I knew this would probably happen at some point, and it did, but not for the reason I expected. I figured I'd go through a mild house-buying freak-out at some point simply because of the amount of money I'd just committed to - just the usual paranoid, anxiety-ridden fears. What have I gotten myself into, what if it's too much for us, what if something goes wrong, should we have looked longer, etc., etc., ad nauseam.
That didn't happen. I wasn't thinking any of those things ... until the inspection.
The inspection turned up a few more issues than I'd have liked. Now, to be fair, most of them were, in fact, quite minor. It's just that you don't like to hear any of this when you've just committed to a rather large mortgage.
The only expensive-looking thing was that the inspector said the furnace was 23 years old and had rust inside, and may not last much longer. He estimated the cost to replace it at around $2,500. While I was initially disappointed to hear that, it's not the end of the world. First, it might last much longer than he anticipates (I've known furnaces that were 30 or more years old). Second, I purposely didn't spend all my money when buying the house, so I'd have a fund for things like this, so when it happens, we can pay for it. And third, if it happens to die within a year, the Home Warranty will likely cover it. So all around, not that big of a deal.
And as far as major house maintenance goes, that's about the worst we'll have to worry about - the roof, windows, and hot water tank are all newer, so that's an expense we shouldn't have to think about for a long time yet.
I then discovered that there's a chance my truck won't fit in the garage. This time at the house we were the first ones there, and pulled my truck right up to the garage door - and said "Holy crap, that door looks tiny." Some measurements confirmed it's a full 12" narrower than my door at home, and will only give me a couple inches clearance on either side of my truck.
That was a little more disconcerting, as I never expected that. I knew the house only had a one-car garage, but the Dread Reverend said he didn't care about having his vehicles in a garage, and as I was the only one who did, that was fine. But I naively assumed that all one-car garages were created equal, and if my truck fit in mine at home, it'd fit at the new house. I was shocked to learn that might not be true.
This bums me out, as widening the garage door is probably not going to be cheap. It may have to wait a year or two. But, I reasoned, that's really not the end of the world either. I mean, it's not a major 'repair' that must be done ... it's a convenience. I can park in the driveway until we get that issue resolved. And, I don't know that it won't fit - just that it'll be tight. I may well be able to get it in and out of there after all, with a little practice. (she says uncertainly)
Okay, fine.
Then the inspector found water inside a coat closet by the front door. Okay, now we're pushing my patience. The furnace alone I could live with. The furnace and the garage was a bummer, but I was dealing. This was a bit much.
To make matters worse, the sellers, upon having this brought to their attention, advised, "Oh, this happens every winter." Not what I wanted to hear. My inspector thought it was due to ice damming because of the extreme weather we've had - an isolated incident. Then I learn it's an ongoing problem that will definitely need addressed.
It was around then I began to panic, thinking "What have I gotten myself into? I spent all this money on a house that has this much wrong with it?"
But good news came and my sanity retrned. The sellers voluntarily have decided to have someone come and give an estimate to fix whatever's causing the water in the closet. Then they are going to see if their homeowner's insurance will pay to have it fixed, and if not, they are going to credit me the entire repair cost at closing.
Well. I can't ask for more than that, and I'm quite relieved. Knowing that problem is going to get fixed immediately, and at no cost to me, is quite a load off my mind. The worst the problem should be is some type of gutter, flashing or isolated area roof problem, but it doesn't matter - it will get fixed, it'll get fixed right with a warranty, and it won't cost me a dime. So I have nothing to worry about there anymore.
Now the problems that for a few days seemed to be growing so insurmountable have shrunk back down to reasonable and bearable again, and I'm back to being very psyched about the house! I'm back to being excited about moving again, and looking forward to living there. And that's a good place to be ... especially since we'll be moving in only a couple of weeks. It's looking like the weekend of the 21st will be the big move weekend!
We haven't done any more packing since Sunday, which may have been a mistake. I figure we should have been doing some work during the week as well, but I just haven't been up for it. If we don't get in gear soon, we may be scrambling at the last minute. But I think I'll do some tomorrow night while the Dread Reverend is up seeing the kids, and then there's the whole weekend, which like it or not will be devoted to packing. Now our main problem is figuring out where to put all these packed boxes that isn't incredibly in our way.
~happy dance~ It's going to be a great house!
1 comment:
If it is a winter thing on the closet water, it is most likely ice damming or something of that nature. Probably freezing and backing up behind some flashing, or leaking up under the eaves when it backs up. Should not be a major fix, really.
Rust in the furnace...bah! The thing is 26 years old, and probably has the old style cast body. Some surface rust is going to be normal. As long as the burner and blower motor are good the thing will last a while. Though, it may be a blessing in disguise if it does go out, as the newer ones are a LOT more efficient and will end up saving you money compared to what that one may cost to run. New high efficiency could pay for itself in four or five years on just what you will save in gas and electricity, plus the new ones usually are already set up for a centrel air system, you just have to have the outside chiller put in and probably the system charged.
No idea on the garage thing. It is possible to widen the door if that ends up being the case, but it all depends on how much room there is and if there will still be enough side support. If it fits and is just REALLY close, be careful and fold the mirrors in like they do at the carwash. At worst, you culd always put one of those long carport canopies in front of the garage if the truck don't fit, then it will still be under cover until the doorway can be modified. (Been thinking about doing that one myself.)
Anyhow...nothing major at all. Look at it like this, the little stuff that needs done on the new one is nothing compared to what you would have liked to and had to do on the old one.
**hugs**
Rhys
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