I'm Buying A House!

Tools    





The Adventure Starts Here!
I’m all for a cold house and laminate. Big, big fan of laminate. May I suggest an offering from industry leader Pergo? *

I work out in the home and love when it gets cold. Plus the sleep thing. Sleeping in cold is preferred and proven to be better for you. In summer, I’m usually doing 78-76 and that’s sleeping in underwear with an inch of sheet on me.
We use laminate in our rental units (DO NOT want carpeting in apartments if we can help it!), and the previous owner here used it in the kitchen. But he was pinching pennies by that point in his restoration so he used this cheapy, fake-looking stuff that reminds me of Contact paper. Blech. In an otherwise beautifully restored Victorian home from 1880, where he bought a $5,000 chandelier, spent $10,000 on window treatments, and had hand-stamped wallpaper in the downstairs half bath... well, the cheap laminate just looks wildly out of place. We're leaving it here unless/until it needs to be replaced. Then it'll be something more period appropriate.

But if we had unlimited funds (ha ha), we'd probably eventually tear up the carpeting and put in REAL hardwood floors. That ain't happening anytime soon, though. So, we stick with the carpeting for now.

McClane is right, though. You never quite feel as if it's fully clean, do you? Which is why we use laminate/vinyl plank in the rental units.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
We use laminate in our rental units (DO NOT want carpeting in apartments if we can help it!), and the previous owner here used it in the kitchen. But he was pinching pennies by that point in his restoration so he used this cheapy, fake-looking stuff that reminds me of Contact paper. Blech. In an otherwise beautifully restored Victorian home from 1880, where he bought a $5,000 chandelier, spent $10,000 on window treatments, and had hand-stamped wallpaper in the downstairs half bath... well, the cheap laminate just looks wildly out of place. We're leaving it here unless/until it needs to be replaced. Then it'll be something more period appropriate.

But if we had unlimited funds (ha ha), we'd probably eventually tear up the carpeting and put in REAL hardwood floors. That ain't happening anytime soon, though. So, we stick with the carpeting for now.

McClane is right, though. You never quite feel as if it's fully clean, do you? Which is why we use laminate/vinyl plank in the rental units.
Unless it's Zestfully clean.
amirite?
__________________
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear



We are required by our borough to maintain the sidewalks throughout the winter. So... no choice there.

My daughters sanded/stained/polyurethaned their floors before they moved in, so that was obviously far easier.

We bought this restored Victorian house ten years ago, and it had semi-recently been completely carpeted except kitchen, baths, and side entryway. Expensive, good, thick carpeting and padding. I wasn't sure why they'd restore the house's other elements and then not restore the floors. They said it was because they had three small kids, so it was NOISE issues. I thought it might have been to warm up the place a LITTLE since there are 12-foot ceilings and huge rooms.

Plus, as we walk around, I can feel spots where I bet the condition of the original wood underneath was NOT worth trying to fix up and restore properly. Even this much good carpeting might have cost less than restoring the floors. Plus, they did nearly all the work while they lived here (he was a contractor), with those kids, so yeah, that would have been a small nightmare.

At any rate, we're not going to get rid of the carpeting. It looks good, feels good underfoot, and I have a feeling the wood underneath would not take kindly to being exposed. We're not ready to pay for new solid hardwood. (Laminate in this house would be a sacrilege.)
Connecticut laws require sidewalks to be maintained, but I guess some folks don’t care. I care because I don’t drive & I walk everywhere.

My house is Victorian, but I wouldn’t be bothered by laminate floors. It would be great, say, in the kitchen, which is tiled & awkward to clean. Laminate floors aren’t gonna happen in this house anyway. I am just so tired of housework.

It's a 403b. And my employer match is 8%, so the way I look at it...I'm not really paying the penalty. And I am only pulling out a few K, so it should not affect my income taxes all that much. But yeah....working til they find my corpse slumped over at my desk or underneath someone else's.

And that right there is why I do not want carpet. So many issues are hidden by carpet. It's Russian house roulette.

Yeah, older houses like that have probably already had the floors sanded a couple times over their lifespan, so you're probably right about the spots under feet. Hardwood floors are just expensive AF. Even laminated stuff is better than carpet in my eyes. I wanna be able to dust and wet mop my floor. Hunter goes bat**** over the vacuum. Plus you can never truly get carpet clean. At least...not to the level of clean I would want. I'm a slight germophobe and if I can't lysol the areas of my house that I am walking on it's going to be, at least, a shoe free house. Gonna feel awesome to finally have the power to make my house guests take their shoes off.
I hate vacuums with a passion. My cheap little broom is my friend. Nobody can come in my house with shoes on. And I am the Queen of bleach, but don’t tell my old man since I am forbidden to use it.

It really is. And my dog is huge/musclar, so in a scrap he is going to **** you up while I'm bringing the rifle to bare. Hick living. Wouldn't have it any other way.

I can always put on extra clothes and get under a blanket, and it'll be easier/cheaper to keep the house overall cold (55-60 F) and just zone heat the room I spend the most time in with an electric oil unit.

And I already survived a month in 92 F, and I know I could easily weather 85F. Since it's just me I can just sit around the place naked.

Keep in mind: I would only need to live like that for the first 3 years. After the car is paid off I will have a nice cushion that I use to readjust.

It's a FHA loan, so I am only required to do the 3.5%. I would do more, but I just don't have it. And I am determined to make this work, so I have adjusted my wants/needs accordingly.
I’m all for a cold house and laminate. Big, big fan of laminate. May I suggest an offering from industry leader Pergo? *

I work out in the home and love when it gets cold. Plus the sleep thing. Sleeping in cold is preferred and proven to be better for you. In summer, I’m usually doing 78-76 and that’s sleeping in underwear with an inch of sheet on me.
I'm not disagreeing with you, Stirch, I'm just wondering how it's rationalized in the Real Estate business and how such proclamations can be established since no such thing has EVER been proven or confirmed?

There's a realtor who has a little podcast that shows up on a local website - his presentations are usually very interesting with history stories about the area, but I did hear him mention haunted houses once, and it sounded like he was saying the same thing you are and advising buyers that if their realtor doesn't disclose it to them, then they should ask about it (same with any murders or deaths in the house).

He said it as if haunted houses are as real & common as basements that get flooded!

But what are realtors basing this on? The word of former owners or tenets? So they are just supposed to take the word of someone who's eccentric, or has an overactive imagination, or families who translate their dysfunction, hostility or mental illness as a manifestation of paranormal activity, or who interprets air that causes banging in the water pipes as a supernatural poltergeist?

I just can't imagine why anyone would disclose information to a buyer that can't be substantiated or proved? I imagine most realtors or home sellers don't want to try to scare potential buyers away.

It's like spreading rumors; "The neighbors say the guy next door is so creepy that his basement may be full of dead bodies!"

Why would you tell people something for which their is no proof and may just be the result of a demented mind, imaginary hallucinations or misinterpretation of completely natural things?
We have no proof of God, but millions of us believe in him though we’ve never seen him.

I would hate a ghost in the house, but I dare say they exist. Many things in the world can’t be explained & that’s fine with me.

Our Victorian house didn't have A/C and we were spending a fortune on electric with window units. Plus, window units were letting in small creepy crawlies like stink bugs around the edges. Plus, noisy! Plus, having to keep various doors shut.

We have duct work for the natural gas heating so it was an easy installation to get A/C here. Now it's quiet and cool throughout the house in the summer, with almost no creepy crawlies at all. And the electric bill really isn't any higher than when we were running five window units (living room, bedroom, bathroom, my office, guest room when folks stayed here). Hubby has a friend who does HVAC work as a side hustle and we got both A/C units and both furnaces completely installed in one day... for about $9,000. We felt like we hit the lottery.

Down payments here can be pretty low, but a lot depends on your credit and your mortgage. Certain types require that 20% down. Others, 10%. I think ours was about 5% ten years ago. We could not get an FHA mortgage due to possible ancient lead paint in the basement and a few other small issues. So I'm pretty sure we ended up with a conventional mortgage instead.
So, what you’ve got now is that the same as central air?
__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.



@John McClane, you know we’re all gonna come down & see your new house (you did say we’re family). We’ll remove our shoes, but you better have more than one John.



You ready? You look ready.
@John McClane, you know we’re all gonna come down & see your new house (you did say we’re family). We’ll remove our shoes, but you better have more than one John.
I’m shooting for two bathrooms. And you’re actually on to one of the perks I want: hosting guests. I legit want to open my home to as many people as possible. I want house parties (no alcohol, tho), and overnight guests. I want to be the badass host.




We have no proof of God, but millions of us believe in him though we’ve never seen him.

I would hate a ghost in the house, but I dare say they exist. Many things in the world can’t be explained & that’s fine with me.
True, but if you were house shopping and the Realtor said, "Oh by the way, you know the angel Gabriel in the Bible who announced to Mary she would conceive the messiah? Well, he lives in this closet here. He won't bother you as long as you play some occasional Tijuana Brass music, but he detests Hip Hop and could call down a plague upon you if you play any."

You'd probably think they were nuts.

And I'd react the same way if they started talking about ghosts.



CringeFest's Avatar
Duplicate Account (locked)
Someone mentioned a metal roof (too lazy to look who). That’s gotta be noisy as heck in the rain surely?
well, i guess that depends on the roof, but we have a metal roof that we had installed because so many contractors screw up the shingles. It's not any noisier than having shingles.



You ready? You look ready.
A properly installed metal roof will usually outlive the person buying it. Lowers your insurance costs, too. And your heating and cooling costs are cheaper. Hail damage is only cosmetic whereas a regular roof might need repairs. Most are rated for 140 mph winds.



The Adventure Starts Here!
So, what you’ve got now is that the same as central air?
Yeah, it's central air now. Worth every penny for us. I had begun to hate putting the window units in every summer and then taking them back out in the fall. Plus, as I said, the noise, the bugs, the closed doors. And since we didn't have units in every room, that meant large portions of the house remained uncomfortably hot in summer, including the dining room and kitchen.



Y'all like a second family, so I feel the need to share most major things in my life. The current big news is I have decided to take the plunge and buy a house.

Nothing big, nothing fancy, just four walls and hopefully a decent/new roof.

I will post updates here as I go along the process, but yeah...totally feel sick to my stomach and excited AF. All at the same time.

Also, ANY and ALL advice welcome.
Congratulations, I just sold mine. Look forward to the pics!



We are pleased that you shared this with us. Congratulations to you! In the meantime, I bought an intercom. Lol. Since I live in a high-rise and it's insanely annoying to constantly have to go downstairs and open the door for guests. Not just any intercom either. Some kind of cool one. You can open it with your smartphone. People can't think of anything new. Ta and it's actually a good burglar protection system. Are you going to protect your house somehow? An alarm system maybe?



You ready? You look ready.
I am going to look at my first house tomorrow afternoon. Way, way, way out there. It's at the absolute max in terms of distance: 1 hr commute (2 lane road or interstate).

Here's a couple pictures from the listing:







We are pleased that you shared this with us. Congratulations to you! In the meantime, I bought an intercom. Lol. Since I live in a high-rise and it's insanely annoying to constantly have to go downstairs and open the door for guests this door entry system. Not just any intercom either. Some kind of cool one. You can open it with your smartphone. People can't think of anything new. Ta and it's actually a good burglar protection system. Are you going to protect your house somehow? An alarm system maybe?
That does sound pretty cool. I have kinda always wanted to have a buzzer system to let people in. Embrace my inner Seinfeld.

And I have a 80lb dog, so that's all the security I need. He's pretty protective of me, but I don't think he'd bite anyone until my ass is in the midst of getting whooped.
__________________
"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza



You ready? You look ready.
Nice house...and it looks like it comes complete with kids


*it looks bigger than my place!
It's 1400sqft. 3 bedroom, 2 bath

dining room off the kitchen

well water, septic tank, metal roof, mudroom, carpet upstairs

oh, and it's like a football field away from a paper mill xD



It's 1400sqft. 3 bedroom, 2 bath

dining room off the kitchen

well water, septic tank, metal roof, mudroom, carpet upstairs

oh, and it's like a football field away from a paper mill xD
Sounds good...and I like the well water, wish I had that. No idea what a mudroom is?



You ready? You look ready.
@Citizen Rules:

"A mudroom is a dedicated space in the home, usually located near the rear entrance, where you can remove your muddy boots, jackets, and other outerwear. It includes storage for these items and is often combined with the home's laundry facilities."



I’m shooting for two bathrooms. And you’re actually on to one of the perks I want: hosting guests. I legit want to open my home to as many people as possible. I want house parties (no alcohol, tho), and overnight guests. I want to be the badass host.
Good luck getting people to attend non-alcohol parties.

True, but if you were house shopping and the Realtor said, "Oh by the way, you know the angel Gabriel in the Bible who announced to Mary she would conceive the messiah? Well, he lives in this closet here. He won't bother you as long as you play some occasional Tijuana Brass music, but he detests Hip Hop and could call down a plague upon you if you play any."

You'd probably think they were nuts.
I’d probably think they were blasphemers.

A properly installed metal roof will usually outlive the person buying it. Lowers your insurance costs, too. And your heating and cooling costs are cheaper. Hail damage is only cosmetic whereas a regular roof might need repairs. Most are rated for 140 mph winds.
Guessing a metal roof is fireproof (like slate & tile)? An ember the size of a fingernail in a gutter can burn your house down. Fireproof roof is good.

Yeah, it's central air now. Worth every penny for us. I had begun to hate putting the window units in every summer and then taking them back out in the fall. Plus, as I said, the noise, the bugs, the closed doors. And since we didn't have units in every room, that meant large portions of the house remained uncomfortably hot in summer, including the dining room and kitchen.
Yeah, we’re dealing with all this. Husband will not put in a second AC unit. Don’t ask.

oh, and it's like a football field away from a paper mill xD
That’s a good thing?