buying a house

“Thanks. You couldn't wipe this grin off my face with a belt sander! :~)”

“When is the TT beer bash?”

“currahee, what is the MLS#”

“Congratulations!”

“Don't know what this thread is about, but I saw they gave house buying lectures in my library.”

“Congrats! So, is this the place you plan on staying for the next 20-30 years?”

“techntrek, you don't look at house buying that way esp if it is your first house. This is just a stepping stone to the next one, then the next one and so on.”

“Which is why I was asking if he was staying there for 20-30 years. First house is usually less than 5, the second or third house is usually the biggie. Would you prefer I ask the direct question? Here...

So, is this your first house, or a nicer place where you plan on staying for a long while?

Oh, and if you mean you shouldn't take all the steps I outlined in my first post (checking out the insurance report, checking your credit report, etc. etc.) then you are flat wrong. You should do all those steps whether you are buying your 1st or 10th house.
last edited: 3/31/05 8:30:39 AM”

“why not, no need to be shy on here, just blurt it out...lol”

“Don't let little fixable things stop you from moving forward. I've seen a house sale evaporate over a shower curtain.”

“Very true catskhiker. When we were looking I paid little attention to the cosmetic stuff. Location and the layout of the house were paramount. One can always change paint color, flooring, etc.”

“congrats!! i'm glad that the inspection went well. the house is awesome with a great back yard!

does this mean you guys will be in town next weekend for my bachelorette party?”

“Couple sues homebuilder citing urine-soaked walls

By Kimball Perry
Post staff reporter

Bradley and Margaret Parker's version of the American dream was ruined by subcontractors who urinated in the unfinished house, a Tuesday lawsuit alleges.

"It shocks people. It was something (the Parkers) couldn't mentally overcome," their attorney, Douglas May, said Tuesday after filing suit against Ryan Homes.

The Clermont County couple put $5,000 down in June on the $290,390 home they contracted to buy on Lot 44 of the Terrace Ridge subdivision.

In October, though, they made a surprise visit to their home as it was under construction and found several areas inside the home that had been damaged due to pooled urine, the suit stated.

"There's really no dispute that the activity of urinating occurred," May said, adding that drywall contractors are the prime suspects. "We have photographs of the stained areas."

NVR, Inc., doing business as Ryan Homes, was contracted to build the house. Representatives of Ryan, which builds homes in 10 states and has a regional office in West Chester, couldn't be reached for comment.

The suit against Ryan accused the builder of "allowing workers to habitually urinate within the home while it was under construction.

"Said habits were sufficiently pervasive to generate pools of urine within a linen closet never conceived to house a toilet," the suit stated.

The pooling was so prevalent, the suit added, that the urine soaked through the floor and kitchen ceiling, causing another pool of urine in a space between the kitchen and dining room.

Ryan neglected to supervise its subcontractors, the suit added, resulting in "health hazards and a dangerous living environment unacceptable to the ordinary customer."

The suit also accused the builder of unfair labor practices.

When Ryan was contacted about the problem, May said, it responded with "spot fixing" by replacing some drywall.

The suit seeks to have Ryan return the Parkers' $5,000 down payment and release them from their contract.

That shouldn't be a problem, May added, because the house was placed on the market and has been sold.”

“If they were still bound by the contract, I don't see how Ryan Homes sold the house.”

“The contract may be to build "a house" not that specific one. It's a building contract, not a mortgage, so they might still be liable to buy any house of similar value that Ryan might build.”

“That still doesn't fit. When you put a contract on a new home in a subdivision, your contract is for a specific lot. In this case, lot 44. Ryan would be bound to sell them that lot w/house unless they released them and gave them back the deposit.”

“It doesn't add up. Perhaps there is a "back-up" contract?”

“Violin probably made that up. The contractor was probably a republican and this is a part of his agenda.”

“No, it's our first house. We're looking to be here for about 5-8 years. We have done our homework and are getting into this house with about 12k in equity already. So, not a bad investment. The inspector is a friend of mine who has been doing this for a very long time and was quite thorough. I am also friends with our mortgage broker and realtor, so they are giving us the best service and not nickel & diming us. It is a historic neighborhood that we've wanted to move to for a long time as well. I'm sure we've screwed something up, but I don't think that it's a big thing.

Ewker: That's cheating! I'll show you next weekend.”

“Well, without having the contract in front of us, there's no telling whether selling the house was legal or not. However, you can bet that if Ryan had illegally converted the Parker's property, there would be a lot more at stake than $5,000.”

“Boy, it turned into a real pissing match!”

“Ba-da-bing!”

“Man urinates on library books

MILES CITY - A man repeatedly urinated in the Miles City Public Library, destroying dozens of books worth more than $1,000, authorities say.

Dan Montgomery, 38, was arrested Friday and charged with felony criminal mischief.

He was arrested after a man was taped relieving himself in a library aisle.

Montgomery told officers he knew he damaged books but couldn't remember how many times he had done so, said detective Doug Colombik.

Librarians have thrown away 57 books and had to replace the covers of another 240 books, said Library Director Mike Hamlett. There also was carpet damage, he said.

Library officials suspect the damage occurred over a period of several months.”

“Wow, and I thought that sex was the only thing going on back there in the stacks.”

“Ewker: That's cheating! I'll show you next weekend.”
Currahee
1:28:27 PM
3/31/05


dang, you didn't fall for it...lol”

“so I guess that means you guys are still going on the hiking trip and Angie can't come to my party? My friends are just trying to get a final head count.”

“So far we're still on for this trip. It might turn out different for one or both of us. Angie has the flu (I think) and one of the girls I work with just lost her mom. Angie might not be able to get off work on time in which case she doesn't want to go. If I have to cover extra shifts, I'm out.
I promise that I'll let you know as soon as anything changes.”

“Tell Angie I hope she gets to feeling better. I didn't go to work today because I'm sick too. If you guys stay here let me know and I will have my friends email her about the party. If you go on the hiking trip have lots of fun and congrats on the house!”

“Okey Dokey!”

“I just bought a house, and you all are providing great advice for Tea and Curahee. One thing to consider is taxes. If you buy a fixer-upper, the taxes are prolly low. All homes are taxed the same rate, but once thier value goes up, you pay more. If you fix that house up (i.e., add driveway, add 1/2 bath, etc), and the city reappraises it, you'll be paying more taxes. Be sure to take that into consideration when figuring your mortgage.

Also, the inspector, like Birch said, is a huge part of the equation. Be sure to base you offer upon a contigency that the home is inspected, by a person of your choice, and that you'll still be able to nix the deal if he/she finds nuclear roaches.

Lastly, timing is everything! If you've researched the market and physically looked at homes for sale in the area you want to buy, when you see something you like, make an offer. Base your offer on how strongly you feel the home is the right fit for ya.

OK, I'm off selling my soul to a mortgage.

BTW - Tea, if you buy a home now, you'll regret it.”

“Congrats on the home purchase, we sold our soul 6 years ago. As I told currahee, its one of the biggest pains in the arse you'll ever love.”

“Kind of like a boat. Tents and canoes are much easier to maintain.”

“Congratulations BB! Now, round up all your friends with pick-up trucks, lol.”

“We close on the 25th!!!”

“Cool!

(don't bet any money on the actual closing date.)”

“Oh yeah - buying a house has to be one of the most stressful times in life. Hang in there.”

“cool Currahee! I close on May 2. But I am selling.”

“Violin - It has been much easier than I would have expected. Our mortgage guy is a friend and so is our realtor. They have handled all the hard stuff for us.”

“Ain't that nice!!
I just got my license.
I hope my customers feel the same way when it's all done.”

“Oh yeah - buying a house has to be one of the most stressful times in life. Hang in there.”
VioLiN
3:13:13 PM
4/07/05

I thought the same thing after buying my first property (condo) three years ago. That was before buying a house while simultaneoulsy selling the condo. Worth it in the end, but nightmarish doesnt even begin to describe the stress levels. I got sick as many times in the last 6 months as I have been in the last ten years. Good news is that I now own a home that I can raise my kids in. Big yard, nice house, safe neighborhood. Im done moving for at least 20 years.”

“We were told that we were moving at the absolute busiest time of year so we had the moving van lined up months ahead of time. Our contract was to move out the day before our closing and move in the new place after our closing.

I called the mover a couple of days before the closing to make sure everything was OK. They said they had me down to move out on the same day as my closing which was not possible - we had a lot of stuff to move out and the buyers had to do a final walk through the morning of the closing.

I made a frantic call to my attorney to see what we could do about pushing the closing back to the afternoon (it was a super busy day for her too). She said, "oh, did they tell you?" - Turns out the buyer’s bank wouldn't have the mortgage ready in time and they couldn't close that day.

We closed a day later and the mover was able to schedule a truck to move me in when we needed to. They said something about the moving gods smiling on us. Boy were we stressed for a time!”

“I have been debating whether or not to move our stuff or have a moving company do it. I should call around & check rates.”

“Depends on how much you have.

Our old neighbors decided to move themselves to save a couple grand. Their little boy ended up cutting off his big toe on the rental truck ramp.

They re-attached the toe and he's walking pretty well now but...”

“Congrats to all that are buying and selling. Owning anything - small or big - is always 1000X better than renting.”

“We paid to have our stuff moved last time and it's worth it.”

“just wait till you discover how much stuff you have. It is like where did all this come from??”

“I just sold my house. Final step in finalizing my divorce. Now I have to find something quick unless I want to end up moving twice or putting crap in storage. I'm moving back to the country woohoo! I hated living in town.”

“Congrats, man!”

“I have a question on rates. I've already been to the bank and been preapproved and quoted a rate. Should I shop rates and then ask them to come down, take what I was offered? I don't know enough to know who's ligit, especially shopping rates on the Web.”

“Check out rates here: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/default.asp

They always have a box somewhere that shows the latest averages, and you can click down on the mainpage to do rate comparisons.”