glenolam
Lovin' The Homestead
Makes me want one!!! I'd giggle at that too!
Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/
- Thread starter pinkfox
- Start date
abifae
Abinormal Butterfly
My ex had a blue and gold macaw. She was really smart. She'd hear us order pizza and she'd wait for a "long time" in her little bird brain and then she'd imitate a knock at the door. If we checked the door, she'd hopefully say "pizza?"
- Thread starter
- #473
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
LOL abi, thats awesome!
my grandfather has an african grey, of all the parrots the greys are considerd the most inteligent and best talkers, followed by the amazons...
macaws are actually quite far down on the list of talkers lol but dont tell jack jack that
i never wanted a parrot untill i worked at the zoo, we had some rescues and i just fell for their antics and then i saw a pic of jack jack and that was it...
i will say though for anyone who thinks theyd like a parrot in thier life...while they are wonderfull inteligent animals, they are still relitivly undomesticated, and LOUD! lol.
my grandfather has an african grey, of all the parrots the greys are considerd the most inteligent and best talkers, followed by the amazons...
macaws are actually quite far down on the list of talkers lol but dont tell jack jack that
i never wanted a parrot untill i worked at the zoo, we had some rescues and i just fell for their antics and then i saw a pic of jack jack and that was it...
i will say though for anyone who thinks theyd like a parrot in thier life...while they are wonderfull inteligent animals, they are still relitivly undomesticated, and LOUD! lol.
- Thread starter
- #475
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
nice, im tryi to teach jack jack pirate terms so i can make a renfair act
hes currently working on Yo Ho Ho!
in other news, were moving another step forward on the house front.
electricitiy is schedualed to get turned on tomorrow morning, inspector is lined up for tomorrow early afternoon (should have the report on friday) and a plumber is lined up to check the pump at the spring and the lines form the spring to the well...
i talked to my agent again and she said, while the neighbor said the spring might dry up during drought, the plumber seems to think hes saying that to encorage me to have a well dug so he doesnt have to share it anymore because the spring its self is aparently DEEP and FAST! (and cold! lol) and his professional opinon is that while it wouldnt fill a swimming pool, for general use it shoudl be large enough to supply at LEAST 3 single family homes, and being that all 3 homes on the spring are/will be me (single person) the mother next door (single woman) and the son acorss the street (him and his wife) the spring should have more than enough water and pressure even in tough drout years...
ill still likely eventually have a well dug, but its nice to have a professional opinion on it...
so that guy is going to go with the agent to mee the inspector for that whole prescess to so we can have the water on for a full inspection
so yeah, now im getting a little nervous...worried about what the inspection might show...but assuming were good after the inspection the last step is gettng that fha loan (im pre-approved, but there could always be something...)
hes currently working on Yo Ho Ho!
in other news, were moving another step forward on the house front.
electricitiy is schedualed to get turned on tomorrow morning, inspector is lined up for tomorrow early afternoon (should have the report on friday) and a plumber is lined up to check the pump at the spring and the lines form the spring to the well...
i talked to my agent again and she said, while the neighbor said the spring might dry up during drought, the plumber seems to think hes saying that to encorage me to have a well dug so he doesnt have to share it anymore because the spring its self is aparently DEEP and FAST! (and cold! lol) and his professional opinon is that while it wouldnt fill a swimming pool, for general use it shoudl be large enough to supply at LEAST 3 single family homes, and being that all 3 homes on the spring are/will be me (single person) the mother next door (single woman) and the son acorss the street (him and his wife) the spring should have more than enough water and pressure even in tough drout years...
ill still likely eventually have a well dug, but its nice to have a professional opinion on it...
so that guy is going to go with the agent to mee the inspector for that whole prescess to so we can have the water on for a full inspection
so yeah, now im getting a little nervous...worried about what the inspection might show...but assuming were good after the inspection the last step is gettng that fha loan (im pre-approved, but there could always be something...)
- Thread starter
- #476
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
well the electrci whent on yesterday but the company wouldnt tell my agent about what time it would get turned on so inspection is today, stomachs doing somersaults, wondering what itll show up with...fingers crossed itll come up wiht no problems.
im expecting note of some dry rot under the back deck, a window that doesnt close correctly, and will need new roof on garage soon (im planning on giving it a hit with some wire woool and a good coating of rustoleum paint to get through till next spring when i should be able to afford to replace it)...but hoping nothing comes up beyond those things.
got to call the electric company late this afternoon to have them shut eveyrthing off...its supposed ot only be on 72 hours, but the end will fall on saturday when there closed so if i call this afternoon they should be able to go out first thing monday and shut it off.
got a drs apointment at 11:30 ill be leaving for very soon, then itll be off to the gym, then this afternoon is major room cleaning day...for some reason its messier than usual...
so yeah, trying to keep busy...
im expecting note of some dry rot under the back deck, a window that doesnt close correctly, and will need new roof on garage soon (im planning on giving it a hit with some wire woool and a good coating of rustoleum paint to get through till next spring when i should be able to afford to replace it)...but hoping nothing comes up beyond those things.
got to call the electric company late this afternoon to have them shut eveyrthing off...its supposed ot only be on 72 hours, but the end will fall on saturday when there closed so if i call this afternoon they should be able to go out first thing monday and shut it off.
got a drs apointment at 11:30 ill be leaving for very soon, then itll be off to the gym, then this afternoon is major room cleaning day...for some reason its messier than usual...
so yeah, trying to keep busy...
TTs Chicks
Almost Self-Reliant
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hopefully there won"t be anything major come up and you'll be moving in in no time 
- Thread starter
- #478
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
ok we have a little news...
the GOOD news is the inspection was performed today
now the bad news...
ive only so far herd back form the plumber, the inspector should be in the midst of getting my repot written up as we speak but the news fomr the plumber is this...
1: the item missing that i thought was the well pump, was actually the air tank used to increase water pressure in the house (as there is quite a distance form the spring to the house itself) someone has stolen the air tank...either the previous owners have taken it, or someones stolen it...
theres a secondary airtank down by the spring thats busted, the good news is the usted tank and the one that was stolen (based on the size of the fittings) were WAY too small for the distance this pump is pumping and 1 good large air tank (about $150 worth) would provide more than enough pressure to give very good water flow in the house.
2: the pump used at the spring is DEAD, the asset managment company must have assumed it was on a well and missing the pump or something because it (and the busted air tank) were NOT winterized and it killed the air tank and the pump froze and cracked over the winter because it wasnt being used...
this means that pump would HAVE to be replaced to the tune of about $250...
3: given he couldnt run the water today because of said dead pump, he doesnt know if theres any problems between the spring and the house in the piping ect (as its all burried) that could cause future problems, which means while the basic job of replacing the pump and the air tank would cost about $400, the actual job wiht labor and any other parts could run anyting from $600-$1000, with a possibility of more.
so ive called the asset managment company contact and left him a message, hopefully hell get back to me by monday as while $1000 doesnt seem like alot, this move is going to tap my last resoucre and i wouldnt be able to fix it myself out of pocket...
when i talked to him prior he did say theres a poasibility of hud putting money into excrow for the puprpse of fixing this issue since the home is fha insured and usable water in the home is one of their inspection terms (meaning they screwed up because this house would NOT be able to be fha insured if theres no working water, which means no FHA loan...)
so i need to check on that before taking another step forward...
d hate to walk away form the house over a $1000 issue, but again if i cant afford to have it fixed and running usable water in the house is a must to live in...well, it could be a sticking point.
because of the nature of the issue im pretty sure its one of those that if i did decide to back out of this, i should get my escrow back...so id only be out the cost of the inspections...*sigh*
the good news is, the plumber thinks its a great deal and that the spring itself looks MORE than healthy enough to supply more than enough water.
he told me that the neighbor (the son) was asking about buying an acre of land back...the plumber thinks (just speculation) that this guy is trying to "frighten me" into selling him a chunk of land, the chunk of land that he belives the water rights belong to...
aparently hes asked on both visits now about interested in selling some of the land and then when my agent said "i doubt it, she wants the property because of the amount of land its sits on" THATS when he mentioned that the spring sometimes runs dry...
but the plumbe said hes been down there twice and the area hasnt had any real rain in weeks and the spring is flowing deep and clear with NO problems and currently running 2 houses, he said hes certain that there should be NO problems with water quantity or quality...
especially asfter getting drentched today when he turned the pump on and it started goign off like a popped fire hydrant LOL!
said its "dang cold too" LMAO.
so yeah, call to the asset managment comany is in to see if there will be any allowances made on fixing the pump and air tank issue...
if not, this whol process might have just been a lesson in insanity...
if there willign to work with me though, unless the inspectors found something scary...looks like things are moving forward.
and i managed to get my call in to the electric company to et it all shut off again before they closed so thats done...
WHEW...
lets see what happens now.
the GOOD news is the inspection was performed today
now the bad news...
ive only so far herd back form the plumber, the inspector should be in the midst of getting my repot written up as we speak but the news fomr the plumber is this...
1: the item missing that i thought was the well pump, was actually the air tank used to increase water pressure in the house (as there is quite a distance form the spring to the house itself) someone has stolen the air tank...either the previous owners have taken it, or someones stolen it...
theres a secondary airtank down by the spring thats busted, the good news is the usted tank and the one that was stolen (based on the size of the fittings) were WAY too small for the distance this pump is pumping and 1 good large air tank (about $150 worth) would provide more than enough pressure to give very good water flow in the house.
2: the pump used at the spring is DEAD, the asset managment company must have assumed it was on a well and missing the pump or something because it (and the busted air tank) were NOT winterized and it killed the air tank and the pump froze and cracked over the winter because it wasnt being used...
this means that pump would HAVE to be replaced to the tune of about $250...
3: given he couldnt run the water today because of said dead pump, he doesnt know if theres any problems between the spring and the house in the piping ect (as its all burried) that could cause future problems, which means while the basic job of replacing the pump and the air tank would cost about $400, the actual job wiht labor and any other parts could run anyting from $600-$1000, with a possibility of more.
so ive called the asset managment company contact and left him a message, hopefully hell get back to me by monday as while $1000 doesnt seem like alot, this move is going to tap my last resoucre and i wouldnt be able to fix it myself out of pocket...
when i talked to him prior he did say theres a poasibility of hud putting money into excrow for the puprpse of fixing this issue since the home is fha insured and usable water in the home is one of their inspection terms (meaning they screwed up because this house would NOT be able to be fha insured if theres no working water, which means no FHA loan...)
so i need to check on that before taking another step forward...
d hate to walk away form the house over a $1000 issue, but again if i cant afford to have it fixed and running usable water in the house is a must to live in...well, it could be a sticking point.
because of the nature of the issue im pretty sure its one of those that if i did decide to back out of this, i should get my escrow back...so id only be out the cost of the inspections...*sigh*
the good news is, the plumber thinks its a great deal and that the spring itself looks MORE than healthy enough to supply more than enough water.
he told me that the neighbor (the son) was asking about buying an acre of land back...the plumber thinks (just speculation) that this guy is trying to "frighten me" into selling him a chunk of land, the chunk of land that he belives the water rights belong to...
aparently hes asked on both visits now about interested in selling some of the land and then when my agent said "i doubt it, she wants the property because of the amount of land its sits on" THATS when he mentioned that the spring sometimes runs dry...
but the plumbe said hes been down there twice and the area hasnt had any real rain in weeks and the spring is flowing deep and clear with NO problems and currently running 2 houses, he said hes certain that there should be NO problems with water quantity or quality...
especially asfter getting drentched today when he turned the pump on and it started goign off like a popped fire hydrant LOL!
said its "dang cold too" LMAO.
so yeah, call to the asset managment comany is in to see if there will be any allowances made on fixing the pump and air tank issue...
if not, this whol process might have just been a lesson in insanity...
if there willign to work with me though, unless the inspectors found something scary...looks like things are moving forward.
and i managed to get my call in to the electric company to et it all shut off again before they closed so thats done...
WHEW...
lets see what happens now.
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
Sounds like y'all got that neighbor guy figured out. He should have bought the acre from the seller before this, if it mattered to him that much.
The air pump sounds easy enough for them to replace. Hope you get good news on it, and the rest of the inspection soon. Good luck.
The air pump sounds easy enough for them to replace. Hope you get good news on it, and the rest of the inspection soon.
Good luck.- Thread starter
- #480
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
well...the inspection report is is...
some areas of concern, plumbing, the pump and airtank not working meant drains ect couldnt be tested, however the pcr states that they do hold the correct pressure so thers no leaks to their knowledge...
the 2 sinks have S traps and replacing them with P-traps is reccomended but not a must do immediatly.
im waiting on talking to the asset managment company about the pump and airtank...so fingers crossed the plumbing issue is easily solved.
theres no moisture barrier under the house...aparently theres plenty of clearence and no evidence of any moisture damage (no rot or anything untder there) but its suggested that i would eventually want to have a moisture barrier put in...
the deck needs some work, front and back, theres some boards that need to be replaced and the makeshift handrail the asset managment company put on for saftey reasons needs some work lol, but again nothing that would cause any real issues...theres a saftey concern about small children being there is only a single rail but since i dont have kids...lol, this shouldnt be an issue and something i can get to eventually (i knew some of the boards needed to be replaced anyway, so no suprise there...
the rot i did observe is just dry rot from lack of upkeep on the corners and inspector things once again, nothing to be concerned about.
the house has no smoke detectors or co2 detectors, so id want to put those in....
the water heater may or may not work, its old and may need to be replaced, but it coudlnt be tested due to no water to the property...
im nto too worried about a water heater as i wanted to have an on demand put in anyway...and was planning on taking a small loan out for that improvment (i much prefer on demand water heaters, much mroe efficient and it would give me more room as the current tank is located in a cabinate in the kitchen...)
if replacing the tank a water shut off and electrical disconect addition are both needed as neither wer required at time this property was put together...
it doesnt need to be done right away unless the heater doesnt work, but has to be done when replacing the heater...
and the flooring needs to be replaced (aparently sub floors look "ok) carpets are badly stained and the vinyl in the kitchen and bath are both damaged.
knew about that though and am planning already to replace the flooring in the living/bedrooms, the bathroom and kitchen should get me through till after winter i think.
otherwise, theres an old water stain in 1 closet but no evidence of any water damage
and the roof is in good condition, inspector thinks the water damage was probbaly form the previous roof as the metal roof is only about 2 yrs old.
lights all work, electric is good, no termites or carpenter ants or bees eating the house, overall, structurally sound...
SOOOOO...
this means if Hud is willing to cover the cost of replacing the pump and airtank and the cost of labor (or at least some of the labor costs)
i think im good to go!
nothing showed up on the inspection other than the pump/airtank that gives me any real cause for concern, or as a suprise so YAY!
monday im going to submit the contract to the bank, and get it off to underwriting so that can get sorted and hopefully will tlak to the asset manager on monday about the pump and tank and assuming they agree to sort it out...im buying a house!
or at least thats assuming the underwirters dont find anything the pre-approval didnt.
some areas of concern, plumbing, the pump and airtank not working meant drains ect couldnt be tested, however the pcr states that they do hold the correct pressure so thers no leaks to their knowledge...
the 2 sinks have S traps and replacing them with P-traps is reccomended but not a must do immediatly.
im waiting on talking to the asset managment company about the pump and airtank...so fingers crossed the plumbing issue is easily solved.
theres no moisture barrier under the house...aparently theres plenty of clearence and no evidence of any moisture damage (no rot or anything untder there) but its suggested that i would eventually want to have a moisture barrier put in...
the deck needs some work, front and back, theres some boards that need to be replaced and the makeshift handrail the asset managment company put on for saftey reasons needs some work lol, but again nothing that would cause any real issues...theres a saftey concern about small children being there is only a single rail but since i dont have kids...lol, this shouldnt be an issue and something i can get to eventually
(i knew some of the boards needed to be replaced anyway, so no suprise there...the rot i did observe is just dry rot from lack of upkeep on the corners and inspector things once again, nothing to be concerned about.
the house has no smoke detectors or co2 detectors, so id want to put those in....
the water heater may or may not work, its old and may need to be replaced, but it coudlnt be tested due to no water to the property...
im nto too worried about a water heater as i wanted to have an on demand put in anyway...and was planning on taking a small loan out for that improvment (i much prefer on demand water heaters, much mroe efficient and it would give me more room as the current tank is located in a cabinate in the kitchen...)
if replacing the tank a water shut off and electrical disconect addition are both needed as neither wer required at time this property was put together...
it doesnt need to be done right away unless the heater doesnt work, but has to be done when replacing the heater...
and the flooring needs to be replaced (aparently sub floors look "ok) carpets are badly stained and the vinyl in the kitchen and bath are both damaged.
knew about that though and am planning already to replace the flooring in the living/bedrooms, the bathroom and kitchen should get me through till after winter i think.
otherwise, theres an old water stain in 1 closet but no evidence of any water damage
and the roof is in good condition, inspector thinks the water damage was probbaly form the previous roof as the metal roof is only about 2 yrs old.
lights all work, electric is good, no termites or carpenter ants or bees eating the house, overall, structurally sound...
SOOOOO...
this means if Hud is willing to cover the cost of replacing the pump and airtank and the cost of labor (or at least some of the labor costs)
i think im good to go
!nothing showed up on the inspection other than the pump/airtank that gives me any real cause for concern, or as a suprise so YAY!
monday im going to submit the contract to the bank, and get it off to underwriting so that can get sorted and hopefully will tlak to the asset manager on monday about the pump and tank and assuming they agree to sort it out...im buying a house!
or at least thats assuming the underwirters dont find anything the pre-approval didnt.
