars. Limb and trim them, drag them into place, put your floor joists over them, and start building. They're called mud sills, for reasons that will become clear if you ever see any.

My task- to get those now rotting cedars ( 40 years on) out of there, without pulling down the house. Unbelievably risky, and tremendous fun too- but more for a 30 yo former hillbilly Mother Earth News reader (me at the time) than a middle aged, middle class person. I then excavated a crawl space lying on my back with a shovel, putting the dirt on a skid I made from sheet metal, and my 4 yo son and wife pulled it out with a rope and dumped it on a sheet of plywood. Think we didn't have good appetites at supper? Later a welder friend built me a nice mild steel skid, with a sled like bevel in front, and low sides to limit spills.

Next learn a lot about concrete and forms and piers and home construction of laminated beams, and wind and earthquake tiedowns, on and on.

Then later- hornet infestations which I also solved country style, and various other things requiring inventive plans and a certain strange and non-standard personality.

I have heard about those houses built sitting on a couple of cedar (or in California, redwood) logs laid on the bare earth. This house may have started out that way, but it has a concrete block foundation now and the floors are still level--I checked that before I made the offer. As to what other work it may need in the way of wiring, plumbing, etc, that is why the offer is subject to inspection. It was too good a location and too cute a house to let it go by without even checking feasibility. But if I can't afford to have the repairs done I will just have to keep looking.

Is something like what OP is planning a good idea? Almost never. But it is very appealing to some people. For my part, it's like marriage. Give it a try if you must, but once out from under it you will likely never consider it again.

As an aside, the city of Seattle has possibly the worst housing stock selling for the most money that could be found. Most of the middle quality SFHs in the city are really horrible. Hard for someone from another part of the country to accept. In effect, much of the city is bungalow teardowns waiting for a parcel to be put together to allow some form of multi-family to be built. This is particualry true north of the ship canal to the city limits, excepting the premier neighborhoods along the sound and the lake.(snip)
Ha

Why do you think I'm house-hunting two counties away?

I was really surprised to see on the MLS that there were any houses at all in the city of Seattle in my price range. There are, but the only one so far that looked at all attractive has had a driveby shooting on the same block, and assault w/ a deadly weapon around the corner, both in the last 12 months. Never mind about that one.

 

[haha]

I was really surprised to see on the MLS that there were any houses at all in the city of Seattle in my price range. There are, but the only one so far that looked at all attractive has had a driveby shooting on the same block, and assault w/ a deadly weapon around the corner, both in the last 12 months. Never mind about that one.

Very wise decision to pass on that one! That foundation is a biggie, so good to have that done correctly.

Best of luck to you. I know that house hunting on a budget is a stressful, difficult task.

Ha

 

[Amethyst]

Best of luck to you. I know that house hunting [-]on a budget[/-] is a stressful, difficult task.

Ha

It's an awful, stressful chore no matter what, and you have so much else to contend with at the same time. Here is a prayer for you

Amethyst

 

[kyounge1956]

awww, thanks!

Being able to check out houses online has made house-hunting so much easier. Between the MLS, public websites like the Assessor for the relevant county, GIS sites that show crime statistics and environmental information like contours and wetlands, plus Google maps with the aerial photo and Street View, it's often possible to winnow down the available properties to ones that are of real interest. I kind of enjoy it, actually, although (if this house doesn't work out) I need to be careful not to wear myself out visiting properties like I did the other week. I went and saw three houses (agent drove) then drove from the agent's office up to the north end of town to sign some papers for the sale of my townhouse, then back down to my mom's in the south end. I was so tired I slept for most of the next three days. It really surprised me to be so worn out, as I had driven myself and my mom down to Lacey and back the Sunday ten days before, and was fine the next day. The only reason I can figure for the difference is that the day I saw the three houses was the day after my chemo treatment. Note to self: don't schedule anything strenuous the day after treatments!

 

[Purron]

Take care of yourself and hope you find that perfect nest soon.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Our House - YouTube

 

[kyounge1956]

Inspection today!

 

[W2R]

Inspection today!

Good luck!!! Can't wait to hear how it comes out.

 

[kyounge1956]

Alas and alack! The architect I asked beforehand, plus the contractor and inspector today all concur, it doesn't just need more repair than will fit in my budget, the needed repairs and even phase 1 of my desired remodel exceed the budget by a factor of 2 or 3. So I must regretfully pass on this one. A slight consolation is that when I went down today with the inspectors I discovered the grocery store across the street is closing. (But there is a Safeway only a block further away, so it is only a very slight consolation.) I will ask my agent to keep an eye peeled on it, but unless the three non-occupiers all similarly decide against it, I won't have any opportunity to make a (drastically) lower offer on it. I kind of doubt it will still be in my price range after developer tears down the existing house and rebuilds it and anyway they would be most unlikely to replace it with an equally small house.

Where are us retired spinsters supposed to live if all the cute little housies are torn down and replaced with McMansions?

 

[W2R]

I am so sorry! How disappointing. Guess it just wasn't to be.

I am sure that if you keep looking you will find a better house eventually.

 

[kyounge1956]

Maybe a better house, but I have great difficulty in imagining a better location. >>sigh<<

 

[haha]

Sorry this didn't work out for you, but it may well be a blessing in disguise.

There is a hilarious movie from the 80s with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long named Money Pit. Rent it before you are past the point of no return.

Ha

 

[NW-Bound]

I hope you will find something else. Please keep us posted.

Recently, we found ourselves without internet for a week, but with cable TV. So, we watched a bit of the show "Property Brothers" on HGTV. Since you talked about remodeling, that brought it to my mind.

We liked that show. The amount of work that they did was often more involved than what I thought the budget would allow, but then I don't really know much. I think any homeowner who ever entertains the idea of remodeling would find that show interesting.

 

[Bestwifeever]

You really were smitten with that house! You are so lucky to get so much information about how costly the repairs were going to be, to enable you to decide to walk away. And who knows what will move into the building the grocery store vacated.

Hang in there, your perfect little house is out there, waiting for you.

 

[Nords]

Alas and alack! The architect I asked beforehand, plus the contractor and inspector today all concur, it doesn't just need more repair than will fit in my budget, the needed repairs and even phase 1 of my desired remodel exceed the budget by a factor of 2 or 3. So I must regretfully pass on this one. A slight consolation is that when I went down today with the inspectors I discovered the grocery store across the street is closing. (But there is a Safeway only a block further away, so it is only a very slight consolation.) I will ask my agent to keep an eye peeled on it, but unless the three non-occupiers all similarly decide against it, I won't have any opportunity to make a (drastically) lower offer on it. I kind of doubt it will still be in my price range after developer tears down the existing house and rebuilds it and anyway they would be most unlikely to replace it with an equally small house.
Where are us retired spinsters supposed to live if all the cute little housies are torn down and replaced with McMansions?

As painful as it is, this experience makes you much more proficient at assessing the next opportunity that comes along, and you'll get through it much faster.

The more you see, the faster you can make a decision. You might even see previous "opportunities" come up again.

 

[FIREd]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out. House shopping often involves disappointments.

 

[MBAustin]

Understand your disappointment. A few years back, we were house-shopping for a year before we got a house we liked for the right price. About 9 months in we were really wondering if we'd ever find a house. Then we got a contract on one, but the owners got very squirrely about a number of things, including wanting to raise the price after they got the roof replaced by their insurance company. We decided to walk away and give up what we had spent on the inspection and appraisal (the house also didn't appraise to the selling price, another red flag). That was a true blessing in disguise. A few months later we had a contract on a much better (for us) house in a much better location. After remodeling (slightly over budget but within our tolerances) it is as close to perfect as a house could be for us (we're picky!). Hang in there!

 

[meekie]

As painful as it is, this experience makes you much more proficient at assessing the next opportunity that comes along, and you'll get through it much faster.

Agree. Now you know what it costs to fix up a house in that condition, you can look for a house that fits your needs better.

We made offers on two houses that didn't work out, and I'm *SO* glad now, because we were able to find a much better (for us) house, at a much better price. Hang in there and be patient, I'm sure you'll find something.

The house we ended up buying was a flip from a company that does 50 or so houses a year. It may be a long shot, but it might be worth finding some of these flippers and let them know what you're looking for. Maybe they'll consider remodeling to your specs instead of tearing down a cute old house to put a McMansion in.

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip)The house we ended up buying was a flip from a company that does 50 or so houses a year. It may be a long shot, but it might be worth finding some of these flippers and let them know what you're looking for. Maybe they'll consider remodeling to your specs instead of tearing down a cute old house to put a McMansion in.

How do you find the flippers?

I told my agent if the property came back on the market as a vacant lot or after rebuild, and was still in my price range, I'm still interested. But I imagine that will take longer than I want to wait to buy a house. Meanwhile I saw another one on the MLS. It's only a few blocks away from the other house, and from the exterior photo it appears to be in much better shape. It also has a nice big lot, but so far no interior shots on the MLS. I am planning to go down there with agent on Friday unless he hears back from listing agent that the inside is trashed. This one is right up at my top end so I wouldn't have any money left for more than a couple gallons of paint. In many ways (size, # of bedrooms, etc etc) it looks like a good possibility, but it's not as cute as that little yellow wreck.

Should I buy a house I'm not "in love" with? What is that old saying about not dating on the rebound?

 

[KB]

When I've bought houses, I always had a list of what I needed and then the wants too. I think my most successful house was the one that met all my criteria...even though I didn't love it. The location was great, it had the right amount of bedrooms and it had a pool. Everything I had on my list at that time. I never loved the house but it worked well for a long time. A lot longer than I had planned when I bought it.

Once my kids were grown, I had different needs so I moved to a different location with less bedrooms. It worked for me to buy a house I didn't love because it met all my requirements. If that will work for you, maybe you have different requirements than what you were looking for initially.

 

[W2R]

How do you find the flippers?

I told my agent if the property came back on the market as a vacant lot or after rebuild, and was still in my price range, I'm still interested. But I imagine that will take longer than I want to wait to buy a house. Meanwhile I saw another one on the MLS. It's only a few blocks away from the other house, and from the exterior photo it appears to be in much better shape. It also has a nice big lot, but so far no interior shots on the MLS. I am planning to go down there with agent on Friday unless he hears back from listing agent that the inside is trashed. This one is right up at my top end so I wouldn't have any money left for more than a couple gallons of paint. In many ways (size, # of bedrooms, etc etc) it looks like a good possibility, but it's not as cute as that little yellow wreck.

The inside might win you over, though. Or it might be awful. Maybe your realtor can help you to negotiate the price down to a more manageable level. At least it is in the same area, and location was part of the appeal of the little yellow house as I understand it.

Should I buy a house I'm not "in love" with? What is that old saying about not dating on the rebound?

Yes? They say that one should never fall in love with a house one is considering buying, but for some of us that is pretty much impossible.

When I was shopping for my present house, I fell "in love" with a little house that was overpriced. I made an offer but the seller wouldn't come down any, and my real estate guy recommended that I should walk away. So, I did, but it was hard. I never really "fell in love" with my present house but it had a lot of good attributes, including being close to work. I am so glad that I ended up with this house instead of that other one. Not only did the other house get flooded during Katrina, but also it was smaller, more expensive, and had termites. This house has been a lot less of a headache than that one would have been.