Other Today, I bought a house

[Disgustipated]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Benzine]

Congrats!

 

[shortkut]

Nice! Pictures please and when is the house warming?

 

[Mark]

Congratulations, Chris. Now you get to deal with homeowners insurance, property taxes, and hopefully not an HOA.

 

[Disgustipated]

Definitely no HOA. Will never live anywhere with one lol. It was actually my grandparents' house, that my grandfather built himself. When he passed away last October I wanted to buy it from my mom and aunt, who inherited it. And now I have!

 

[Mark]

Definitely no HOA. Will never live anywhere with one lol. It was actually my grandparents' house, that my grandfather built himself. When he passed away last October I wanted to buy it from my mom and aunt, who inherited it. And now I have!

That’s really cool, dude. Are you gonna maintain it as original? Or do you have some plans for it now that it’s yours?

 

[Disgustipated]

That’s really cool, dude. Are you gonna maintain it as original? Or do you have some plans for it now that it’s yours?

I'm partway through redoing the downstairs. Back in March there was a problem with the sump pump and there was like 6 inches of water down there. And that wasn't the only time that's happened in the last few years. So my dad ripped out all the sheetrock and the floor etc, used the insurance payout to get all the perimeter joists replaced and new sheetrock put up. Then we painted it and he put in a new floor back around the 4th. Here’s what it looks like right now:


I want to do something else with the ceiling but not sure yet what

 

[Mark]

I'm partway through redoing the downstairs. Back in March there was a problem with the sump pump and there was like 6 inches of water down there. And that wasn't the only time that's happened in the last few years. So my dad ripped out all the sheetrock and the floor etc, used the insurance payout to get all the perimeter joists replaced and new sheetrock put up. Then we painted it and he put in a new floor back around the 4th. Here’s what it looks like right now:
View attachment 1573
View attachment 1574
I want to do something else with the ceiling but not sure yet what

Shit, if it were me… I’d put a darker color in the white space on the ceiling, update the lighting and fixtures, do something about the wallpaper, and retain most of the original styling. That room has plenty of character on its own, so it’s not like you need to do a hell of a lot to make it more “modern” for you.

 

[Disgustipated]

Yeah, the wallpaper is definitely going, that was basically just the only part of the room that didn't get gutted due to the flood so it's still there right now haha. The intended use for the room is a home theater/video game room/nerd cave, with a TV mounted where the plug is up higher on the wall there. Part of me wants to rip down the ceiling and do something like this: https://www.ceilume.com/gallery/job/back-in-black/

 

[Crystal]

Awesome, congrats on owning a part of your family history! Good luck with the restoration!

 

[Mark]

Yeah, the wallpaper is definitely going, that was basically just the only part of the room that didn't get gutted due to the flood so it's still there right now haha. The intended use for the room is a home theater/video game room/nerd cave, with a TV mounted where the plug is up higher on the wall there. Part of me wants to rip down the ceiling and do something like this: https://www.ceilume.com/gallery/job/back-in-black/

Home theater is my shit, I used to do upholstery and we worked with AMC on closures and stuff, so I’m pretty familiar with configuration, acoustics, etc. If you’re doing a home theater, then that dark ceiling idea would be great, it’ll absorb the light from the screen creating better immersion. I’d suggest black, obviously, and you can add acoustic panels in between the exposed beams, utilizing the beams themselves to mount track lights, LED strips, directional speakers, etc. Fuck in-wall systems, you lose too much fidelity and the reverb in the walls gets kinda shitty after a few loud sessions. As far as seating goes… the possibilities are endless, so that’s a matter of your preferences.

 

[Disgustipated]

Oh those aren’t actually beams, just hollow boxes. Except for the center one, which is wood framed around a solid steel beam. And the ends and molding are super janky because there used to be wood paneling on all the walls that’s gone now so nothing fits together right anymore and the boxes have a pretty noticeable gap at the end lol

 

[Disgustipated]

Nice! Pictures please and when is the house warming?

Idk sometime in August or September probably

 

[Jawneh]

Holy shit, that's amazing! Good on ya!

I can't wait for the market to sort itself out to still not be able to afford one with my current pay. The true murican way.

 

[Mark]

Oh those aren’t actually beams, just hollow boxes. Except for the center one, which is wood framed around a solid steel beam. And the ends and molding are super janky because there used to be wood paneling on all the walls that’s gone now so nothing fits together right anymore and the boxes have a pretty noticeable gap at the end lol

Fuck those things, then. They can go to hell via the dumpster. Scrap ‘em and the suggestion still remains the same… you could hook a room like that up as a theater/game room. Perfect size, perfect window placement.

 

[Disgustipated]

Nice! Pictures please and when is the house warming?

Here’s a picture of the front for you! I didn’t have any until I stopped by today for Frontier to install fiber lol

 

[shortkut]

Here’s a picture of the front for you! I didn’t have any until I stopped by today for Frontier to install fiber lol

View attachment 1644

That looks really nice!

 

[Jawneh]

Here’s a picture of the front for you! I didn’t have any until I stopped by today for Frontier to install fiber lol

View attachment 1644

That's great! It looks very cozy already on the outside.

 

[Quagmire]

Woo, I still remember buying my first house, I was single and I got to decorate and plan everything in it, it was fantastic!

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

I'm jealous. That's a nice place you have there.

We're trying over here...but we live too close to Boston to find something we like that doesn't explode into a bidding war immediately (or that doesn't get bought up within a day or two of being on the market).


When's the house warming?

 

[Disgustipated]

I'm jealous. That's a nice place you have there.

We're trying over here...but we live too close to Boston to find something we like that doesn't explode into a bidding war immediately (or that doesn't get bought up within a day or two of being on the market).

Yeah, it was only possible because I bought it from my mom/aunt for below-market value. I didn't have to compete with anyone or anything like that, they wanted the house to stay in the family since my grandfather built it. Hope you're able to find something soon!

When's the house warming?

idk yet. I have to move in first, which is at least a few weeks out lol

In other news, I had Frontier install fiber on Saturday:



That's on wifi, can't wait to see what it will pull when I get things wired with 2.5G ethernet. Hopefully close to the 2 gbps I'm paying for!

 

[Ben]

Wow, congratulations! That's a very cool place and I'm sure you'll make it even better. Those up/down speeds are already nuts even without ethernet!

Definitely seems like the only way to get an affordable house in America now is to inherit it. Like many others, I'm hoping in a few years things might level out but lol it won't.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

That's almost true. You have to be house poor in most areas. I'm lucky I bought in 2011 when they were practically giving them away. I bought it for $150k, refinanced in 2020 to less than 3% and it's worth around $350k now. It's only two bedrooms, but I have 3 acres, no neighbors, very little maintenance. I can basically never move because it's so cheap.

 

[Kat]

Here’s a picture of the front for you! I didn’t have any until I stopped by today for Frontier to install fiber lol

View attachment 1644

Oh man I love those windows that stick out like that. Put a seat in them and they're the perfect spot to read. That's a lovely yard as well. Congrats!!

Owning a house is a pain in the ass sometimes, but it's totally worth it to have control over your living situation.

 

[Mark]

That's almost true. You have to be house poor in most areas. I'm lucky I bought in 2011 when they were practically giving them away. I bought it for $150k, refinanced in 2020 to less than 3% and it's worth around $350k now. It's only two bedrooms, but I have 3 acres, no neighbors, very little maintenance. I can basically never move because it's so cheap.

My parents bought their first house for $12k in 1986. It’s a crumbling rowhome in West Baltimore now. The entire block (28 rowhomes) was bought for around $250k, and will soon be leveled and replaced with 36 $300-$400k “townhomes” in the same footprint. This is why housing is absurd.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

My parents bought their first house for $12k in 1986. It’s a crumbling rowhome in West Baltimore now. The entire block (28 rowhomes) was bought for around $250k, and will soon be leveled and replaced with 36 $300-$400k “townhomes” in the same footprint. This is why housing is absurd.

Lol, that's part of the reason for sure. But there's also this within a 10 minute drive of me:

 

[Mark]

Lol, that's part of the reason for sure. But there's also this within a 10 minute drive of me:

View attachment 1790

No doubt about that… just two blocks over from where I was describing earlier there are houses selling at that kind of inflated rate. I have a friend that moved up to Jamaica Plain, and he described a very similar housing market in the Boston Metro area when he was looking to buy. That’s why he ended up moving further away from the city. All of the major east coast cities are like that now… it’s kinda like our version of the rust belt.

 

[Tirith]

Congrats! Owning a house is both a difficult thing, but an awesome thing at the same time! I'm 2 months out from 3 years of owning my own home - new construction, super low interest rate, warranty, etc. It did end up costing me 320k, but was instantly worth 400+ once they finished the neighborhood. (Earlier you get into new construction, typically cheaper it is. I was #5 to sign, #6 saw prices rise 15k from my "base")

 

[Squall_Lionheart]

Here’s a picture of the front for you! I didn’t have any until I stopped by today for Frontier to install fiber lol

View attachment 1644

this looks absolutely lovely. congrats!

 

[Bandicoot]

Congrats!

 

[Kattastical]

I'm partway through redoing the downstairs. Back in March there was a problem with the sump pump and there was like 6 inches of water down there. And that wasn't the only time that's happened in the last few years. So my dad ripped out all the sheetrock and the floor etc, used the insurance payout to get all the perimeter joists replaced and new sheetrock put up. Then we painted it and he put in a new floor back around the 4th. Here’s what it looks like right now:
View attachment 1573
View attachment 1574
I want to do something else with the ceiling but not sure yet what

That looks really nice! Congratulations on home ownership!

 

[Tirith]

Not tryna detract from yours... I like yours better

 

[ZandraJoi]

@Disgustipated Congrats on your new house! Is this your first time owning one? How is everything going with it? How many acres do you have?

 

[Disgustipated]

Wow, congratulations! That's a very cool place and I'm sure you'll make it even better. Those up/down speeds are already nuts even without ethernet!

Frontier will rue the day that they let me sign up lol.

Definitely seems like the only way to get an affordable house in America now is to inherit it. Like many others, I'm hoping in a few years things might level out but lol it won't.

Yep, it's all fucked.

Oh man I love those windows that stick out like that. Put a seat in them and they're the perfect spot to read. That's a lovely yard as well. Congrats!!

Owning a house is a pain in the ass sometimes, but it's totally worth it to have control over your living situation.

The bay window is really nice! I think it was one of the most recent things my grandfather replaced. I feel like it was maybe only like 10 years ago?

@Disgustipated Congrats on your new house! Is this your first time owning one? How is everything going with it? How many acres do you have?

Thanks! It is my first time owning. So far, going well. Started painting the guest bedroom and office this past weekend, once those are done I'll paint the master br. Not a lot of land, only .2 acres.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

I'll have more news likely later today, but I may have just joined the club as well (our offer was accepted, we did the inspection, and now are going back with a "here are some things that need to be fixed so give us some money off").

 

[Mark]

I'll have more news likely later today, but I may have just joined the club as well (our offer was accepted, we did the inspection, and now are going back with a "here are some things that need to be fixed so give us some money off").

Congratulations, dude. Hopefully your inspector picked up on some issues good enough to knock that price down… but not bad enough to eat up all of your free time and funds.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

Congratulations, dude. Hopefully your inspector picked up on some issues good enough to knock that price down… but not bad enough to eat up all of your free time and funds.

Lead pipe for water (this is an old house). Still functions but obviously needs to be replaced at some point (manageable for now at least). One window needs to be replaced ASAP, two others have minor fixes. The central AC needs to be serviced/cleaned, but is otherwise fine (just on the older side).

The pipe and the window are the big items.

 

[Crystal]

I'll have more news likely later today, but I may have just joined the club as well (our offer was accepted, we did the inspection, and now are going back with a "here are some things that need to be fixed so give us some money off").

Yay!! Fingers crossed for you!

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

Congratulations, dude. Hopefully your inspector picked up on some issues good enough to knock that price down… but not bad enough to eat up all of your free time and funds.

As of right now it may be that they accepted knocking $5K off the top (probably mostly because of the lead pipe).

So...inching closer.

 

[Mark]

As of right now it may be that they accepted knocking $5K off the top (probably mostly because of the lead pipe).

So...inching closer.

It’s a start… depending on the length of pipe we’re talking, the windows *might* be included in that sum as well. I would definitely recommend asking them to have an HVAC tech check out that system and confirm that all it’ll need is a standard servicing, or at least some kind of verification, a general inspector isn’t going to be as knowledgeable as a tech. Depending on how long that house has been unoccupied, there’s no telling the state it’s in. I’ve seen brand new systems implode within 5 years because of bad electronics causing a domino effect of failures.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

It’s a start… depending on the length of pipe we’re talking, the windows *might* be included in that sum as well. I would definitely recommend asking them to have an HVAC tech check out that system and confirm that all it’ll need is a standard servicing, or at least some kind of verification, a general inspector isn’t going to be as knowledgeable as a tech. Depending on how long that house has been unoccupied, there’s no telling the state it’s in. I’ve seen brand new systems implode within 5 years because of bad electronics causing a domino effect of failures.

Oh the system is ~20 years and we ran it while there. It's got a dirty AF filter, but they were in the home within a few months. The delta from the intake to the output is ~8-9 degrees, so it's not the best, but definitely manageable. The electronics on it are fine, but it could stand to be replaced within the next 2-3 years.

Luckily I know a guy who works in the energy field, including HVAC systems (me).

There's a slightly oversized circuit for it on the panel, 30A instead of 25A, but it's not enough to damage it (enough to void the warranty though, but that's already long gone).

We're counter-counter offering with $7.5K to see if they'll budge more. But we'll take the $5K. The estimates are that $5K should cover the pipe, if we get anything $6K or up it'll definitely also cover the window, potentially all the window issues.

 

[Mark]

Oh the system is ~20 years and we ran it while there. It's got a dirty AF filter, but they were in the home within a few months. The delta from the intake to the output is ~8-9 degrees, so it's not the best, but definitely manageable. The electronics on it are fine, but it could stand to be replaced within the next 2-3 years.

Luckily I know a guy who works in the energy field, including HVAC systems (me).

There's a slightly oversized circuit for it on the panel, 30A instead of 25A, but it's not enough to damage it (enough to void the warranty though, but that's already long gone).

We're counter-counter offering with $7.5K to see if they'll budge more. But we'll take the $5K. The estimates are that $5K should cover the pipe, if we get anything $6K or up it'll definitely also cover the window, potentially all the window issues.

Well shit, you are set then. That’s the biggest overhead beyond the lead pipes, and if you can get at least a decade out of it (or at least until you refinance for home improvements if that’s on the table), then you’re making out pretty nicely if you can squeeze that little extra outta them. It ALWAYS helps to know a guy, especially an HVAC guy.

Also… I cannot ignore the hilarity in the guy that sucks criticizing the angle of the intake for the system.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

There's also a Mass Save program that we can take advantage of to cover some portion of HVAC upgrades, as well as potential windows upgrades. Essentially they tell you what you can do to improve efficiency and you can get rebates out of it. Will be looking into that ASAP.

 

[Mark]

There's also a Mass Save program that we can take advantage of to cover some portion of HVAC upgrades, as well as potential windows upgrades. Essentially they tell you what you can do to improve efficiency and you can get rebates out of it. Will be looking into that ASAP.

Yeaaah, my girl works for CleaResult, I get to hear about that shit all the time. You could go as far as acquiring a heat loan to cover an entire new installation, or having a deeply discounted work order as long as you’re not enrolled in energy assistance. If you’re enrolled in energy assistance, then 100% of the work is usually covered through the different community action programs.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

Hell yeah. They upped it to $7k off the price.

 

[shortkut]

Hell yeah. They upped it to $7k off the price.

 

[Mark]

Hell yeah. They upped it to $7k off the price.

Yep, that warrants a little celebration. Congrats, dude. Y’all get to make some boxes up soon.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

Okay, we officially signed. Closing is in less than a month. House party in this thread.

 

[Crystal]

Excellent news, congrats @Aahh!! Real Alusters!!!!

 

[shortkut]

Okay, we officially signed. Closing is in less than a month. House party in this thread.

Start countdown to name change: one month until “A Homeowner”