The Waiting Game

Job, the dude in the Bible who contended with plagues and crickets and boils and such without losing his faith in God, set an impossibly high standard of faithfulness.  I simply do not have that kind of patience dealing with all the trials the Lord saw fit to happen in his life.  Oftentimes I wonder if I have the patience to deal with the trials the Lord sees fit to have happen in my life.

Waiting, for example.

Waiting on anything important makes me anxious.  The incessant hurry up and wait feeling when you are buying (or selling) a house is a very stressful thing.  It is for me, anyway.  And it is for most people I've talked to.  I think it feels like such a terrible trial because your fate is in someone else's hands.  We all have an inner control freak that screams to determine our own destiny and it's hard to be forced to sit back and let someone else make decisions that can change your life in drastic ways.  You can make yourself a little crazy worrying about it.

Is this really the house I want to live in for the next umpteen years?  Is the funding going to be ok?  (i.e. Do we have enough cash?  Or, more often, will our mortgage loan be approved?)  Is the seller going to accept our offer?  Or counter offer to get repairs done?  Is the appraisal going to come in where we expected it?

These are the kinds of questions that have been keeping me awake at night.

A lot of people who don't even know you or care about you get to make decisions about your life.  Sellers, realtors, mortgage officers, inspectors, contractors and sometimes other people decide what happens and when.  And to them it's just business.  But to you, it's personal.  It's your future they're messing with.  And while you want to get down to the fun parts of owning a new house like picking paint colors and buying fluffy new bath towels, you can't.

You have to wait.

Have I mentioned before that waiting stresses me out?

It does.

And my body's reaction to stress is a near constant stream of tears.

And that freaks out everyone around me.

Then I feel even more stressed.

And cry some more.

Photo credit:  http://xaxor.com/photography/28239-heartbreaking-
sad-eyes-a-tears-photography.html

I really hate that I can't cry like a movie star all pretty and dainty as a single tear makes it way, with heart-wrenching mournful slowness and awesome background lighting, down a perfectly made-up face.  But, oh no, God did not see fit to make me a pretty crier.  My kind of crying has to be as big and clumsy as the rest of me.  Just a couple of tears and for the rest of the day it's.... eyelids swollen shut, hopelessly plugged nose, raspy nasal cartoon voice, blotchy skin and my eyes are so red people avoid me thinking I have a contagious disease.

All of this stress is just from being on the buyer side of the transaction.  I'm also selling a house.  Being the seller is just as stressful, maybe even a little more so, because everything the buyer asks for is taking money out of your pocket.  And... that feels a little overly personal, too.  Between the two, I am a complete and utter emotional mess.

The current issue on the waiting game is our counter offer back to the seller on the house Derek and I want to buy here in Georgia based on the results of our inspection.  We're asking to have the long list of punch out items his handyman hasn't yet completed on repairs that were already in progress done, service the ancient heater and make sure the chimney is safe and in good repair.  That's far from everything the house needs but we felt like it was reasonable to ask for a place that's structurally sound with safely functioning mechanical systems.  We're not asking for the world, just to move into a place that's safe to live.  So far he's agreed verbally but wants to have the chimney assessed before making a written commitment.  It was only fair to give him a few days to do that, because depending on the problem costs could run from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, so we won't know for sure until Tuesday.

If you've never seen an inspection report before and would like to know what you get for your money, here's a link to a sample report from our inspector's website.  See how it's helpful to hire an expert to uncover hidden problems and get a thorough understanding of all the systems in your house?  It's a good investment!

Inspection Day

We met our realtor and home inspector at the house late this morning to do the inspection.

And I am one tired little girl now!

But I am intimately acquainted with the home, all of its systems and the yard.  All my homework and phone calls paid off in getting us a very thorough and detailed professional inspector.  I really couldn't be more pleased with him and his work and how well he explained each step of the inspection and what was needed to correct problems.

Yes, I did say problems.

We knew there'd be a few issues because of the age of the house and the readily visible clues when we walked through last week.  And there was all of that cosmetic stuff we noticed.

And a little more...

Namely one big disappointment, some repairs that are big enough that we are going to kick the ball back into the seller's court to get them fixed prior to the sale and a good answer to the mystery hole in the back yard.

ONE BIG DISAPPOINTMENT
The disappointment was that the ancient heater is electric, not gas as we were led to believe before, so with no existing gas service to run a line from the gas cook top isn't going to be possible in the kitchen.  We're either going to have to go with the less expensive to install, but also less desirable to  cook on, electric cook top or get a propane tank.  Propane may be perfectly acceptable but it's something completely new to me and just the lack of familiarity makes me a little nervous.  I think Derek is ready to charge ahead with electric but I'd like to get them both priced out and see how it all works with the budget.

REPAIRS TO COMPLETE FIRST
We found out that there are numerous small leaks in the water pipes, the drain for the master shower is clogged and there's no pressure regulator valve so the water pressure is too high in the whole house.  I know... awesome showers was my first thought, too.  But high water pressure in a house is kind of like high blood pressure in a human body.  Something is going to rupture if it's not brought down to a normal level.  These are not major repairs but I think it's fair to ask that the plumbing in a house be in proper working order when you buy it.

There's also a bit of a water issue where some grading around the foundation is done wrong and allowing a large amount of runoff (both from the hillside and the rain gutter downspouts) to pool right against the foundation outside the kitchen and then it's getting through into the crawl space and one corner of the laundry room.  The seller had already noted a bit of water inside and had planned on installing a sump pump to deal with it.  That was supposed to be done before today, but it's not.  If he takes care of the pump, we can handle the regrading easily.  And again I think it's fair to ask for this because he'd already indicated that the pump would be installed before now.

Finally, we have the biggest potential defect: The fireplace and chimney seem to have several issues uniquely their own.  The flashing where the roof meets the chimney needs to be redone, correctly this time.  And the concrete at the top is broken and needs to be replaced.  And the flue itself is beginning to disintegrate so a new liner needs to be installed and concrete pumped in between that and the old masonry.  And it needs a cap to keep water and critters out.  There's also a question of whether it's separating from the house... which is a repair that costs several thousand dollars.  At first the inspector was sure it was separating but later he backed off that a bit because the cracking on the inside wasn't consistent and it would extremely unlikely that the chimney would separate in both directions.  I think we determined it was much more likely that the cracking inside was because new mortar had been added and hadn't adhered completely to some of the rocks.  And outside, the gap was such a consistent width that he did say it could just be a difference in the thickness of the original siding and what it is up there now.  We are asking the seller to investigate further and make any needed repairs for the fireplace to be used safely.

A MYSTERY SOLVED
The hole in the backyard that had received such exotic hypothesis of its purpose as a battle trench dug by Civil War soldiers or humungous koi pond was, at first today, called a sink hole.  That was a little disconcerting...

But then later it got a real explanation.

In the late 1970s/early 1980s this part of the country experienced a severe drought.  During that time many municipalities told residents that, in order to help keep the lawn green without further straining a very strained resource, they could use gray water to landscape.  Gray water is used household  water that does not contain human waste.  It comes from places like sinks and laundry facilities.  Really good investigation revealed a white PVC drainage pipe running from the washroom right to the pit.  At one point, someone was running their wash water out there.

Non-glamorous to the extreme and offering nothing for my imagination to play with but a good explanation.  And he even suggested a good solution for filling it in and making usable yard in that spot.

The plan right now is to wait and see the final report tomorrow and then go back to the seller proposing the fixes we want him to do.

Home buying is so much hurry up and wait...

Choosing a Home Inspector

Since things changed so fast that Derek and I ended up just walking into the nearest realty office and saying we need a realtor NOW rather than going through a thoughtful selection process I'll just say it... we got lucky.  We got very lucky!  That random shot netted us a realtor who listened to what we wanted, asked the right questions to get great showings right off the bat, and is very familiar with the exact area where we want to buy both to live there and for future investment properties.

So, now after having our offer on a house accepted, we need to get it inspected so that we have some reassurance that we are getting into what we think we're getting ourselves into.

Just like every profession... there are home inspectors who do a great job and some that slack off and leave you to find nasty surprises.  That happens because not all states require licensing so there is no standard baseline for their skills or knowledge.  It's very much worth your time to ask questions when you are choosing an inspector.  Think of it as a job interview where you are the hiring manager... because that's exactly what you are doing.  You're hiring someone to work for you.

Here are some examples of things you'll want to have answered:

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE.
You want to find someone who does inspections as a full-time job.  They should be doing at least 250 inspections a year.  And several years of on the job experience is very desirable.

ARE YOU KNOWLEDGEABLE?  HOW DID YOU LEARN TO DO THIS JOB?
A home inspector should have a solid working knowledge of every system in the home.  Many may have had formal training in one trade but they should have spent considerable time cross-training with other relevant trades.  For example, someone who trained as an electrician formally should be cross-trained on carpentry, plumbing and HVAC.  And the most knowledgeable will have started with a degree in engineering or architecture that provides a broad background understanding of construction or be trained to operate as a general contractor.

WHICH INSPECTOR WILL THE INSPECTION COMPANY SEND?
Both the reputation of the inspector, personally, and the company, generally, are important.  Gather information about both.

ARE YOU COVERED BY E&O AND GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE?
E&O stands for errors and omissions.  It's to your advantage that the inspector is covered by both of these types of insurance policies.  Ask for a copy of the policies and check for coverage limits, exclusions and limitations.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO COMPLETE THE INSPECTION?  HOW MANY WILL YOU BE DOING THE SAME DAY AS MINE?
A thorough inspection should take approximately 2 hours.  It's hard work and tiring so it is to your advantage to schedule either the first or second time slot in the inspector's daily schedule.

HOW MUCH DOES THE INSPECTION COST?
The cost varies widely depending on your market and who you choose to work with.  In my area most are advertising a price between $200 and $400.  A well-established, full-time professional inspector is going to be at the high end of that spectrum but when you think of it as an investment in protecting what may be the largest purchase of your life, it's a small price to pay and very worthwhile.  This is not something you want to nickel and dime or select someone based on price alone.

WHAT TYPE OF REPORT WILL I GET?  WHEN WILL I GET IT?
A proper inspection should include a signed report that describes what was inspected and the condition of each inspected item with comments specific to your home.  It can be hand-written and mostly a checklist which is typically delivered to you on site at the conclusion of the inspection.  It can also be computer generated and could take a few days to complete and mail to you.  The house I purchased a few years ago (in another state) was emailed to me the next day and included a checklist, written descriptions of each system and photographs with problem areas highlighted.

ARE YOU AFFILIATED WITH ANY PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS?
There are many local, state, and national organizations that an inspector can join, many of which will provide continuing education and a chance to discuss best practices with other inspectors and construction industry professionals.  Franchises can also be purchased and a home office can provide educational tools and other support.  However, membership in any organization does not guarantee a quality inspector.   In the end, the individual inspector's experience and knowledge determine the quality of the inspection.

When selecting an inspector it's good to ask friends, family and business associates for referrals.  Your realtor may also have some suggestions, however, there is the possibility of a conflict of interest if the realtor or his/her brokerage has any association with, or receives payments from, the inspector or his/her firm.  Our realtor could only provide a list of local inspectors because of the ethics policy at his brokerage and that's what I expected of him as a professional.  Because all I have to work with is his list and the phone book, I will be asking for references.

We will also be present at the inspection.  I think you should be there if it is humanly possible because it is a great chance to see the inner workings of your home and ask questions about things like upcoming repairs, remaining life span of heating and AC equipment, renovations you might be thinking about doing, access points to plumbing and electrical and many other things.  I want to poke my head into every nook and cranny and understand what I'm looking for and if something that appears bad is really ok (and why!) or, conversely, if something that looks fine is going to be problem.

At the last house I had an inspection (in May) and, while he pointed out many things I'd missed looking around, he missed a couple things.  A couple of big things that ended up being very expensive surprises down the road.  Things like the heater not only being exceptionally old and inefficient but that it was missing the electrical connection to the thermostat upstairs so there was no simple way for me to turn it on.  Discovering that was far removed from a happy moment that first cold morning in November...  I was there, but not asking nearly enough questions or looking at everything right along side him.  I learned my lesson!

Information for this post was gleaned from my past experience, the experiences of several friends, a few websites found by the magic of Google and, mostly, from the excellent advice at www.homeinspections-usa.com.

A Sunday Drive

Today I skipped out on Church.  Instead, Derek and I decided to go for a Sunday drive and spend some time looking around our future neighborhood and downtown Dallas.  Pictures will have to come at a later time... I was too busy gawking at every daffodil filled yard, leafing tree, horse in a pasture, historical marker and random thrift store (seriously, there were 6 within 2 miles of the house!) to get any taken today.

Obviously, I am in complete love and awe of the rural-ness and small town lifestyle I saw!

Photo credit:  maps.google.com

The main intersection just a few hundred feet from where our little lane begins is where the Old Cartersville Highway merges onto E. Paulding Drive as it crosses the Dallas Acworth Highway.  You can kind of see where the yellow highlighted roads converge in the very bottom right corner of the map.  We drove 2-3 miles in each direction just to get a feel for the area and into the vibrant and historical downtown business district.  And it was much like the prototypical Sunday afternoon drive you might imagine your grandparents enjoying.

What I saw spoke of simpler times when life was lived at a slower pace.  Even the gas station where we stopped seemed to be a throwback.  There was a sign on the counter indicating that the attendant had stepped away for a few minutes.  They were so trusting that customers would honestly pay that the store was left open.

I really think I'm going to enjoy living here!

The Battle of Pickett's Mill

With my interest in history, I was excited to learn that the home we're buying if all the inspections go well this coming week is only about 2 miles from the Pickett's Mill Civil War battle site.  And even more excited when I found out they do re-enactments here.  What a great way to learn more about American history and the local culture!

Photo credit:  www.fieldtripswithsue.com

The Battle of Pickett's Mill, a Confederate victory, happened in May 1864 and delayed Federal troops advancing on Atlanta for a week.  Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman attempted an attack on the right flank of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's army hoping to hit what he thought was an exposed right flank.  Instead he found the Confederates well prepared and his own supporting troops didn't show up for the battle.

Author Ambrose Bierce fought for the Union at Pickett's Mill as a topographical engineer. Bierce's condemning short story The Crime at Pickett's Mill is about this battle and was written to commemorate its 25th anniversary.  It's a story I'd never read before and while I was reading it now, I realized that, until very recently, I wouldn't have even understood it.  A few weeks ago a friend of ours (and fellow amateur historian) was home on leave from the Marines and attempting to explain to me some of the mechanics of weaponry and battle tactics from that time period.

Matt told me how the guns were not so dependable or accurate and, partly because you had to hand load a single bullet, it was slow and took a lot of effort to reload between each shot.  To compensate for these challenges, soldiers were taught to advance in long side-by-side columns.  The man in front would lay on the ground to shoot while the man directly behind him would go down on one knee and the third would take aim from a standing position.  Then they'd all fire at the same time.  This allowed for three shots at the enemy forces instead of just 1.  As soon as their shot was off, they'd immediately fall to the back of the column to reload and the next 3 men in line would take those positions.  By firing more shots at the same time, they had better odds of hitting their target.  This was especially advantageous if troops could be shooting from different directions so the trajectories overlapped but did not pose a threat as incoming friendly fire.

Obviously my understanding is still pretty rudimentary.  But, hopefully, as I explore my surroundings more and more it will get better.

Everything I can find says this reenactment happens in early November each year so I'm adding it to my list of things to go and see.  I'm learning a new appreciation for an important part of our country's history and all the stories and personal sacrifice that seemingly never made it to our history books.

Our realtor told us Pickett's Mill was one of the most well known battles of the Civil War.  Why did I not know anything about it?  Seriously, I don't remember ever even hearing the name before yesterday. Sometimes these kind of things make me kind of frown on the schooling of my childhood and feel like it failed me...  But, when I stop and think about it isn't the goal of education to instill a sense of curiosity and give you the skills to fulfill it?  That, I learned very well.  So well, in fact, that a lot of people call me hyper-observant.

Enough so, that under the brush and last fall's leaves in the backyard at the house, I noticed a couple of spots that looked like they'd been dug out just past the tree line and asked what they were.  The realtor didn't have a definitive answer, and I didn't really expect him to, but he lives in the area and told us they could, conceivably, be trenches dug in 1864 by soldiers advancing on the battle site.  He said that there were  confirmed period trenches in some of the yards nearby and that someone he knew had talked about people knocking on his door for permission to go poke around the trenches in their yard to look for Civil War artifacts.  I don't know how to verify if that's what we saw or not but it is intriguing to think about what we might find when we start cleaning up the yard.

The Speed of Life

You know how Grandma always said to sleep on it and things would look different in the morning?  I think she may have been on to something...  Life moves fast!!

3 days ago, the folks renting/buying my house in Salt Lake City asked if we could change the closing date from end of May to mid March.  It was a welcome surprise!  But it sure did put us into a frenzy of suddenly changed priorities...

After a very short search, Derek and I put a cash offer in on a little fixer upper house in Dallas, GA today.  And it was accepted within an hour's time.  So, as long as the inspections go well, we'll be moving into this home about a month from today.

As I said, it's a fixer but what it needs is cosmetic changes and updates to make a 1970's style house comfortable and functional for life in this century.  These are all things we are capable of doing and looking forward to being able to customize everything, inside and out, to suit our tastes.

Here's how the back of the house looks.  We'll be adding a deck out of those sliders.  There's no good vision of the yard formed quite yet, but with just over 1/2 acre to work with there's plenty of space to add a couple of fruit trees and some garden space for me and to designate an area just for the dogs using an underground electronic fencing system.  Derek also wants to frame in the carport and add an extra bay to the side for a real garage.

This view may be one of my favorite things about this particular house...

If you stand by the sliding glass door and look out over the backyard, you look right into these woods. A little strategic planting of bushes and shrubs and the 2 visible neighboring houses will just disappear...

Perfect mix of city convenience and country living!

Moving inside, the kitchen is the site most in need of attention.  Of course, it's always the kitchen!  Here's how it exists today:

We asked for the renovations the seller was doing prior to sale to STOP so that we could get the appliances we want without the guilt of ripping out brand new ones.  For now, we'll be keeping the cabinets and just refreshing them with a coat of paint and some new knobs and drawer pulls.  I'd also like to put in a mosaic tile backsplash along the wall behind the sink (and the one you can't see in this picture).  And painting the walls is definitely needful.  I'm thinking something bright and fresh like a light shade of lime green...  but I guess Derek should get some input into that plan when we go to get paint swatches so that's not a final decision.

Yet.

But I'm pretty good at getting my way.

Down a few steps there's a small bedroom that we're planning on dedicating as my space.  I get to create the office/hobby/craft room of my dreams.  I wish you could see the smile on my face as I'm rubbing my hands together in anticipation!

There's also a pretty generous laundry room and a nicely-sized living/family room with a deep stone fireplace.  This is a fantastic room for our giant TV and big brown sectional sofa and there's still plenty of room to store games and movies.  Derek has visions of a man cave and I don't really have any objections.

Except to the bright red walls and black trim he wants as homage to the UGA Bulldogs.

He's a devoted University of Georgia football fan.

Really... UGA football is a big deal.

Big.

Huge!

Maybe I can sell him on the idea of leaving the fireplace wall and the one leading up to the laundry room a neutral color and hanging framed posters there because those walls are mostly visible from the rest of the house?  I can try anyway...

If, instead, you go up a few steps there are 2 decent-sized bedrooms with a 4-piece hall bath and a master with en-suite.   Updating the bathrooms will be another high priority as these are original to when the house was built.  It's all functional and in pretty good condition just very dated.  The hall bath is tan - toilet, tub, sink and shower tiles are all the same shade of tan.  And the master is decked out in that avocado green that's iconic to the 70's.

Wonder if there's a market to sell these vintage fixtures if we remove them carefully?

Even pennies count right now.  We can swing the purchase price.  Just barely.  But it doesn't leave much for the things you always need moving in to a new place.

Like utility hook ups.  And dishes.  And silverware.  And bath towels.

And... that whole endless list of stuff.