What's your deal-breaker?
fleurssauvages
3 years ago
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Window treatments, bedding--deal breakers?
Comments (14)Oh, Jim...is the process driving you to drink too??? I'd love a glass of wine right about now and it's not even 1430!! We've been on the market for a few months now and it's an ongoing, nightmarish process. About your original question...if your bedding and window treatments are really dated or very taste specific, you may want to freshen them up. I just have a solid covered quilt and an off white hobnail chenille blanket on my bed. Found some silk pillows at Target on sale and dress the bed up with those. I did have curtains made, but you don't have to go to alot of expense to change yours out. If you have nice blinds, the windows may be perfectly fine without any fabric treatments. If you really feel you need fabric, just choose solid or tone on tone panels that go with the rest of your decor (the more neutral the better). I have a shabby chic guest room that is taste specific, but the look is still current and done simply that the agents and buyers like it. I do worry about my girls' room sometimes as it is light pink and am still considering painting it a more neutral color. I won't remove their girly pink decor stuff though as we still have to live here and if people can't look past that...well, I can't make everyone happy. Any way at all you can post some photos of your areas of concern? You might find that your bedding/curtains are fine and won't have to bother with the expense of buying new stuff....See Moremineral rights - deal breaker?
Comments (22)Not having mineral rights absolutely WOULD be a deal-breaker for me, if I were buying any amount of land larger than a small building lot. My parents own about 100 acres in northwestern PA, and they recently had to go through their attorney to ensure that their deed declares the surface owner of their property also owns the mineral rights. Natural gas had been mined (collected? drilled? whatever the terminology) there at one point, but nothing has been done in that area for decades... however, with the price of natural gas skyrocketing, re-exploring these areas has apparently become profitable again. What prompted them to re-check their deed was when they got a phone call from a company asking if they knew whether or not they DID have mineral rights, and if they did, would they be willing to "lease" them to said company. (These companies send investigators to county courthouses to pour over local deeds to determine who has mineral rights.) My parents farm their land, and they value their privacy on that land above almost everything else-- needless to say, they would sooner die than have a mining company come and take over their land for "speculating drilling" or whatever they were proposing to do. Rosie is right-- if you DON'T own mineral rights to your property, you can't stop a company coming onto your property to drill and/or excavate. There are regulations that specify how far they can drill near your house, etc., but you can't deny them access to your property. Yes, they have to give you a percentage of compensation for ever unit of natural resources they collect from under your ground, but for many people, you can't put a price tag on that kind of invasion of privacy, not to mention the horrific environmental impact that comes with it. No way would I ever consider buying land on which I didn't own the mineral rights. If you ask me, the OP's prospective buyers are smart cookies for worrying about such things....See MoreLow condo reserves- deal breaker for small building?
Comments (20)While some condo boards hold too much in reserve, having nothing would be a big turn-off for me. Our Maui AOAO has only assessed us once in 15 years -- when every second-story lanai (150 units) needed a pair of 8-foot long planter boxes replaced and re-planted. (This is a shared expense because the plants are a major factor in the overall appearance of the complex.) Our long-range budget shows every aspect with the number of useful years remaining for each thing estimated -- with reserves in place to do the work before anything becomes a problem. Re-roofing, painting, resurfacing, pool and tennis court repairs, etc. are undertaken on schedule. Ours is a 316-unit complex. If one or two owners defaults, it's not a disaster. With a 6-unit building...a single owner's default would be a big expense for the others....See MoreFoundation Deal Breaker?
Comments (24)A structural engineer will have to inspect before purchase, for sure. But c'mon- it's not as though the average homeowner has one on speed dial. :) In my area, they aren't easy to find, and even if you find one on your own, they're hard to hire without either an architect's or a GC's referral. Typically, a SE doesn't really like direct report to a layperson. Even if you find one, that's a lot of money to get a report that may confuse a layperson. Finally, SEs typically have no idea what it costs to fix any of this stuff, as that's not "their end of the business". So getting a residential GC or two out is a smart first step. They'll be able to make at least an educated "probability guess" or two, based on things they've seen before. Give Todd a ball park idea of "how bad is bad", so that he can decide whether or not he wants to pursue the house. If the answer is "yes", again- he can get it under contract-his control- contingent on inspections. That's the time to pay for a structural engineer as well as a general inspection- and to talk with the GC about probable costs for it all....See MoreN Dobos Architecture
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