It's off the market and mine if I want it

The question now is, do I really want it?

We went back out with an electrician and a contractor--friends, not hired folk--yesterday to take a closer look. There are currently three outstanding problems which are potential deal-breakers:

- Someone stole the generator. We suppose this "someone" was one of the other potential buyers who saw the opportunity to take the five-finger discount, as the area is remote and the generator, pricey (around $3000). We can try to get the bank to pay to have it replaced, as it was in the contract, but...with foreclosed properties, there are no guarantees, are there?
- My contractor friend said that the water damage (which we knew about) results from a design flaw which must be corrected. He ballparks the repair bill at $10,000, but that may be a low estimate.
- He also noticed a basement window beneath the porch which was not finished. At the very least, it needs to be finished around the frame; at the most, it has perhaps gotten some water damage which must be repaired and may indicate other spots of shoddy workmanship, as well. Repair price unknown.

At his suggestion, I'll call his boss tomorrow morning and try to arrange a professional estimate of repair costs within the next few days.

Meanwhile, I find myself increasingly uneasy about the whole thing. I'm not sure if this is standard cold feet before a large purchase, or if my gut isn't trying to tell me this is actually a bad idea. Some of this is money-related, as I hint above; I have limited amounts of "slush funds" for such matters, and I'm well aware I must retain at least a small pool of money for emergencies to both properties or vehicles or whatnot. Add to this the fact that Kermit, my contractor friend, is about to begin building my new deck at the first home, and I don't yet know what that will run me. A couple of bucks, I'm sure. Inspections for everything--and I won't buy a home without them--will probably run me about $1000.

The basic stress factors concern me, too. As the years pass, I find myself more susceptible to stress, and the stressors of this semester are building. First, I have the usual school schedule which is unforgiving; however, as I've done this a couple of years now, the time and effort I spend planning lessons and grading papers is minimal.

I'm also the Tae Kwon Do Officer In Charge. This is a cadet-run club, and they require an officer to manage the money and schedule tournaments, do the orders for their travel, and--of course--travel with them as necessary. Back when I was thinking this would be a normal semester, I volunteered. Worse...three of us did; I recused myself early on, but the cadet in charge of the club specifically requested me. I, of course, accepted. I may need to step down, but it will be harder now.

I hate disappointing anyone.

Also, I suspect I will need knee surgery, and soon.

I may not have mentioned this earlier, so I'll fill you in now. Those of you who follow the mundane details of my life will remember that I developed knee problems of some sort back in the spring. I've run my whole life, and I've never had knee problems, so when it didn't go away after a couple of weeks, I went to the doc. My symptoms were pain along the inside of both knees, most notably my left, and after I'd sat for half an hour or more, my left knee would refuse to straighten when I stood.

The doc said I had bursitis of the knee. We got X-rays, but nothing showed up. He put me on Naproxin or somesuch (an NSAID). I took them for a few days until the swelling and pain reduced to an acceptable level, then quit and went on with life. The stiffness, the semi-locking, and the pain became a fact of life.

Somewhere after that, I ran the Garden of the Gods 10-miler.

Yeah. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer sometimes.

Then, as you'll remember, I disqualified myself from jump class by digging in my back yard all day one Saturday to remove the old deck. The doc did the usual press and movement tests and pronounced my problem as a "strained medial collateral ligament." Again, I got some NSAIDs. (I already had crutches from a foot injury I sustained in Alabama, thankfully.) He told me how to break the knee back in slowly. He didn't tell me how long before I could expect to resume normal activities. His evasion of the question suggests to me that he really didn't know.

About a month later--having not run at all in the intervening time--I took about six bounding steps across a restaurant parking lot to get out of the rain, and my knee punished me immediately and decisively for it. I went back to the doc the next day to point out that it wasn't improving, as far as I could see. He agreed it should have been better by now, and scheduled me for an MRI. The MRI was a couple of weeks later at 6:30 on a Friday evening (the earliest available, so I took it).

By the day of the MRI, I felt great. But I went anyway. I figured they'd find nothing. I felt spunky enough to start running again. Thus it was that the following Tuesday, I did a controlled walk/run on my home treadmill. It wasn't fast, and only about four miles. The knee complained, but I expected a little bit of that, after all....

About an hour after I did the run, as I sat at my table working and feeling my knee stiffen again, the doc called with my MRI results: large tear in the medial meniscus.

It was good news and bad news all at once. I'm truly damaged, but I'm at least vindicated. Also, this is a problem I believe can be fixed via arthroscopic surgery. I have an appointment the morning of the 8th with the finest ortho department in the Air Force (or so I am told). Until then, I'm pretty much planning on the surgery.

Also, I just may get the chance to be a test subject for an orthodontic intern, if my schedule will allow.

When I was getting some dental work done this summer, I asked how one went about getting braces, if at all. I'd heard that people stationed at the Academy could get braces, but I'd never found any literature on it. My dentist said, "Just a minute. Let me get Dr. Choi. He just told me last week he was looking for volunteers, as a matter of fact." She returned a couple of minutes later with the orthodontist, who looked at my teeth and pronounced them "not too bad, really." He meant my overbite was minimal, and my tooth crookedness isn't too bad. I'm not really as bad of a case as he's looking for, but he put me on the list just in case he doesn't get enough workable volunteers with truly unfortunate dental work.

I got an email from them last week, checking for interest. It may pan out. It's worth a shot. :)

Let's see. Stress. Yes.

I haven't mentioned the "apply for the PhD scholarship" and apply to schools hurdles, which aren't low to begin with. Also to that end, I should spend more time working on my French, but I'm not because I'm constantly distracted by other things.

If I get the property, I'll be moving (before or after knee surgery?) during my free time with money I don't have, cleaning up this place, and finding a respectable renter.

I could solve many of my problems by calling my agent now and saying, "I can't buy this property. Please retract my offer." However, I'm pretty sure I'll kick myself (with the good leg) if I back out on what I know is the property deal of a lifetime. If the inspectors report that the house has multiple problems which become insurmountable, it clearly isn't quite the deal it seems. But armed with that information, I can back out with a good conscience and not spend the rest of my life saying to myself, "Self...what were you thinking?"

It seems my piece of mind in this case will cost me around $1000. Meanwhile, I'm not sleeping well and I'm having difficulties focusing my thoughts. I can't run and I can't swim (because of a shoulder injury), so I'm more or less stuck with my stress. I have papers to grade, a book review to write, and promises to keep...and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.

This entry was posted by diana and filed under work.

15 comments

Comment from: Jeff Warren [Visitor]

Heya-

One thing I’ve noticed as the years pass is that I kick myself less for the things I’ve done than for the things I should have done. Especially things I figured had reasonable room for improvement.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that the body falls apart, no matter how much we try to take care of it. Or in my case, how much we neglect it…

A final thing is that almost all of the people who have made themselves rich have done it through owning properties.

If owning the two properties is something you can manage, even if sacrifices need to be made, and you’re otherwise comfortable with the plan, I’d say go for it. A few comforts are that you can always sell one later, which sounded like a million dollar plan in your other post.

Heck, make it an investment on a short plan: buy it, take some time and clean it up, hold it until the market gets a little stronger, and sell it. As long as you profit it’s a win, right? And if you only break even, it’s not a loss, but a lesson learned.

But it’s an easy call from the sidelines… ;D

09/02/08 @ 10:47

Comment from: [Member]

Thanks, Jeff. I need such “easy calls,” because I’m so far into the forest that I’m wondering how balanced my view is at this point.

I invite the thoughts of the peanut gallery, actually. I need more input that what my own brain keeps throwing at me.

Love you. :)

09/02/08 @ 11:19

Comment from: K [Visitor]

Oh crap @ knee being injured, but huzzah! @ injury being surgerible (if you will)! I hope it gets repaired to full functionality soon. Your running is one of my major inspirations to actually get up off my ass and go running (nowhere near as far as you go, but more than nothing ;)). Good luck with it!

I’m less (by which I mean “un-") qualified to give house advice, so I’ll settle for: good luck on house stuff!

New-email-address-èd, still-reading, still-rarely-commenting, Sincerely Yrs.,
K

09/02/08 @ 15:10

Comment from: [Member]

Thanks, K. Great to hear from you from time to time. :)

So on a tip from a little birdie, I went out to Lending Tree yesterday and tapped in my essentials to see if I could get a better rate. And I did. Today, I locked in a 6.00% loan with no origination/processing fee, etc. Much, much better. It’s around $200 cheaper each month and will save me several thousand at closing. And that makes me happier about the whole deal than I was a couple of days ago, too.

I’ve arranged to have a general contractor go out Thursday afternoon and give me a no-kidding estimate for what “design flaw correction” will cost me, as well as a cheaper workaround that I might use until I get money for the proper work.

I’m feeling better about the whole thing today.

09/02/08 @ 18:18

Comment from: hinermad [Visitor]

Diana,

Cold feet are normal for a big decision like this. But Jeff makes some good points. “Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.”

I’m sorry to hear about your knee, but at least it’s treatable. It’s a good thing you don’t play hockey. The husband of a co-worker shattered his knee coaching peewee girls hockey. (He’ll never hear the end of that, I’m sure.)

Dave

09/03/08 @ 07:45

Comment from: [Member]

Hey, Dave! :)

You’re right. I still have time to change the road. However, I’m not sure I want to (which has been my problem all along). I’m rather sure this is the road to where I really want to be in 10 years.

I’ve arranged for the loan (the pile of paperwork was about 50 pages thick, I kid you not), and just about all the inspections for Monday. I’ll tie up the other loose ends tomorrow.

Oddly, the bank still hasn’t signed the contract. I know it was a three-day weekend, but COME ON. The clock is TICKING, people. (I made an offer, they “accepted” but offered a counter-proposal–I think they changed the number of days I have to get inspections or something like that–which I signed Friday night and returned to them immediately. They’ve had two bank days already to just SIGNITALREADY so we can get this show on the road, but so far, nada.) If this goes on, we may not be doing inspections on Monday, after all. Hrm.

09/03/08 @ 19:30

Comment from: auntb'ann [Visitor]

Hey, Diana! Glad you got the go-ahead on the place! Hopefully, I’ll live long enough (and stay healthy enough!) to someday come visit you for a couple of days in your new “digs"! Of course, I know that probably won’t be until you decide to finally retire and actually STAY HOME!

Take care, dear one! Love you muchly, and looking forward to seeing you at the reunion in April!

09/04/08 @ 22:41

Comment from: [Member]

Update:

All my inspections are scheduled for Monday. My boss has graciously told me to not take leave in order to go, even though I’m well out of cell phone range there.

Glitch: the bank STILL has not signed their end of the document. Here’s the timeline so far, for those who are wondering what it’s like to do business with a bank selling a property:
21 August: House goes on market
22 August: I made offer
29 August: The bank accepted my offer but made a “counterproposal"; I think they changed the amount of time allowed for each component, or something; I signed the counterproposal and returned it with my earnest money.
(A three-day weekend ensued)
5 September: I still haven’t seen the bank’s acceptance of my offer. The house stands “pending–not showing” still.

I made a command decision to press with the inspections. The bank already accepted my offer; their real estate agent said they just haven’t worked their way through the pile of Colorado foreclosures back to my acceptance of their counter-proposal yet. I’m new to this, but it looks like this step of the “contract” process is all but a formality.

I took a general contractor to the site Thursday afternoon to take a look at the “design flaw” I mentioned earlier. We couldn’t get in due to a communication glitch with my realtor, but he got a good outside view of the roofing problem. He said the fix is pretty simple and will cost about $3000 to fix properly (with the caveat that we couldn’t get inside the property, of course).

That’s very good news. I was ballparking it at $10-15k.

I’m fairly sure the place was lived in at least a year ago, so I have high hopes for the health of the septic system, too.

Updates as I get them. :)

09/06/08 @ 09:07

Comment from: [Member]

So.

The bank signed the contract today.

I had the appraisals done yesterday (a $900 investment–not cheap), in anticipation. The septic tank needs a roto-rooter dude to go clean the pipes a bit, but the leech field is pristine, which is an excellent sign. All problems with the home are cosmetic.

I’m moving. I’m moving into a home that’s bigger and more impressive and more luxurious than any place I could ever hope to stay. At half its value…if not less.

I’ll adjust. Worry not. ;)

Closing date: 26 Sept.

09/09/08 @ 22:03

Comment from: hinermad [Visitor]

Congratulations! Now comes more nail biting.

Dave

09/10/08 @ 07:36

Comment from: [Member]

And you ain’t kiddin’, neither.

At least I’m sleeping well again. I’ll just have to reroute some of the monies I was otherwise throwing at investments for a while, at least until I rent out the other house. I’ll tighten the belt a little, but I won’t starve.

I’m already gearing up to buy a chain saw and various other accoutrements to start lumberjacking. I need to repair a runoff ditch across the driveway (from a rainstorm about a month ago). I’ll be regrouting a bathroom in the current place this weekend, and repairing various other bits and bobs.

Thank heavens for Craig’s List for moving boxes, too. :) I have friends with a large trailer, so as long as I pick a pretty day or two–it’s uncovered–we can get most of the big chunks moved pretty quickly.

So much to do, but everything’s moving smoothly. I’m happier than I am scared now. :)

09/10/08 @ 08:16

Comment from: hinermad [Visitor]

Diana,

Must be nice to not have to move on a deadline just because a) you can’t afford to pay another month’s rent or b) the buyer of your old place can’t afford to pay another month’s rent. Moving around other people’s stuff is a nuisance too.

Will you be taking those barrister’s shelves with you?

Dave

09/11/08 @ 19:08

Comment from: [Member]

Good morning, Dave! :)

Of course I will! I have a workshop now, even. :)

More good news yesterday: I got all the disclosures, and there are no back taxes, either. They’re paid up through July 08. The bank’s realtor is paying to raise the propane level to 25% to keep the place mildly heated (because we didn’t rewinterize it). The bank should simply claim the generator theft on the insurance they’re required to carry for the home and have a new one put in, so requesting that should cost the bank next to nothing (thus, I have high hopes that it’ll be taken care of, too).

Things are shaping up. This is too, too good to be true…. It’s all on the level as far as I can tell, but I almost feel like a thief. :)

09/12/08 @ 08:30

Comment from: Allen and Mary (Margie) [Visitor]

Diana,
Congrats on the house! Hope you don’t mind - Mommy sent me a link for your blog. Allen and I just wanted to say hello. We are up late, watching to see what Ike is going to do here. Only because I haven’t kept up (my apologies on that), what part of Colorado are you in? Allen goes with One Great River (an anti-drug program for youth) to Salida every year after school is out. They white-water raft, mountain bike, and attempt to climb a Fourteener, along with taking various hikes. We talked about trying to take our family vacation there this past summer, but the family vote led elsewhere.
Anyway, just wanted to take a second and say hi. We will try to touch base with you occasionally.
Love you!
Allen and Mary (Margie)

09/12/08 @ 22:06

Comment from: [Member]

Hi, Margie! :)

Of course I don’t mind.

I’m in Colorado Springs. That really isn’t very close to Salida, I think. Sounds like an awesome summer program Allen is into, though. It offers all the best that Colorado has, except for downhill skiing, which there isn’t much of in the summer, I hear.

You’re Mary now, huh? I like it! It sounds…mature. ;)

Love you! Take care.

09/13/08 @ 14:51

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my life 2008

It's off the market and mine if I want it

15 comments