OCD overload, possibly a touch of the spectrum, anxiety pills for days, someone who counts crumbs…this is my person. I need this person. I’m not making fun of that I’m telling you I really need someone who can look at a 45 year old house and tell me whats up. Oh ya, and they need to be a housing inspector with all the right badges and lights and clipboards.
I’m looking at buying/moving closer to work/makerspace. If this works it will erase an hour of drive time a day. I’m looking at buying a home on my own for the very first time and it makes me pee just a bit thinking about it. Ya, I’ve bought houses before but it’s just wild wonderful me this time. It’s an ugly house. It’s wonderfully ugly. The type of ugly I enjoy working with. (Insert joke about failed relationships)
I can’t recommend Robert highly enough. It’s been a few years, but when he did our latest pre-purchase inspection (something I haven’t done in the last 3, but this one was special), he attacked it like a Blue Heeler herds. His tongue didn’t quite lol out of his mouth, but he was virtually rabid otherwise, as well as detailed, accurate, fast, and, for the service I was requesting, inexpensive. He appeared to do it for the shear joy of doing it. http://reyesinspections.com/
I know this isn’t the kind of advice you need (because I have no names), but when you interview some of these people make sure they are going to use a moisture meter when they inspect any potential homes. Water damage inside walls and the potential for latent mold problems, is insidious and not visible without the proper sensors.
Honestly, with house prices possibly at or nearing their highs, I’d think twice about buying. Renting a house or apartment, even for a while, has several advantages, including allowing you to get familiar with a specific area, relieving time pressure as to synchronizing move-out/move-in, and similarly allowing you to even move now and rent your current house out for some extra income or to defray your rent for temp apartment. Of course there are disadvantages in there as well. Pros and cons in a decision like this are highly specific and personal to an individual and their situation, of course. I just thought it should be pointed out as a consideration.
Tizzy is relaxed for now. Little nugget of a starter home has gone for OVER asking over the weekend.
Thats right OVER $200K for a 40 year old starter home in Lewisville.
I’m not even talking a
“ahhhh this is really nice” starter home
I’m talking about a
“After Franczvai hits with a hammer a few hundred times this will be awesome” house that will eventually be a home.
Now is certainly not the best time to buy, best time to sell but not buy. Houses in my neighborhood are fetching 150 without a blink of an eye. I didn’t want to pay 82 for mine when I bought it 12 years ago. Hell even at that time we were getting out bid.
@uglyknees - I’d like to, if I may, give you another perspective on this.
IMHO purchasing a home in a good area and at any time is always a good idea. Why? Because the purchase price or selling price will always be relative. For instance, so right now they say it’s a sellers market and let’s say you own a home and you get a great price on it, but then where are you going to live? If you are looking to purchase another home you are now on the other end of being a buyer paying more. Vis-a-versa during a buyers market. So therefore, all relative.
What do I say it’s always a good idea? For many reasons, namely it’s an appreciable asset as a opposed to an automobile that is a depreciable asset. There are tax deductions for interest paid. Then there are the intangibles of being able to do with as you wish, etc…
In this metroplex, your home will always go up in value over a long period of time. If we have a recession and values drop let’s say 10% or even more, as long as you don’t sell any losses are not real.
Therefore, it’s the only way to go for a long term investment but not a short term unless your lucky. What is more important is can you comfortably afford your new home. Do you have enough money to cover when the AC dies or the water heater leaks or the roof needs replacing. If the payments and keeping the property maintained in a way that is not too stressful on you financially, then buy buy buy your dream home or potential dream home once you put your love into it. That personal touch.
Good Luck - hope you find your place you can call home.
Breathe, breathe, you will find what you love, eventually. Homes on our street are snatched up in 2-3 days and there have been very few for sale anyway.
Call Greg Dalton at Dalton Inspection svcs. He’s done all of my rinky dink homes, and he does a number of the McMansions too. Guy has seen it all. Has a list of pro builders that call him in before turning a house over to clients to do the final “punch down” list. That’s the guy you want!
He’s accommodated my OCD and inane questions and requests multiple times. And documents the hell out of everything. I can’t say enough about Greg, and I’m sure the rest of his family is right up there with his skills. PM me if you can’t get his info off google. I think he starts at $350. We’ve settled fair discounts when we figured out the house shouldn’t be bought. (Aluminum wire buyers beware!)
We have learned the hard way - housing inspectors usually have ZERO responsibility for what they find and what they miss. “Attic is in great shape” means “there’s a huge bird nest up there, the gable screens are shot. Oh and you have a bunch of purlin braces that are broken or disconnected at one end.” And when we found these things after purchase the inspector’s response was “whoops, you know we can’t find everything- you signed our contract to that effect.”
Bruce W Carr
214 770 6954 has always been good for me and my clients but just give you a warning he can scare you a little and make the house sound like it falling down
Things to look out for
Electrical boxes In bedroom typically mean Federal Pacific panels which are fire hazards and need to be replaced 700-1350 is the price I typically see
If the house has had Foundation repair you typically have 30-90 days to get it transferred so make sure you get the paperwork and usually both parties have to sign it so make sure to get sign before your close
Your title company will usually lump those forms in with your other closing docs (especially if your realtor and the title company have a good working relationship), or at least, as a seller, that’s how we did it. This is handy because they’re already going to have both parties sit down to sign a bunch of stuff.
