Should I go? | Imamother

amother

Sun, Feb 09 2014, 11:17 am

We are trying to buy a house and it seems to be taking a very long time. We are dealing with the owner directly. He is a real mentch, but it's just taking forever.
Anyway the engineer came last week and gave us his report. The owner wants to meet today. Should I go with my husband? He told me I don't need to go, I should just tell him the things that I want, but I feel like I should just go and that way I can hear the conversation and if something comes up and I have something to say I can.
Any thoughts?

amother

Sun, Feb 09 2014, 11:29 am

That's what I thought :-) there's a lot of work that needs to be done, and there's even more now that the engineer pointed some things out (basement needs to be waterproofed, most of the almost 30-40 windows need to be replaced, a LOT of insulation needs to be put in.....) and I don't want any of that to be left up to us or not discussed. I feel like even if I tell my husband to discuss it, he could forget and then well be left with big, expensive projects. I'm going to write down everything that I want to talk to him about, and take a pen with me and check thifs off to make sure I say everything :-)

amother

Sun, Feb 09 2014, 2:51 pm

He's going without me :-( the guy just called and "ok let's meet now." So of course I can't go because I have no one that I can suddenly drop three kids on like that. And then he wanted to know if I'm upset at him. Well, yes I am!! I said I wanted to be a part of this. He asked me why there's nothing important going on at this meeting. I said "well what if he says something that you don't think twice about but I don't agree with it?" So my husband said "if he says something I'll call you." So I said "well if you don't think twice about it how are you going to call me?"
I basically told my husband that it looks like they've already decided what to include me in and what not to....like I don't get to decide what I want to be included in.
It's not his fault that it happened this way today, and I totally understand it and I'm not upset that it happened, I'm upset at the whole idea of "you don't need to be involved in this part" what would he say if I told him he didn't need to be involved in some part? Like designing the kitchen let's say. He's have a fit and say of course he has to be involved!! So why don't I get to have a fit and say of course I want to be involved!!

K sorry, vent/rant over. Thanks for listening. Now back to the regularly scheduled craziness that is imamother
:-)

Dolly Welsh

Sun, Feb 09 2014, 5:04 pm

The main issue is can you afford to fix this house up. You KNOW big bucks are going to be spent de-water ing the basement - that's huge, and worrisome about the site itself - and the walls and the windows.

Is the roof at least all right?

If the previous owner didn't even de-water the BASEMENT which the whole thing sits on, then the electrical and plumbing are probably also original and not upgraded. What does the engineer think about them?

What are you buying? A perfect location? Probably. Just understand you are almost re-building this house. The price had better reflect that.

Don't be mad if there is enough money around, and you like the location.

You saw the house and you read the engineering report. You can't say you are amazed, later.

I wish you had gone, anyway.

amother

Sun, Feb 09 2014, 5:08 pm

Dolly Welsh wrote:

The main issue is can you afford to fix this house up. You KNOW big bucks are going to be spent de-water ing the basement - that's huge, and worrisome about the site itself - and the walls and the windows.

Is the roof at least all right?

What are you buying? A perfect location?

Probably.

Don't be mad if there is enough money around and you like the location.

You saw the house and you read the engineering report. You can't say you are amazed, later.

I wish you had gone, anyway.

Thanks, I wish I had gone too :-( I really wanted to hear what he had to say about the cost of the work that needs to be done, and if he thought there were things that didn't need to be done when the engineer said they do.

Dolly Welsh

Sun, Feb 09 2014, 6:09 pm

Who is "he"? Do you mean the seller?

You cannot trust the seller's word.

He is the one whose house needs all this work; he may be nice, but he is no genius about houses.

The engineer's opinion is the one that matters.

This sounds like a big house from the number of windows, and everything about it is going to be big. Fixing it and furnishing it.

Always keep the furnace room window open a few inches, and have lots of CO and fire alarms all over.

What is the condition of the furnace? Has it been regularly serviced?

Mold?

amother

Sun, Feb 09 2014, 8:04 pm

Dolly Welsh wrote:

Yes, in the last post "he" was referring to the seller. It's not his house as in he lived there as is moving, it's his house as in he bought it with the intention to fix it and flip it. This is what he does for a living, so he definitely knows what he's doing, he's not just some joe off the street. I don't plan on trusting his word, but because the cost of repairs is being included in the price, we need to come to an agreement that we all like- him, my husband, and myself. I wanted to be there when the engineers report was being discussed, but oh well.
Bh yes, it is a big house 7/8 bedrooms, not including the basement, and two sun rooms full of windows, so yea, bh lots of windows!!!! I hope to get furniture from second hand stores ad from people giving things away.....except for the couch on the living room- it's time for a new one so I hope we can afford a new one after buying the house :-) it's in a great, quiet neighborhood, close enough to all the amenities and everything, but still far away enough that it's quiet :-)