The roof, the roof, the roof is...

... in great condition!

As of this evening, we will be under contract. Out of the contingency stage and officially moving forward with the purchase. Woo-hoo!

I do want to give some more background on "roofgate", since I didn't know the full story when I wrote the previous blog post. Bear with me.

We are buying a house from a young couple that has lived there for only three years. They have to move by April 15, or else he will lose his job. This basically gives them 5 weeks to buy a house and move before our closing. They want to wait to be under contract before putting an offer in on a house.

Since they are in a hurry, they didn't want to delay the contingency any longer. They had just had the roof inspected three years ago and were confident that it is in sound condition.

Unfortunately, we didn't find out until almost 5 pm on Friday that they were not extending, and our inspector could not get to the house until Monday morning. We worried that this wasn't good enough and we would be forced to buy the house without having the roof inspected. Around 7 pm on Friday, we heard that they agreed to extend it until Monday at midnight, giving us enough time to get an inspector there and extra time for the snow to melt off the roof.

I have no clue what we would have done if the snow hadn't melted enough by now. We probably would have lost the house. No need to worry about that anymore, thank goodness!

When you buy a house during the snow storm...

Major Update: We got an extension until Monday at midnight! Our inspector was not able to see the roof on Saturday, but will be there first thing Monday morning to inspect it.

When your offer gets accepted, you have 15 days of contingency to get the house inspected and get the sellers to agree to make repairs. Sometimes, a seller will extend the contingency for an extra inspection or some additional negotiating time. That is not our case, and it might turn into a problem.

As I mentioned in Inspection- Part 1, our inspector was not able to check the roof of our house because it was covered with two-feet of snow. Unfortunately, although the sellers agreed to fix all of the issues found during the inspection, save for replacing the interior door from the kitchen to the garage (we were reaching with that one), they did not agree to extend the contingency period. This means that we don't have additional time to have an inspector check the roof. We have to decide by tomorrow whether to take the house without a proper roof inspection.

what our house looks like now

Yes, the roof is only 10 years old.

Yes, the inspector found no evidence of roof damage when he inspected it from the inside.

Yes, the sellers will fix any issues that arise from the snowmageddon snows.

Yes, our REA thinks the roof looks great.

But, can we really buy a house without having a professional give us the thumbs up?

Unfortunately we only have 12 hours to make that decision.

The Inspection- Part 2

This morning, our REA met a chimney inspector at the house to see what the damage was to the chimney. I was nervous thinking it would be upwards of $2,000 and end up being a deal-breaker. After just 15 minutes of looking at the fireplace, the chimney sweep determined that all the fireplace and chimney needed was a good cleaning and some mortar repointing. Total cost: $285. W00T!

We decided we are asking the sellers to:
-Make the repairs to the chimney & fireplace
-Have a plumber check the small gas leak (this was in the inspection report but was not mentioned to us during the inspection)
-Have a plumber replace the flexible copper gas line to the dryer
-Have a plumber check and reseal the bathtub fixtures
-Replace the door to the garage with a fire-rater door
-Have an HVAC repairman check the issues with the furnace (this should still be under warranty)

Our REA thinks these repairs will cost the sellers about $750-800 total. Not too bad!

Now lets hope the snow melts and allows our inspector to go back to look at the roof. And that, when the snow melts, it doesn't cause any leaks or cracks.

The Inspection - Part 1

This past Saturday was our home inspection. We woke up bright and early and headed out of our still-not-plowed street with our last shred of courage. Worst case scenarios danced in our heads as we pulled in to the flat and snow-cleared street (yay suburbs!).

We arrived late, as has become the norm when E & I travel together, and missed the pest inspector. Thankfully, he gave the house a thumbs up. No evidence or damage from pests. We were in the clear!

Basement

We headed to the basement to meet our inspector, Brian, and get the low-down of the electric, water heater, furnace and laundry area. Everything in the basement looked good. There was a tiny bit of dampness on the far corner of the basement, which Brian said would not be a problem at all when finishing the basement.

There was also a cubby hidden by a wood panel that was created by a basement window that got covered with the first-floor addition. Did that make sense? The owners had a piece of cardboard lining it. Brian recommended that we replace that cardboard with blue board, which is mold resistant.

There was a water stain inside the furnace, which Brian said was a small concern. It meant that the seal on the pump was not perfect, but it could be easily fixed by resealing it. He also mentioned that the gas pipe for the dryer was installed incorrectly with a flexible copper pipe. This type of gas line is not up to code, so it needs to be replaced with hard piping with a flexible extension.

First Floor

We then headed to the first floor and the garage. Brian noticed that the door leading to the garage is a hollow interior door, rather than a fire-grade door. To be up to code (and get an occupancy permit) the door needs to be replaced. There was a bit of water damage in the outside wall of the garage, which he was not concerned about. He also mentioned that the siding around the doors to the yard need to be sealed a little better to prevent water damage.

In the living room, Brian found that the fireplace had some mortar that was cracked or missing. He explained that if it is cracked all the way through, we can have hot ambers leak into the frame of our house and catch it on fire. Scary! He suggested we have the chimney cleaned and inspected by a professional who can let us know the condition of the fireplace. This, to us, was kind of a bigger issue. We'll have to see the full report from the inspector to see what he recommends.

Second Floor

Up in the second floor, we took a look at the bedrooms, attic, closets and bathroom. Brian found that two of the power outlets in the master bedroom were not grounded, but were perfectly safe for two-pronged power cables. He also found that some of the bathtub fixtures were a bit leaky and needed to be resealed, while the sink had a slow drain that could use some Drano.

Outside

Snowmageddon made it impossible to take a good look at the driveway and walkways, and cause Brian to be unable to inspect the roof. He did assure us that he had not seen anything inside that would indicate roof damage, and the roof is just 10 years old, but he plans to come back to inspect the roof and walkways once the snow has melted.

Brian took a look at all the windows, which are new; the AC, which is also new; and the outside of the house. He noticed a small crack in the brick facade, which is non-threatening, but he did recommend that we get it resealed to prevent water from finding its way to the inside of the house.

Overall

Overall, we thought it went pretty well. We expect the sellers to be relatively reasonable about making all of the small fixes. Most just require some caulk and some sealing. We hope that the new door leading to the garage will not be an issue, or that we at least will get an allowance to fix it.

Our only big concern is the fireplace and chimney. Do we go ahead and pay for a chimney inspection? Will the sellers even agree to fix any issues with it? Will the sellers at least agree to have it cleaned?

E and I are willing to find a middle ground with the chimney, but we just hope the sellers are willing to cover the smaller fixes as well.

House #28: The One (Part 2)

Here are the details on the house. Soon to be our house (fingers crossed).

Location: South Park

Stats: Colonial, two-story, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1st floor FR, 1/4 acre

Pros: Nice size, good bedroom sizes, new bathroom, first floor family room, clean dry basement, long wide driveway, garage, large flat yard, next to South Park, flat road, quiet street, hardwood floors, new windows, new furnace, new HWT, updated roof and electric.

Cons: Only one bathroom, does not come with a stove.

This house is great! The layout is nice and open with large rooms and big windows. Everything is in good condition with no updates needed to move in. The house has plenty of room for us to expand, but it is exactly what we need now. We could not do any improvements for 5 years and still have plenty of house to go around.

The location is ideal: a quiet street close to main roads and next to a park. Since our street sits accross from a park, the area will likely never turn into a commercial artery or a run-down neighborhood. Plus, it is a dead-end street in what was originally built as a custom-home plan (in the 50's). The schools are all relatively new and in a fantastic school district. We can't wait to have little ones to send to the schools.

Verdict: Love it!

Major conclusion: We found it!

I think all along we were looking for a house that did not need major cosmetic updates (like The Ranch did) but that had potential for an addition or for building extra space (like The Colonial). We are excited to add square-footage to the home by finishing the basement or expanding the addition in the next few years. We plan to add a bathroom to the first floor, and possibly a powder room in the basement, eventually moving E's home office down from the third bedroom.

Shortly after moving we want to add some extra cabinets to the kitchen, maybe even creating a breakfast bar in there; and we want to add a small patio to the back yard using some paving stones. Eventually we will build a large deck after we decide the fate of the addition.

Let's hope the inspection goes well this weekend, that the appraisal goes as planned, and that we don't have any snags with the loan process. Fingers crossed that it is all smooth sailing. Thank goodness we made it before we hit 30 houses!

House #28

Sorry I have not posted this, but it all happened really fast and we were scared it wasn't actually real. Or that we would jinx ourselves. We are still scared we'll jinx it, but we are too excited to hold the news in any longer.

We bought a house!

E and I went to see a house last Tuesday. We knew it had potential. It was the right price, with the right size yard, everything we wanted, and in one of our top neighborhoods. We didn't want to wait until the weekend to see it (good thing too because of the snow!) and, since it was the only good house on our listings, we figured it would free up our weekend to see it during the week.


We arrived at 4:30 pm on a Tuesday after a relatively easy drive. E was in a good mood, which usually helps things, and I was excited knowing the house had potential. We spent about 30 minutes in the house and talked about all the pros, and a few of the (oh so insignificant) cons. As soon as we got in the car, E turned to me and said:

"We should put in an offer. How much?"

THUD. He is usually gun-shy and methodical. Needing to think things through for a while. He was so sure of this. It amazed me.

On the way home we chatted about the neighborhood. How much we liked it, how the schools were new and the streets flat, how we loved that the house was right next to a park and in a quiet street. By the time we hit the next street light, we were texting our REA to put in an offer. And we knew we had to move fast.

That evening, after discussing the price we were offering, we signed the papers for our first offer. The offer was presented the next day, and we waited an excruciating 24 hours to hear a response.

We got a counter. It was only $500 over our original offer, but required us to put more money towards closing costs. It was a difficult decision, deciding how much of our savings we were willing to part with at closing, but we knew we had to do it. We accepted the counter offer and have never been so sure of something in our lives. Well, other than when we got married.

The closing is set for March 31st, and we will take all of April to move in. The inspection is this weekend, then we have to go through the loan process and appraisal before we can pop the champagne. But for now, we got ourselves a house!

(House stats coming in Part 2)

In the City...

Have you heard of snowpocalipse? Snowmageddon?

It happened. It is real. And it is in Pittsburgh (among other places). The whole region was paralyzed for two days. However, if you happen to live in the city of Pittsburgh, you have been stuck at home for about 4 days.

For some reason, the city has done a terrible job with plowing and clearing roads, even some of the major ones. However in the suburbs, the snow removal has been a lot more reliable, allowing people to actually drive to work, the grocery store, etc.

It also doesn't help that we live on a hilly neighborhood. With cobblestone roads. With street parking (not anymore!).

E & I were stuck at home on Monday and I finally dug my way out on Tuesday (OK, so E was the one that shoveled. I tried, but I had no clue how to do it.). The roads are still terrible and more snow is coming. Six to ten inches more by Wednesday!

I have a feeling there will be piles of snow on our street until April. They'll be there until May if the city doesn't pick up the snow removal soon!

Competition

Another one gone. We took a long (over an hour!) look at The Ranch on Saturday. We talked about putting in an offer with our REA. We didn't even get to put the offer in to find out it was going to be too low. Our REA called the seller's agent and found that the house already had an offer that we couldn't beat. Even worse, the sellers were balking at that offer for being too low.

After a long talk with our REA, we realized that with the low inventory and the extra buyers trying to get the $8K it is not really a buyer's market anymore, and there are few deals to be had. New buyers keep creeping out of the woodwork, but there are no new listings out there.

E & I talked and figured that we were probably setting our expectations a little too high. Every house we have liked has been some sort of compromise for our "wants", and it still has sold. We decided to set our sights on this being our first home, and not necessarily our forever home. Below are the new criteria.

-Good school district. We want our children to be able to be in the same school district from Elementary to High School. Moving to one of our desired districts now will allow for that, even if we move houses.

-Good yard. We definitely want at least 1/4 acre, preferably flat. It makes a house feel more private, spacious and quiet.

-Space for an office. E needs a dedicated office area, whether that is in the basement or in an extra bedroom does not matter.

-Room to grow. We want to have the option to expand the living space in a house, whether it is adding a Family Room or finishing a Basement. We may never ever do this, but we want the option to do it.

-Newer furnace and A/C. Or at least some newer windows.

-All bedrooms on the same level.

There are other things we will look at, but overall we are going to be a bit more realistic about what is available in our price range. Maybe the market will pick up soon, but it still seems like there will be more buyers than sellers out there in the near future.

Who knows? Maybe with our new, less strict, criteria we will find a perfect house with a cute nickname.