CAG home owner topic. Buying or selling a home? Have a maintance issue? Help is here!

[quote name='javeryh']Damn. My MDX cost more than your house. I am so jealous. We are putting an addition on our house right now (adding a 15'x20' room - three stories) that will cost approximately 4X your house (and it's not like we're going all out or anything either). I am an idiot... although I love where I live (nice downtown for shopping, good schools, NYC is super close, etc.) but still...[/QUOTE]

What town or county do you live in? I feel like the way you're describing where you live that we are in the same city.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Thing is Rossford is all of 5 to 10 mins down the road, that means its not any safer [/QUOTE]

FYI, that's not necessarily the case. I study crime--including some stuff on hot spots of crime etc.

They're can be HUGE differences in crime rates in areas even a couple blocks away from each other. Much less a 5 to 10 minute drive.

That's the case because even in the "bad" parts of a city, it's usually block here, or a corner there, or problem apt. complex etc. generating a lot of the calls to the police.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']FYI, that's not necessarily the case. I study crime--including some stuff on hot spots of crime etc.

They're can be HUGE differences in crime rates in areas even a couple blocks away from each other. Much less a 5 to 10 minute drive.

That's the case because even in the "bad" parts of a city, it's usually block here, or a corner there, or problem apt. complex etc. generating a lot of the calls to the police.[/QUOTE]

I have been told the same thing by police officers in my state. Normally, criminals are creatures of habit. They wont go out of an area they normally commit crime. Also it is normally not more than a couple blocks. 5 to 10 minutes away is a lot of area i.e. miles.
 
[quote name='lordopus99']I have been told the same thing by police officers in my state. Normally, criminals are creatures of habit. They wont go out of an area they normally commit crime. Also it is normally not more than a couple blocks. 5 to 10 minutes away is a lot of area i.e. miles.[/QUOTE]

I could see this being true. Thing is even if it is we are not in that area, you look outside and there are kids running around playing and no crime what so ever. 10-15 minutes down the road you get in to robbery/crime area and 10-15 mins further you get in to the gunshot/serious crimes part of town. The area we live is kind of like a big square with us in the middle. On three of the squares four walls you have Oregon, Rossford and Northwood/Perrysburg(they kind of blend)and on the fourth side you have the bad part of Toledo. So we are surrounded by good, but have a smidgen of bad on one of the outskirts.

I know someone from that crap area could come rob/hurt us, but as you said crime usually stays in a familiar area and I would imagine if they were going to go outside their familar turf it would not be to break in to the lower middle class homes when just a few minutes down the road you have upper middle class and super rich(talking multi millions).
 
[quote name='lordopus99']I have been told the same thing by police officers in my state. Normally, criminals are creatures of habit. They wont go out of an area they normally commit crime. Also it is normally not more than a couple blocks. 5 to 10 minutes away is a lot of area i.e. miles.[/QUOTE]

no just that, but stupid things like gas prices and escape routes. i live on a street with only 2 ways in and out. if cops block both ends, youre stuck.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']/nod its a two way street. When we first said we were buying a house in the area we were people we know were like "why not live in Rossford its so much nicer!!! Your resale value is so small there". Thing is Rossford is all of 5 to 10 mins down the road, that means its not any safer nor does it have better access to events or stores, this part of Toledo and Rossford are essentially the same. Only difference is that Rossford as a whole draws more rich people and property taxes are insane there. So by living 10 mins down the road we got a house for $40,000 that would have cost us $100,000+ there AND we would have paid more taxes. The resale value argument has never made sense to me either because yes we are going to only get $30-$50k if we sell our house....but we only paid that much for it! Meanwhile if you buy a house with a high value and prices go down you get bit much harder on resale.[/QUOTE]

resale value matters since prices go up as a percentage, so the more house you buy, the more cash you would end up with if things boom. that being said, theres no boom coming anytime soon.

when my folks bought a house for 80k, my buddy's parents bought one across town for 250k. their respective prices now are 700k and 1.8mil. who came out better? my parents got a higher percentage, but took home almost a million dollars less.
 
Magus, Lower the temp a few more degrees and you can eliminate the need for a refrigerator and save a few more bucks in electricity. Hell you could rent out a room for use as a meat locker.
 
Whole House Humidifiers
Anybody have one? I apparently do, but it's not hooked up at the moment and I really want to do this soon. I've figured out how it works and what not, now I just need to figure out where to put the transformer in terms of powering the unit and I'm ready to test it. I contacted the last owner and he apparently never used the thing so it hasn't been hooked up for at least a decade. I'm now debating playing with electricity or getting a new one installed entirely.
 
$100 a month is pretty decent although you have the heat set really low, you can always install more insulation in the attic but that comes with it's own cost and issues.
 
[quote name='V3rtigo']resale value matters since prices go up as a percentage, so the more house you buy, the more cash you would end up with if things boom. that being said, theres no boom coming anytime soon.

when my folks bought a house for 80k, my buddy's parents bought one across town for 250k. their respective prices now are 700k and 1.8mil. who came out better? my parents got a higher percentage, but took home almost a million dollars less.[/QUOTE]

This is also true when house prices plummet by percentages.;)
 
[quote name='javeryh']I can't believe you have a $400 mortgage. I am seriously living in the wrong part of the country.[/QUOTE]

Welcome to Toledo, Ohio. The only problem is you have to live there.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Welcome to Toledo, Ohio. The only problem is you have to live there.[/QUOTE]

Toledo really aint that bad. Its got nice parts and bad parts. If you live on most of the West or South end then yeah your in trouble, but the east side is hit or miss and north side aint bad. As I said in a previous post the part of the East side that I am in is closer to most of Northwood, Oregon and Rossford then Toledo.
 
[quote name='nasum']if I had a $400 mortgage I'd have paid my house off already... This $1,800 shit is for the birds.[/QUOTE]

Heh well as I said before we are not paying the $400 and instead around $800. We plan to have the house paid off in 6 years vs 15 that way. $1800 is just crazy too....I think if you take the $800 we put towards our mortgage and then add all of our other bills AND gas money AND food we dont spend $1,800 a month!
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Toledo really aint that bad. Its got nice parts and bad parts. If you live on most of the West or South end then yeah your in trouble, but the east side is hit or miss and north side aint bad. As I said in a previous post the part of the East side that I am in is closer to most of Northwood, Oregon and Rossford then Toledo.[/QUOTE]

I'm just breaking your balls... mainly because you are a good sport about it.


[quote name='MSI Magus']Heh well as I said before we are not paying the $400 and instead around $800. We plan to have the house paid off in 6 years vs 15 that way. $1800 is just crazy too....I think if you take the $800 we put towards our mortgage and then add all of our other bills AND gas money AND food we dont spend $1,800 a month![/QUOTE]

Excellent idea to pay off extra every month. That's exactly what I plan to do whenever we get a house. My parents did that as well; I don't believe they paid double each month, but just a little extra had the mortgage paid off in 11 years instead of 15.

My husband and I have the money for a big down payment, we just aren't sure where to settle down, so we are sticking with an apartment for now.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']I'm just breaking your balls... mainly because you are a good sport about it.




Excellent idea to pay off extra every month. That's exactly what I plan to do whenever we get a house. My parents did that as well; I don't believe they paid double each month, but just a little extra had the mortgage paid off in 11 years instead of 15.

My husband and I have the money for a big down payment, we just aren't sure where to settle down, so we are sticking with an apartment for now.[/QUOTE]

Heh well understandable on the breaking balls thing. Living in Toledo aint exactly something to be proud of! Was just making sure you did not seem to think all of Toledo is a shit hole like so many other people. Most of the city is run down, but it has its nice parts too.

The reason we are going for the 6 year pay off instead of something like 10 or 11 is because it seemed like the most bang for the buck. If you paid it off much faster then 6 years you hardly saved anything, but if you waited to 10+ years the interest you paid was quite high. 6 years was the amount where doing the math we were saving $1,000s of dollars worth of interest, but still getting a good return on what we were putting in.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Heh well understandable on the breaking balls thing. Living in Toledo aint exactly something to be proud of! Was just making sure you did not seem to think all of Toledo is a shit hole like so many other people. Most of the city is run down, but it has its nice parts too.

The reason we are going for the 6 year pay off instead of something like 10 or 11 is because it seemed like the most bang for the buck. If you paid it off much faster then 6 years you hardly saved anything, but if you waited to 10+ years the interest you paid was quite high. 6 years was the amount where doing the math we were saving $1,000s of dollars worth of interest, but still getting a good return on what we were putting in.[/QUOTE]

Make sure all of your credit cards and any other non-0% interest financing is paid off before starting in on your mortage. Mortgage insurance is tax deductible while finance / credit card insurance is not. Sounds like you have a good plan, but I figured I would throw my two cents in. If you are financing a car, you may want to pay that off then double or triple up on your mortgage.
 
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[quote name='Stryffe2004']Make sure all of your credit cards and any other non-0% interest financing is paid off before starting in on your mortage. Mortgage insurance is tax deductible while finance / credit card insurance is not. Sounds like you have a good plan, but I figured I would throw my two cents in. If you are financing a car, you may want to pay that off then double or triple up on your mortgage.[/QUOTE]

We have no credit card debt and paid our car off ahead of schedule years ago. It was actually pretty annoying when going to get a loan and hearing we were not an ideal borrower because we paid things off early. So fucking stupid that we reward people for being irresponsible and penalize them for being savers/paying off early.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']We have no credit card debt and paid our car off ahead of schedule years ago. It was actually pretty annoying when going to get a loan and hearing we were not an ideal borrower because we paid things off early. So fucking stupid that we reward people for being irresponsible and penalize them for being savers/paying off early.[/QUOTE]

Indeed. It is like living on bizarro world. And good on you for being responsible.
 
It sucks, but it's no bizarre when you think about the motive. Banks are out to make money by lending. They make the most money off people who make minimum payments and thus pay the max amount of interest possible on the loan.

People who pay off early are better than those who default, file for bankruptzy etc. by a long shot. But those who just pay the minimum payments are the ideal borrowers from the bank's standpoint.
 
Awesome thread. I used to have an apt. in Perrysburg when I worked in Toledo. We moved to Fort Wayne and I bought a house there. After two years of ownership, I have had some fun home ownership problems. I would just like to caution you. I have had two water lines freeze and I keep my house at 66 in the winter. They both came when the lows were like -10 and the high temp is 0. I know you like to save money, but I wouldn't even go as low as you on the heating. Both water lines that froze for me went through (I believe) the outside wall. You may get by fine when the temps in the teens/twenties, but when it gets brutally cold/windy you might be opening yourself up to the chance your lines could freeze.
 
[quote name='smallsharkbigbite']Awesome thread. I used to have an apt. in Perrysburg when I worked in Toledo. We moved to Fort Wayne and I bought a house there. After two years of ownership, I have had some fun home ownership problems. I would just like to caution you. I have had two water lines freeze and I keep my house at 66 in the winter. They both came when the lows were like -10 and the high temp is 0. I know you like to save money, but I wouldn't even go as low as you on the heating. Both water lines that froze for me went through (I believe) the outside wall. You may get by fine when the temps in the teens/twenties, but when it gets brutally cold/windy you might be opening yourself up to the chance your lines could freeze.[/QUOTE]

Two things. First off if they ran on the outside wall I imagine turning the heat up would do no good since they are still exposed to the elements and not the heat of your house, correct? Second how much did it cost you?
 
^^^If you have a water line that goes outside, you should have a valve to turn it off during the winter. If you don't you may want to get one installed rather than dealing with a sprayed / flooded basement (if you have one).
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Two things. First off if they ran on the outside wall I imagine turning the heat up would do no good since they are still exposed to the elements and not the heat of your house, correct? Second how much did it cost you?[/QUOTE]

They were within an external wall. I didn't pull apart the drywall and see how well they were insulated. It's kind of like if your thermastat for the heater is in the center of the house, it's 55 there, 50 in the center of your living area, 45 right against the external wall, and 35 within the external wall before you finally hit the outside plywood and siding which is going to be the outside temp. So I wouldn't say they were exposed to the elements, but they should have been (didn't confirm) right before the insulation which holds the heat of the house from the cold.

I have a newer home which uses a hard plastic rather than copper which your home probably uses. I don't know if it's because of that or if I'm just lucky (probably a little bit of each) but my lines didn't actually break. I just set up a space heater and within half a day the water was running again. So about $5 in electricity, but I am definately lucky.
 
It’s equally important to make sure the house is secure at all times. Make sure all installations are secure and there is no wear and tear in locks, bolts, wiring or plumbing. Burglar-proof your home by trying to gain access to your home like a burglar…That’s what I do. Read this:hartfordauto.thehartford.com/Safe-Driving/Home-Safety/protect-your-home.shtml
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']We have no credit card debt and paid our car off ahead of schedule years ago. It was actually pretty annoying when going to get a loan and hearing we were not an ideal borrower because we paid things off early. So fucking stupid that we reward people for being irresponsible and penalize them for being savers/paying off early.[/QUOTE]

Technically your breaking the contract by paying up early.
 
We have dead bolts on all the doors and keep the windows locked as well. I will check out the link you posted though. I think I will also since this has been bumped change the topic title to reflect not just my issues but a place for anyone to post questions related to home ownership and or upkeep.
 
[quote name='matthewriley']It’s equally important to make sure the house is secure at all times. Make sure all installations are secure and there is no wear and tear in locks, bolts, wiring or plumbing. Burglar-proof your home by trying to gain access to your home like a burglar…That’s what I do. Read this:hartfordauto.thehartford.com/Safe-Driving/Home-Safety/protect-your-home.shtml[/QUOTE]

Or just don't buy a house in the 'hood.

I'm probably going to be buying a house in the next year or so. I'm holding off for a year, because prices will probably continue to drop.

I've heard horror stories about Relators who don't know what they're doing, and surprise costs popping up like furnaces that don't work as they should/etc. anybody have problems with stuff like that? Should that be something to worry about?

How much do people pay for taxes each year? I've looked at stuff in MN where taxes are 1800-2400/year. I'm only planning on getting an 800-1100 sq. ft. house.
 
[quote name='2DMention']Or just don't buy a house in the 'hood.

I'm probably going to be buying a house in the next year or so. I'm holding off for a year, because prices will probably continue to drop.

I've heard horror stories about Relators who don't know what they're doing, and surprise costs popping up like furnaces that don't work as they should/etc. anybody have problems with stuff like that? Should that be something to worry about?

How much do people pay for taxes each year? I've looked at stuff in MN where taxes are 1800-2400/year. I'm only planning on getting an 800-1100 sq. ft. house.[/QUOTE]

Two things.

Holding out too long is going to affect you as mortgage rates continue to climb. You'll be hard pressed to get a 4% loan anymore unless you're doing a 15 year. What you might gain in a home dropping in price, you're going to lose in buying power when you finance.

Taxes are going to completely depend on your area, size of home, mil rate, etc. Mine run about 1600 or so.
 
[quote name='Nasum']if I had a $400 mortgage I'd have paid my house off already... This $1,800 shit is for the birds.[/quote]

Holy christ! That must be a ballin' house or a big house! And you're in MN, right?
 
Ok so our drain had been going kind of slow anyways, but then tonight we got a new dog and he REALLY clogged the drains up. He is a Newfoundland golden retriever mix meaning he has LOTS of hair that came off in the drain. At our old apartment we used something called like a zip line or some such thing that you put down the drain and gave a few up and down thrusts and it pulled gunk out, but at our new place the pipe drains sideways and it is really not working well. We have poured a little bleach down which seems to make a small difference, but not nearly enough.

We plan on going and getting/trying some liquid plumber, but outside that I am out of ideas. What do you guys do to both get gunked up drains ungunked, but also to keep them from getting that way in the first place.

Thanks as always!

P.S
Listing for the dog we got for you dog lovers out there!
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/18254950
 
Cute dog but damn he is hairy. :lol:

Liquid plumber helps with gunk buildup, not with hair. You'll just need to pull the hair out of the drain once and a while.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Cute dog but damn he is hairy. :lol:

Liquid plumber helps with gunk buildup, not with hair. You'll just need to pull the hair out of the drain once and a while.[/QUOTE]

Heh yeah after giving him a bath I was petting him when he was still a bit wet and when I stopped...Christ you would think I had just fingered a yeti!

As for the drain, well yes we need to pull hair out of it....but how? We always try and let it drain slow and use a comb to sift out hair, and really we do not give the dogs baths up there anymore because of the drain situation(tonight was an emergency). That said, our zip cord thing really aint doing the trick and its not like I can put my hand down there!
 
I asked my husband because he does it. He shoves an allen wrench and/or a screwdriver in there and then uses pliers to grab the hair. So basically just brute force, nothing fancy.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']I asked my husband because he does it. He shoves an allen wrench and/or a screwdriver in there and then uses pliers to grab the hair. So basically just brute force, nothing fancy.[/QUOTE]

Problem is again our pipe goes down about half an inch and then turns at pretty much a 90 degree angle. It makes it very hard to get anything straight down in there.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Problem is again our pipe goes down about half an inch and then turns at pretty much a 90 degree angle. It makes it very hard to get anything straight down in there.[/QUOTE]

Wire hanger. Bend it like Beckham.
 
Our air circulation fan. (or whatever it's called. some fan that's upstairs on a timer that comes on to remove moisture ? from the house) has been broken for probably about 6 months now. Keep meaning to call the air guy to fix it, but...

It's not like having it broken is damaging the house. I hope.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']Our air circulation fan. (or whatever it's called. some fan that's upstairs on a timer that comes on to remove moisture ? from the house) has been broken for probably about 6 months now. Keep meaning to call the air guy to fix it, but...

It's not like having it broken is damaging the house. I hope.[/QUOTE]

That's honestly a really easy fix. Those fans go out all the time. Are you handy with anything repair-wise?
 
The little $10 "Magic Snake" they advertised on TV and sell at places like Wal-mart actually work really well. Just a flexible wire with velcro on the end--works really well for getting hair out of drains, goes around the bends pretty well etc.

Clothes hangers work, but these get more hair with the velcro.
 
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[quote name='mtxbass1']That's honestly a really easy fix. Those fans go out all the time. Are you handy with anything repair-wise?[/QUOTE]

Nope. And I dont think it just 'went out' it starting making an even louder noise than usual so we just removed the timer from the wall to disable it.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']The little $10 "Magic Snake" they advertised on TV and sell at places like Wal-mart actually work really well. Just a flexible wire with velcro on the end--works really well for getting hair out of drains, goes around the bends pretty well etc.

Close hangers work, but these get more hair with the velcro.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I will look in to that as well.
 
[quote name='2DMention']Holy christ! That must be a ballin' house or a big house! And you're in MN, right?[/QUOTE]

2,600sqft in St. Louis Park. It's not ostentatious or anything, to me it's pretty average... Then again, I'm overpaying a pretty hefty extra amount each month so I can pay the stupid thing off in 18 years. $1,800 also includes an escrow for insurance/property tax/PMI so the actual mortgage is more realisticaly in the $1,150 area with $400 for escrow and $250 in extra principle payments.

So I put in a furnace humidifier deal from Aprilaire. It's been running on full for a couple of weeks now and I still don't have moisture on the windows. This leads me to believe that something isn't working right, or my house is incredibly dry and the carpet/wood is soaking up so much humidity that it hasn't even had a chance to alter the relative humidity in the house yet.
 
[quote name='nasum']2,600sqft in St. Louis Park. It's not ostentatious or anything, to me it's pretty average... Then again, I'm overpaying a pretty hefty extra amount each month so I can pay the stupid thing off in 18 years. $1,800 also includes an escrow for insurance/property tax/PMI so the actual mortgage is more realisticaly in the $1,150 area with $400 for escrow and $250 in extra principle payments.

So I put in a furnace humidifier deal from Aprilaire. It's been running on full for a couple of weeks now and I still don't have moisture on the windows. This leads me to believe that something isn't working right, or my house is incredibly dry and the carpet/wood is soaking up so much humidity that it hasn't even had a chance to alter the relative humidity in the house yet.[/QUOTE]

$1150 seems low for that big of a house. Do you have a huge family or something?
 
I'd give one of the flexible clean-out tools a try. They also make ones that will attach to the chuck on a drill. I have used a coat hanger before too! We have a clay main line that has been cracked by tree roots and they grow in periodically and clog it. I've since cut the main culprit down(one of about 9000 dogwoods we have in our yard.) I clean the main line once or twice a year with a power auger I picked up at harbor freight tools - for about the price of one plumber visit. If you have any slow draining or backup in the tub or on the floor when you flush your toilet you could have some clogging in the main sewer line. Unless you have a septic tank and that's another story for another day.
 
[quote name='bordjon']I'd give one of the flexible clean-out tools a try. They also make ones that will attach to the chuck on a drill. I have used a coat hanger before too! We have a clay main line that has been cracked by tree roots and they grow in periodically and clog it. I've since cut the main culprit down(one of about 9000 dogwoods we have in our yard.) I clean the main line once or twice a year with a power auger I picked up at harbor freight tools - for about the price of one plumber visit. If you have any slow draining or backup in the tub or on the floor when you flush your toilet you could have some clogging in the main sewer line. Unless you have a septic tank and that's another story for another day.[/QUOTE]

There's a septic at my parent's house and it has frozen on us 4 times in the past 7 years. Pain in the ass.
 
[quote name='2DMention']$1150 seems low for that big of a house. Do you have a huge family or something?[/QUOTE]

My dumbass parents bought a house that size for just the two of them when they moved here, and they have a $160k mortgage. Instead they could have bought a small house or condo and have no mortgage (their previous house was paid off). They are 54 years old. Don't get me started.... :bomb:
 
[quote name='dead of knight']my husband and i have the money for a big down payment, we just aren't sure where to settle down, so we are sticking with an apartment for now.[/quote]

pa
 
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