Home Ownership Yay: House just appraised for $100k over what I bought it for just 4 years ago.

Home Ownership Woe: We want to get a bigger house in the same area....and every other house has risen at a similar rate.

6/25/2014 1:38:05 PM

Is the appraisal for refinancing? From my experience, they always overestimate the value when you're refinancing

6/26/2014 12:48:32 AM

Home builder and I just got into on the phone while I'm at work. He doesn't want to fix some erosion issues he's never address, though was supposed to, and said he would.

I think I may have won. I had to pull out the line, "remember, I do this for a living, and if you think the county and state won't come out here and bust you, then you're going to be surprised". Hoping that will motivate him.

6/26/2014 12:13:00 PM

Quote :

"Is the appraisal for refinancing? From my experience, they always overestimate the value when you're refinancing "

Looking into a home equity loan for investment purposes. I guess that could also be an overestimate...but houses are selling for similar all around me...so its pretty legit.

6/27/2014 3:37:02 PM

Housing bubble all over again...

6/28/2014 11:22:01 AM

Eh...different market. Housing prices never dropped in this area...they just stalled. Only area that really got hit was condos...and even those are going over the level they were at before the bubble (still staying away).

6/28/2014 6:28:56 PM

My estimate was lower than expected last year cuz " we are being cautious after the bubble".

6/29/2014 11:45:10 PM

Anyone done a storm door replacement yourself?

Difficult, easy? Had it come apart on me and I need to figure out if it would be just easier to get someone to come and do it.

7/9/2014 10:04:12 AM

^relevant to my interests. Though I'd be installing one for the first time.

7/9/2014 12:44:48 PM

^ Put up the replacement yesterday with the help of ncwolfpack.

Definitely doable and I probably could have managed solo but it helped to have an extra set of hands. Need to be careful with the spacing/sizing and setting the glass. Still have to do some of the weather stripping and trim stuff but I'm not worried about it falling off or anything right now.

I would say if you get someone to offer to do it for ~$50 then it's probably worth it to just not have to mess with it but any more would be a waste of money.

Also depends on what style of door you end up getting. They are overpriced I'll say that much. Everything below $150 is utter crap and then there isn't much choice of anything decent between 150~250 but I wasn't going to drop 3 bens on a storm door.

7/10/2014 1:18:49 PM

^thanks


------

Anyone know what would make a smoke detector beep intermittently? And by that, I mean that it randomly gives the low battery beep (1 beep every minute or so), but only for a little while, then it stops. Maybe hours or days later, it will beep every minute for a while (30 minutes or an hour maybe?), then stop...

I've replaced the battery (from different packs/brands) multiple times; used compressed air to clean it out, and reseated the harness...

7/14/2014 1:57:22 PM

How old is the smoke detector?

They should be replaced every 10 years or so. I've had issues in the past where they begin to act wonky as they age.

7/14/2014 5:17:29 PM

<2 years

7/14/2014 9:10:26 PM

[Edited on July 15, 2014 at 11:44 AM. Reason : I'd give up and replace it.]

7/15/2014 11:43:44 AM

ugh. built a fence back in may... called 811 and got them to mark my underground utilities. well turns out the entire main fence line runs along a buried power line they didn't mark... the concrete apparently settled and knocked out the power to my neighbor's house last week so the power company has to dig around my posts today to splice new line

7/15/2014 2:23:13 PM

Garbage disposal is leaking from the power cord connection. Ive confirmed that it is not leaking down the unit from the sink but rather right from where the power cord comes out of the unit. I guessing its time for a replacement? I dont see a way to open this thing to get access to the bottom.

7/19/2014 12:38:54 PM

mine is leaking too. i'm waiting for one to go on sale on slickdeals.

7/19/2014 12:51:06 PM

I got a waste king from Amazon. They are cheaper every day than the deals on most brands and it has been super reliable. Plus a lifetime warranty if you get the 3/4hp model (we got whichever one comes with the lifetime warranty) They are fiberglass inside so they don't rust and fall apart like the most brands.

7/19/2014 8:44:52 PM

So I posted earlier about my dishwasher not working...It's still not. I ran some CLR through it, and then some vinegar. No dice.

Quote :

"I know you said you think the sprayers and drain are fine, but it would be worth it to give both of those a deep clean, as I think even the slightest build up at least in the sprayers can reduce the flow/pressure. Is the soap dispenser clean & working? Any build-up or residue anywhere inside the washer? When you say not clean, do you mean particles on the dishes going in are still there or is it possible that particles are being transferred from dish-to-dish or washer-to-dish?"

Soap dispenser is functioning, but lately there's sometimes buildup of Cascade there after the cycle is done. It's not every time. For your last question, I think particles are going from dish to water to wish or whatever. Like with the glasses the outside (and inside I presume) are often covered with dirt sized particles. The top rack especially isn't getting clean, but the bottom is affected too.

The thing is only 3-4 years old and it was something like a $800-$900 unit so I'd like to not have to buy a new one

7/19/2014 9:34:03 PM

Picked up a Badger 1 from Lowes. FYI Smath74 Home Depot has the unit for $75 and Lowes for $85. If you price match at Lowes they will take an additional 10% off the price. Ended up $72 out the door which was cheaper than Amazon.

7/20/2014 12:18:02 AM

I currently have a badger 5... i wonder what the loss of performance would do... i dont use it that often... mostly just to chop up the random gunk that accumulates after doing dishes.

7/20/2014 1:08:08 PM

check to see if you are getting good pump pressure. Many pumps have a pre filter screen, and this can plug up and kill the pump, or starve it

7/20/2014 4:18:26 PM

Badger 1 is enough for us and we just use it to toss small scraps in. No bones or anything.

7/20/2014 10:39:24 PM

I, too, purchased a waste king from Amazon. super easy to install and VERY quiet compared to my old one. love it!

7/21/2014 11:56:03 AM

i think the badger has a 3 screw installation... is that what the waste king has?

7/21/2014 12:54:10 PM

IIRC, I believe so. You wrap the collar around the sink drain (1 screw), attach the dishwasher drain pipe (1 screw), and attach the garbage disposal drain pipe (1 screw)

7/21/2014 2:13:03 PM

You can get two different attachments for the waste king. They have an easy install one that I used, and the traditional one if you want to replace an old disposal without taking off the sink attachment.

I think it's very quiet, and I like that it reverses when it starts up so if it gets jammed you just turn it off and on and it will unjam itself without needing to stick your hand in.

[Edited on July 21, 2014 at 5:16 PM. Reason : ...]

7/21/2014 5:13:56 PM

plastic fitting broke on my water softener while we were asleep last night. soaked everything in the storage room and flooded the garage with a couple inches of water.

Culligan tech said "yeah, we see this a lot. those fittings suck, so we replace them with these flex hoses."

why didn't you warn me about this last year when you came out to service the damn thing?

on the bright side, he didn't charge me for it. said he'd talk to the office folks and explain that it caused some damage and they may not bill me at all for it. that was pretty cool considering i'm not the original buyer of the system and they really could've stuck it to me.

[Edited on July 22, 2014 at 4:33 PM. Reason : afds]

7/22/2014 4:31:46 PM

just moved into my house last weekend, and we don't have a disposal in the sink. This house was flipped before we bought it, and I was surprised that they didn't install one. Is putting a new disposal in (rather than replacing one like others have been posting about) pretty difficult? i.e. is there any reason I shouldn't just buy one and put it in myself?

7/23/2014 7:14:43 AM

It's electrical+plumbing. It's annoying as fuck but not too difficult unless the wiring/switches aren't already there.

7/23/2014 8:59:01 AM

Also I think there could be issues if you are on a septic tank. If that isn't the case you should be fine as long as there is an electrical hookup like ^ said.

7/23/2014 9:41:02 AM

i'm on a septic tank and have a disposal. i know plenty of folks who are. never heard of an issue.

7/23/2014 8:28:33 PM

see http://www.lowes.com/cd_Keep+Your+Septic+System+Safe_1321557698_#The Impact of Garbage Disposals on Septic Systems

They can increase how often a tank needs to be pumped. the 'septic safe' ones basically spray some 'septic booster' style powder concentrate down the drain when they run.

even if you do have to pump a tank, its maybe 100-150, unless your tank is super hard to get to. check your county or area though, as some have hard and fast policy's about disposals, tank additives/enzymes, etc.

7/23/2014 11:45:14 PM

You've got to send a shit ton (pun intended) of food down the sink in order to have a significant impact on the tank.

7/24/2014 9:39:54 AM

Just spent a ton of money to get about 20 sweetgums removed. Then the idiots clearing debris used one of my oaks and another tree --maple I think-- as backstops for his bobcat. Debating calling an arborist to come assess thr damage.

7/27/2014 1:06:05 AM

Getting a new roof soon.

7/30/2014 2:11:22 PM

House was hit by lightning
AC board, fuse, router, modem, thermostat, desktop, garage door opener sensors fried
Most of that stuff was even plugged into a surge protector :-/

7/30/2014 2:28:45 PM

fucccccccccccccck

homeowners insurance covers that stuff right?

7/30/2014 2:54:36 PM

yeah, sans 1K deductible

7/30/2014 3:06:25 PM

*and i'm off to check my homeowner's deductible*

7/31/2014 3:35:33 PM

also didn't you *just* find $1k lying under a digital cushion somewhere?

7/31/2014 4:15:16 PM

Yeah plus work threw an extra grand my way last week b/c I'm just that good

7/31/2014 5:00:23 PM

So I'm having a fence built on my property and the fencing company called to tell me that they cut the cable lines to neighbors on each side of my house. The fencing company say that it's TWC's fault, as my cable line was marked but my neighbors' (whose lines inexplicably cross onto my property) were not. In either case, it's a huge fucking headache for me and I'm not looking forward to explaining it to the neighbors later.

8/7/2014 4:29:00 PM

about to spend a decent amount of $$ on a place i just bought and i'm nervous about some of it - plan is to have it all done prior to me moving in on the 22nd

replacing 30 of the original windows
4 rooms popcorn ceiling scraped / painted
install overhead fans in 2 bathrooms
move microwave to above range / rework cabinetry
replace wooden stair ballusters with wrought iron - the are too far apart and some minor stair work needs to be done as well
remove basement drop ceiling and replace with a trayed ceiling - hvac ducts need to be rerouted
few random electrical fixes that turned up in the inspection

8/7/2014 10:15:05 PM

Windows, ceiling, and kitchen I would have done before moving in but the rest aren't as big of a deal if you can avoid putting stuff in the basement for now.

8/7/2014 11:11:32 PM

^^good luck

show us some renovation pictures

8/7/2014 11:43:18 PM

Quote :

"So I'm having a fence built on my property and the fencing company called to tell me that they cut the cable lines to neighbors on each side of my house. The fencing company say that it's TWC's fault, as my cable line was marked but my neighbors' (whose lines inexplicably cross onto my property) were not. In either case, it's a huge fucking headache for me and I'm not looking forward to explaining it to the neighbors later. "

shouldn't be a headache for you. we self-built a fence and apparently ruptured the neighbor's power line (several weeks later... the concrete settled on top of the line).

it wasn't marked and the power company came and fixed it, and bitched about them not marking the lines properly but we didn't have anything to worry about.

8/8/2014 8:00:00 PM

my fencing crew somehow managed to get some pickets buried about 3". Now I get to dig them out and figure out how to keep water from pooling under them.

Wish I had the skills/tools to just cut them short... maybe I do...

[Edited on August 8, 2014 at 8:55 PM. Reason : .]

8/8/2014 8:54:49 PM

Talked to TWC, they said the fastest way to resolve the issue was for the neighbors to call and say it was a "wrong disconnect". I spoke to the neighbors, they were very understanding. Haven't heard from them since, so hopefully TWC is fixing this.

8/9/2014 12:16:40 AM

Anyone know a good framing crew? Need a full 1200 sq ft basement framed. Not looking for a GC who knows a framer but rather the direct crew themselves.

Thanks!

8/14/2014 4:30:44 PM