Is this a typical first home buying experience?
Taliah
7 years ago
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jn3344
7 years agoschnoodlemom
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Buying a first old house
Comments (34)Calliope--the house in the picture is the one we're buying. It was "updated" in the 1980s, but they didn't do too bad a job. They did the electric, plumbing, kitchen and baths, but kept the wood work, clawfoot tub and most of the wood floors. Prior to that, they added on a family room (1960s maybe?). We're not sure if the kitchen wing is newer than the rest--it may well be, but it's hard to tell from the basement as it extends under most of the house (except the family room) and looks to be the same age. I think our big initial projects will be the carriage house roof, big dead trees, and a sorry lack of electrical outlets where we want them. The one that fell through was "lovingly restored"--they kept the period feel and documented the heck out of what they had done. They added a two story addition to the front, and you couldn't tell until you saw the "before" photos. The PO that did the restoration sold at a tidy profit. Unfortunately, the current owners are underwater and weren't willing to lower the price to the appraised value (which was fair based on what I've seen in the area). I can understand not wanting to take a loss, but I'm not sure who they think they'll find willing to buy on their terms in this economy. Today's the day the appraisal is due on the one in the picture. Keep your fingers crossed for us :-D...See MoreGehan Homes Experience (other large builder experiences welcome, too!)
Comments (11)Yeah, no, they don't allow any interior wall moves. If that were the case, we would have jumped *all over* removing those angles and making the rooms more usable!!! :-D And because the toilet has its own door, we're actually taking the bathroom's double doors completely off, to help light bounce around in there (we didn't have a door separating our master bed/bath -- just an arched opening -- in the old house, and we liked it). Oh, and I have to ask the GC/supervisor/whomever if I can flip the hall closet doorway, to swing out into the hall, rather than it hitting the Laundry room door. I had asked the sales person, as well as the design center chick, and they both said I'd have to talk to the super ("just in case it interferes with Code"). Seriously, something so minor as a *door swing* is apparently a big thing. "Code" my rear end. This has been a good experience for me, so far, though. Lots of compromises to humble me. Good character building. ;-) And yeah, PG, we totally jumped the gun and went out to visit an empty lot last weekend, hoping to be on top of progress. Well, we're so on top of it, that we noticed the place had been staked with lot line markers and little flags, lol. This will be our second tract build, so we know a few things. This time, though, I'm gonna get the window manufacturer/make/model info (again, only the Super knows this), so that I can make sure the windows are installed properly. I didn't have any problems in the first house, but we didn't live there long enough to find out, and I don't want to take any chances in rain-heavy central TX....See MoreTypical cleanup cost for single family home build?
Comments (44)I think the costs depend on where you live. We are owner-builder so we are in responsible for the clean up. We've been to the dump with a 22 foot long trailer full of debris twice and it cost $16.00 each trip. It would have been 10X that much when we lived in California. Also, the daily laborer is usually the unskilled worker doing the grunt work like picking up trash, sweeping up, and running errands. $6,500 for a six to seven month job doesn't sound too bad for that. My subs have been doing a pretty good job of picking up after themselves, but I still spend an hour or so after everyone has left picking up whatever is lying about and sweeping up the ever present sawdust . My mantra is "A clean job site is a safe job site" and I remind everyone working on my job of that everyday :-)...See MoreBuying Our First House
Comments (12)I just thought of the line in the movie "Sabrina" when her mentor in Paris says "Illusions are dangerous people, they have no flaws." I think that often we imagine our lives, especially when we are young, and we decorate based on an illusion of how we think we are going to live instead of the way we really live and what we really enjoy. I remember loving the idea of a white on white home, white walls and trim and light, almost white floors, light furnishings and large bold artwork. When I bought my first home it had the light, high gloss tile except for the living room and bedrooms that had light, almost white Berber carpet. I painted the walls and trim bright white and bought light upholstered furniture. It looked great. I also had this image of myself having great social gatherings at my home, having 10 socialites and their husbands sipping cocktails and eating the fabulous hors d'oeuvres I had made. I had 4 dogs, 10 cats, 2 horses, ran a business from my home and had 8 employees coming and going all day long. I enjoy gardening and horse back riding and cooking and baking and painting and arts and crafts. I am an introvert, I don't like parties and I am not good at small talk. I prefer small, casual gatherings with a few close friends. My posse all had keys to my house and came and went like family. I did have larger, social gatherings, as I was a social activist and served on the boards of several charities and often had meetings at my home where we planned on how to change the world. We were much more likely to have hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill than hors d'oeuvres. Decorating my home didn't change who I was, it looked pretty, like it belonged in a magazine, but it wasn't me. My advise is think about who you are and how you live. Look in your closet, or better yet, look at your laundry - what do you wear (illusions make us buy fancy clothes that hang in the back of the closet and are never worn). Do you wear a winter white pants suit or sweats? Do you like bold colors or neutrals? Do you like little delicate patterns or big flowers? Look at your jewelry, do you have a tennis bracelet or a chunky bracelet. Look at the colors and patterns that pull at you and whisper "buy me". What colors that makes your heart sing? What colors look good on you? After my illusion filled decorating attempt, I gained a real interest in studying peoples homes and decorating choices and color palettes. At age 60, most of my friends and family have made their mistakes and landed on what works for them. I have a sister-in-law with that white on white home. Her favorite color is white. She wears white. Her husband was a chemist and laboratory manager and she worked at a nuclear power plant. They are highly organized, no pets, no kids, no shoes in the house kind of people. My other sister-in-law was a stay at home mom, worked in a clothing store before having kids and works at a jewelry store now. Her husband owned a company that represented sporting goods and guns. Lisa has blond hair, blue eyes and has a very comfortable home with classic country oak furnishings. Her colors are cornflower blue and peach and her neutral is cream. My oldest sister was a pediatrician, her husband was a pharmacist. Betty has fair skin, hazel eyes and light brown hair. She picks mid toned neutrals, and transitional furnishings, practical, but mixes it up with soft, mid toned blues and greens and beautiful art. My sister that is just 2 years older than me is my best friend and polar opposite. She has olive toned skin, brown hair, took Arthur Murry dance classes while in college, while I worked at a local ranch as a trail guide when I was in college. She is an power house executive and extreme extrovert - where I get exhausted from people and too much stimulus, she needs people and patterns to feed her energy. Susie's built a Tudor home, filled it with a mix of industrial and Queen Anne antiques. Her home has lots of color and patterns and a few unique, whimsical flairs. She looks amazing in fall colors, and not surprisingly, her home is filled with fall colors (greens and deep oranges and golds). She can seat 30 people in her living room and dining room and often does. She hosts lots of parties and family gatherings. I am a winter, dark hair, dark eyes, very fair skin. I love color, especially purple, wine reds and teals. I am adverse to anything busy. I have an MCM home and MCM furnishings (except for sofa which had to be replaced as fewer and fewer of my friends and family could get up without assistance from the low seat). I bought a new home that was a classic MCM, but needed a lot of TLC and am slowly renovating. It is a bit of a construction zone most of the time, but is being transformed and filled with the colors and things that make my heart sing. I still don't do any kind of formal entertaining, but my neighbors drop by any time and our dogs play together and my closest friends and family all know the combination to the garage and come and go as they please. No need to call first, just drop by. I wish you the best of luck in finding your signature style and colors and hope that your journey brings you great joy. Take your time and enjoy the experience....See Morejlhug
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