For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

[Burns11]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Ouch. I've had two pinhole leaks, but luckily I have a basement so they were easy enough to fix. I also caught them early, one in the wall upstairs luckily dripped in a noticeable spot in the basement, the one in the basement I actually saw open up. I noticed a spot of green on the pipe and went to look at it, touched it, and it sprayed me in the face.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Officially starting the process next week. Called a lender to ask about everything I need to take care of to go about getting qualified. SC has a program for teachers/nurses/police officers/etc that gives a 4% fixed interest rate and $5000 - 7000 in down payment assistance. Last year it started in April and the $7.7 million in funds were gone by mid-July. So I have roughly 2 months...

What would be the pros and cons of a townhouse (only considering end units) vs. a single family home? Definitely not trying to get anything that will have me living paycheck to paycheck. I've still got to go back to school for an online masters program (another $10K)

[Phobia]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I'd say biggest issues with townhouses is living directly next to someone which you could possibly hear everything through walls like dogs barking, kids crying, parents fighting, parties, etc. Other possible issues are more based on the location of the TH, how is the parking situation, how much storage space is available, and how big is the yard. Now these are not all complaints for everyone. For instance I need a big yard, storing kayaks, shed for storing lawn mowers, shop for all my tools, etc. some people want a tiny yard for faster easier yard duties.

Just focus on your needs and which place best supply those. Only you will know which place will work best for you.


Sent from da lil phone.

[dales]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Officially starting the process next week. Called a lender to ask about everything I need to take care of to go about getting qualified. SC has a program for teachers/nurses/police officers/etc that gives a 4% fixed interest rate and $5000 - 7000 in down payment assistance. Last year it started in April and the $7.7 million in funds were gone by mid-July. So I have roughly 2 months...

What would be the pros and cons of a townhouse (only considering end units) vs. a single family home? Definitely not trying to get anything that will have me living paycheck to paycheck. I've still got to go back to school for an online masters program (another $10K)

As Phobia stated, townhouses and condos don't give you the privacy of a single family detached. You have to pay HOA dues, too. But you can get more amenities for a lower price than you'd pay for a single family.

And I don't know what the housing market is like in SC but here in the Boston area, you need to be pre-approved for a mortgage if you want to be taken seriously while making an offer. It's different than pre-qualification as a lender will actually look at your credit and financial situation and determine if and what you can afford. It's not necessary to be pre-approved for a mortgage while looking but in my housing market, it's needed so buyers know you can get financing.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

As Phobia stated, townhouses and condos don't give you the privacy of a single family detached. You have to pay HOA dues, too. But you can get more amenities for a lower price than you'd pay for a single family.

And I don't know what the housing market is like in SC but here in the Boston area, you need to be pre-approved for a mortgage if you want to be taken seriously while making an offer. It's different than pre-qualification as a lender will actually look at your credit and financial situation and determine if and what you can afford. It's not necessary to be pre-approved for a mortgage while looking but in my housing market, it's needed so buyers know you can get financing.

Thanks to you and phobia for the info.

I have a meeting with the lender next Friday to go about getting pre-approved. She gave me a list of items to secure before then: tax forms, work pay stubs, SS card, etc

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Thanks to you and phobia for the info.

I have a meeting with the lender next Friday to go about getting pre-approved. She gave me a list of items to secure before then: tax forms, work pay stubs, SS card, etc

Trust me, have it all ready. Beat them to the punch and the process will be that much more simple.

Many people have issues with the loans even after getting offers accepted because the loans can't back them up in the end. They're going to ask you for alot of this stuff again towards the end of the process so scan and keep electronic copies of everything. If you don't have tax return forms from previous years call the IRS now to get them.

[NDAlum]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Anybody else just hate yard work? If there's ever a money pit of a house...it's the yard. This is from my experience and yes it's mainly my fault because I don't keep up with maintenance the way I should to have a nicely groomed lawn.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Man I pay a gardener. I still have to water occasionally but other than that I don't have to deal with it.

Galaxy Note 2

[LowerWolf]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I'm good mowing the yard. Any other yard work I despise.

Water is still off at my house. It will next week before the adjuster can come out. I love my parents but I'm going to lose my mind staying with them until I can turn the water back on.

[Burns11]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Trust me, have it all ready. Beat them to the punch and the process will be that much more simple.

Many people have issues with the loans even after getting offers accepted because the loans can't back them up in the end. They're going to ask you for alot of this stuff again towards the end of the process so scan and keep electronic copies of everything. If you don't have tax return forms from previous years call the IRS now to get them.

You can do that online

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

[jeremym480]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Anybody else just hate yard work? If there's ever a money pit of a house...it's the yard. This is from my experience and yes it's mainly my fault because I don't keep up with maintenance the way I should to have a nicely groomed lawn.

We just finished working on cleaning out our flower beds, trimmed or bushes/trees and mulched last weekend. Well, I say finished, but we still have to buy and plant flowers for our flower pots. Plus, we lost of all of my wife's ferns and stuff since it was so cold this winter. I don't really "do" the planting, so I'm basically done... besides the money coming out of my pocket.

The two things that I hate the most though are weed-eating and bagging. We have a pretty big yard. Mowing takes about an hour and weed-eating takes about the same. By the time that I mow, bag, weed-eat, blow the grass of the driveway, take care of any ant beds and spray unwanted grass, then that's about a 2 and a half hour job, every single week from now until October.

I told my wife that I wasn't go to bag the back yard this year since it's so much extra work, but I've almost talked myself out of that because bagging serves two purposes for me. 1) It's intended purpose - it gets the grass clipping out of the yard and 2) it sucks up all the dog poop
and when you have four dogs, trust me that's a lot of poop. It would take me another hour of "pooper-scoopering" to clean all of it out of the back yard.

Don't even get me started on all the cost between buying a riding lawn mower, putting up a privacy fence/gate, etc. Weather permitting we're actually have a shed delivered this Friday (plus we'll have to paint it) and I need to get a pressure washer within the next week or two also. I pretty sure that I've spent more money on the outside of our house than I have the inside at this point. But, yeah I hate yard work.

[mgoblue]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Anybody else just hate yard work? If there's ever a money pit of a house...it's the yard. This is from my experience and yes it's mainly my fault because I don't keep up with maintenance the way I should to have a nicely groomed lawn.

I hate it...

Last spring I tried fixing the drip irrigation. Then after I got it up and running the hoses buried in the ground kept springing leaks so I eventually gave up.

We have a planter around our pool that keeps getting weeds. This year my FIL and his wife helped while they were here, they planted succulents (don't need much water) and started putting in the weed fabric that helps keep weeds out.

I don't mind mowing the lawn, but everything else adds up quick. I want to spend weekend time with family not in the yard all day.




Had a gripping moment yesterday. Our AC broke, had the warranty guys call someone and they say it's all DOA. Didn't know if the warranty company would nitpick or anything, but thankfully they'll replace it all and I only pay $75 bucks!

We're "renting" a room AC unit from Costco that's keeping our bedroom amazingly cold for my wife and the baby until they're able to put it in.

[Phobia]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned



I'm very interested in this mower.No more gas to buy, easy storage, less maintenance, and 3 year warranty on battery, hell just the recoup on gas expense plus yearly maintenance like fuel filters, air filters, oil changes, spark plugs etc will be a big enough money saver if I would have to buy a new battery in 4 years that it has paid for itself already.

My only concern is cut time, at 30 to 45 min I will struggle to complete entire thing in one cut. So figuring out a balancing act like cutting front, putting battery on charger, weed eat, and blow front while it recharges. Then repeat process in back might be the solution.

My big thing is I want to get away from gas and towards the positives of rechargeable batteries for all my devices. Lawn mower, weed eater, blower, vacuums, etc. I'm so tired of having a entire shelf in my shed of fuel, oil, chain bar oil, or fuel additives. Then multiple tanks, one gas for lawn mower, one mixed 2 cycle for weed eater (certain mix ratio oil/gas), another tank mix for chain saw (different mix ratio oil/gas). If I could simplify this just a little I would be very happy. I know moving all over is not a possibility, but at least mower, weed eater, and blower would be good start.

[Burns11]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

30-45 minutes is a VERY small yard

[mgoblue]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I'm very interested in this mower.No more gas to buy, easy storage, less maintenance, and 3 year warranty on battery, hell just the recoup on gas expense plus yearly maintenance like fuel filters, air filters, oil changes, spark plugs etc will be a big enough money saver if I would have to buy a new battery in 4 years that it has paid for itself already.

My only concern is cut time, at 30 to 45 min I will struggle to complete entire thing in one cut. So figuring out a balancing act like cutting front, putting battery on charger, weed eat, and blow front while it recharges. Then repeat process in back might be the solution.

My big thing is I want to get away from gas and towards the positives of rechargeable batteries for all my devices. Lawn mower, weed eater, blower, vacuums, etc. I'm so tired of having a entire shelf in my shed of fuel, oil, chain bar oil, or fuel additives. Then multiple tanks, one gas for lawn mower, one mixed 2 cycle for weed eater (certain mix ratio oil/gas), another tank mix for chain saw (different mix ratio oil/gas). If I could simplify this just a little I would be very happy. I know moving all over is not a possibility, but at least mower, weed eater, and blower would be good start.

They're not cheap though....Otherwise I'd be all for it.

I don't go through that much gas for a smaller front and back yard, but otherwise it'd be cool for me too. My blower, weed eater, and mini chainsaw branch cutter are all electric so I don't have to worry there.

My Toro does a great job on my lawn and I got it cheaper on Craigslist....not sure I could justify higher prices for the new stuff like this. Tempting though.