Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Feeling uncertain over a house?
DH and I are looking at a house close by to the neighborhood we currently live in. We have been to see it twice now, each time with our buyer's agent in tow. The first time we were enamored with the house. The size is just right for a starter as we don't plan on having kids for another 5+ years. The colors (except for the kitchen) are beautiful and there is a yard with a tall wooden fence surrounding it. The fixtures in the house were also beautiful, bronze pieces and there's marble tiling in the kitchen.
We went back again this Sunday with my MIL in tow. I noticed a lot more little things that could start to pile up on us, either money or time wise. Some, not all, of things:
- Both doors to the back yard don't seal properly. There is some sunlight coming through around the sides of the door. One door has the outside knob come completely off and was in pieces, lock, springs, everyone on the back doorstep.
- Two of the windows do not stay open, and nearly all the windows either don't have screens or have screens with holes in them. All the windows are relatively new and well taken care, so it seems odd that two of them (right next to each other) won't stick.
- There is a skylight in the master closet. It has lots of dead bugs and debris piled up inside between the glass in the roof, and the plastic in the ceiling. The plastic lifts away. Only an inspection will tell if there is a water leakage problem (new carpet so no way to tell) but I'm uneasy of the bugs and dust issue even if it's just coming through the roof.
- There is a retention wall from the 1950's on one side of the front yard. A wooden fence is covering it from our side so we can't see what condition it is in. No clue whether it's on this property or the neighbors. We're also waiting to each back on other property line issues (fences, overgrown bushes, etc.)
- Last but not least, the vinyl siding on an addition to the original brick house is starting to come off in some places. Some of it also has a little mold from an offset gutter, and some places has the plastic actually cracked and crumbling.
Hubby and our buyer's agent insist that we can have these addressed in our contract to be fixed before we settle and move in. But I'm really worried that this is just a tip of the iceberg. This is in addition to an old roof, and old gas furnace, and the original bathroom from 1951. I know that with the inspection, we can get out of a contract with major things like foundation cracks, etc. But I'm really not feeling this house at this point. The price is FANTASTIC for the area, just dropped another $10k in price on Saturday.
What would you do? DH really wants to take it and condition for fixes. He wants the yard, and the bigger kitchen, and being able to earn some equity back instead of sinking more money into an area where rent is SKY high. And I want all those things too but I just have a bad feeling we're going to find more issues with time and be constantly working on a house we're planning on keeping for less than a decade...
Re: Feeling uncertain over a house?
This is tough. We're considering a similar property and I'm in your husband's role. DH is worried about everything you're worried about. Even though I'm up for a renovation project, I realize that it might not be practical for our first home and I don't fault him for not being gung-ho about that. He's the practical one and I count on him to let me know when I'm being a little too pie in the sky.
Based on the things you've listed, I wouldn't take this house on unless you have some serious savings at your disposal and you're confident that you can get your money back when you sell (which is not a safe assumption in most markets). You're already looking at more than $10K in fixes and you aren't even through the inspection period. I think you're instincts are right on - you're going to sink a ton of money into a house that you're probably not going to have time to enjoy since it will take a long time to get it where you want it to be.
Could you bring a handyman or contractor with you and view the house again? This is something our agent has offered to arrange for us. I would be good to know exactly what costs you'd be looking at for the issues you mentioned.
II really don't think you're crazy. The only way I would consider a house that needed a lot of work would be if we could stay in it for more than 10 years. Otherwise I would be worried about losing money since renovations don't typically net what you paid for them. I don't know what you're exact situation is in terms of budget, your local housing market, long term plans, etc. BUT, if you're having doubts I wouldn't move forward without doing a cost benefit analysis.
The only way to know is to have an inspection; and you still have an out if the inspection reveals that these issues are in fact problematic. From what you describe it seems that there are many problems. If the roof is near the end of its lifespan, maybe you can convince the seller to take off the cost of a new roof from the selling price or start an escrow for the repairs. I would worry that light appearing around both back doors may indicate a foundation issue. I personally wouldn't want to take on so many repairs.
Do you think you would still have doubts if an inspection showed that there were no problems with the retention wall and all the other concerns were not major? If so, then you should keep looking at homes. If this house is one you can't forget about when looking at more move in ready homes, then give it a second look.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10