Roost Air Lounge => General Discussion => Topic started by: Gulfstream Driver on July 03, 2006, 05:59:06 PM
Title: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 03, 2006, 05:59:06 PM
We're buying a house! Made an offer this morning, and started the paperwork at noon. Now we just need the mortgage written up, and we should close by early August.
Woohoo!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Callisto on July 03, 2006, 06:02:31 PM
Congrats GSD!!!
Where are you moving to?
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 03, 2006, 10:28:22 PM
Baudette, MN. It's not the end of the earth, but you can see it from there. :D
My wife is the new band teacher at the school, and I've got an opportunity to do some more instructing up there.
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Plthijnx on July 04, 2006, 12:20:25 AM
*insert band camp joke here* ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Plthijnx on July 04, 2006, 12:21:28 AM
congrats Gulf! and welcome to the "joys" of home ownership! and the neverending list of "honey-do's"
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: fireflyr on July 04, 2006, 01:38:40 AM
Baudette, MN. It's not the end of the earth, but you can see it from there. :D
My wife is the new band teacher at the school, and I've got an opportunity to do some more instructing up there.
CONGRATULATIONS!! You're going to love it! Looks to me like you'll be living he good life unless you get wide on downwind and the hosers shoot you down for airspace violations! When you do get on with an airline, it will be a nice place to live while you commute to where ever your base will be. Tell us more about your new home!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on July 04, 2006, 06:53:33 AM
Wow! Congratulations mate for your new house! Why don't you throw a BBQ for all us (with chicken wings, actually) as soon as you're moved in, to inaugurate it?!? ;D ;D Jokes apart, tel us more about the house and the location!!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Stef on July 04, 2006, 11:51:34 AM
Wow! Congratulations mate for your new house! Why don't you throw a BBQ for all us (with chicken wings, actually) as soon as you're moved in, to inaugurate it?!? ;D ;D
Very good idea! I'll second that! ;D
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Plthijnx on July 04, 2006, 02:50:18 PM
and throw on a couple of T-bones to boot! :P
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 04, 2006, 10:25:57 PM
It's a single story ranch on a slab, so there's no basement. Apparently, you can't get away from having water in your basement up there, so not having one is a good thing. It's 1616 sq. ft. with 4 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. There's no garage, but there's room on the property to build one. The property is 2 lots, so it's got a really nice yard with two extra storage buildings on it. Vinyl siding, too. Built in '98 and added on in 2004.
Here are a couple of pictures. Any other questions, just ask.
Happy, if you can get here, we'll have a barbeque. :)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Plthijnx on July 04, 2006, 11:09:41 PM
sweet Gulf, that's awesome!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Callisto on July 05, 2006, 01:35:35 PM
Looks great!!!
And two lots?!? That's huge! You could build a hangar in the back yard! :D
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 06, 2006, 03:17:11 AM
My wife thinks I spend too much time at the airport as it is...Can't imagine what she'd think about having the airport in the back yard.
Wait, yes I can. :'( :-[
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on July 06, 2006, 02:26:21 PM
Well, would be gorgeous to be able to build an airport strip on the back of the house. isn't it in England that you sometimes can do something alike?!? And well, thanks for the invitation :) :) :), maybe one day I will have the chance to and I'll tell you and we will all meet for this BBQ, but now I have no other chance than finding a job and start working ASAP, before I find myself pennyless! post more pics as soon as you can it's a really nice house!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 08, 2006, 02:16:41 AM
post more pics as soon as you can it's a really nice house!
Will do.
Kinded, North Dakota is building the first airpark in ND. It's literally an airport in your backyard. :)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Frank N. O. on July 08, 2006, 01:29:31 PM
Congratulations indeed! An airstrip in your backyard sounds wonderful! And about the wife then having the airport right behind your home would mean your closer to home and she could reach you faster and less comuting time. And with an airstrip we could have a Chicken Wings Fly-In Barbeque! How cool would that be 8) |:)\
Frank
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 08, 2006, 05:31:17 PM
137 people showing up at my backdoor?! Whew!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 09, 2006, 04:31:03 AM
Don't get your collective hopes up. Just had the house inspected today, and it's got some issues. There's a pretty serious mold problem in the attic that doesn't have a vent. Also, the bathroom exhaust fans vent into the attic, so it's just dumping more and more moisture up there. And there are apparently no vents on the plumbing. And, and, and...This place was built by a contractor, so we're confused as to how all of these problems went unnoticed. It's likely this guy isn't as trustworthy as he seemed. It's possible we'll be withdrawing our offer. At the very least, we won't be paying $104,000 for it. >:(
Ah, well. There are a few other options in town, so we'll be looking into those immediately, but for now we're homeless at the end of the month. Wish us luck.
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on July 09, 2006, 11:26:25 AM
This place was built by a contractor, so we're confused as to how all of these problems went unnoticed. It's likely this guy isn't as trustworthy as he seemed. It's possible we'll be withdrawing our offer. At the very least, we won't be paying $104,000 for it. >:( Ah, well. There are a few other options in town, so we'll be looking into those immediately, but for now we're homeless at the end of the month. Wish us luck.
Really really really sorry to hear that. I know this kind of things too well: back in january we had to make some modernization works in the house were I live and we already packed to move. as soon as the works were to begin, the costs of them had multiplied almost by 10 and the works diminished by the same amount.... we're still living like camped out now... the really good thing is that you had the house inspected, so that you know you were risking to pay for something that is not worth the price and you did not get any kick in the back. if there ever is a category that's worse than lawyers, house builders and contractors surely is. Sure as hell I wish you the best luck to have everything fixed for the best way and as soon as possible, since the situations gives a certain degree of uncertainity. I will wait for a bunch of gorgeous news finger crossed! Keep us informed, all right?
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Frank N. O. on July 09, 2006, 04:14:17 PM
Sorry, I guess I misunderstood, I thought you'd already bought the house, but it's good you didn't when it turned out to be so bad so that's good news :) The place me and my live in that we rent is very bad too, and one of the workers that checked a problem out for us earlier said he knew it was bad since he was one of the people that made it and they were contracted to building it cheaply. There are half-inch gaps between panels and strips on the wall and we have tons of ants and silverfish all over the living-room, hall etc. and giant spiders too. Now we got a heat-wave nearing a tropical night (+20 C minimum for 24 hours) it's boiling hot, but in the winter it is freezing, especially on the floor and there are cheap small electric heaters so it's both extremely expensive and still far less effective than the normal hot-waver heating elements on normal houses, nuts. Technology is so advanced today that in DK they've made a test-house of wood (rnoamlly we use bricks, usually an outer and inner with space between and insulation between) that used paper-insulation and was built so air-tight that when placed in a test-chamber it couldn't measure anything and that place was high-tech, just can't remember where but probably the danish technological institute, and it didn't have any normal heating-system, just solar-panels on the roof and that was enough to power most if not all normal elecrical things in the house and it would be warm enough even in a danish winter, now that to me really speaks volumes of what is already possible, but isn't done.
My late dad had a saying "you can't afford to be poor" he knew from childhood that buying the cheapest usually didn't save money in the end but the exact opposite. It's not just initial cost but running costs as well, things aren't as simple as far too many people see it. And a how is a very expensive investment and is central to ones life and I'd rather take a bigger loan, if possible, and get a house made that was very self-sufficient using solar-panels, efficiently designed and constructed ventilation etc. and have low running bills, which one can't take a loan for, instead of buying a cheap place that was expensive always and had to be repaired and was in daily use still bad.
Best wishes for finding a good place fast, but even with that risk of being homeless, please remember that not checking and thinking things thrue can bite back hard! But I don't envy you your position of facing homelessness either. Frank
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on July 09, 2006, 09:41:12 PM
My late dad had a saying "you can't afford to be poor" he knew from childhood that buying the cheapest usually didn't save money in the end but the exact opposite.
Frank, your Dad was incredibly right and I applaud his point of view. |:)\ |:)\ Whenever possible, it's the best thing to do. About this I just had an example with computers (and luckily enough, it's not the same cost of an house): I bought for my mom a laptop two years ago and saved on everything since she was "an absent minded" student (I tried to teach her to use it....with no good results): and now, it's even worse, since it doesn't have the "parameters" to get updated and being old it's not efficient enough and for that reason more difficult to use.
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 10, 2006, 02:42:04 AM
Thanks for the well wishes.
When I said we we're homeless, I was being a little sarcastic. We'll have a place to stay up there (rent free, even), it just won't be ours. My parents have a cabin on the river that we can use until winter.
Frank, that new home sounds very impressive. Most of the homes built here are stick-built. A few years ago, they were billing straw homes as the wave of the future. They're tightly packed bales of straw between two cinder block walls. It's supposed to be very heat efficient.
The problem with newer stick-built homes is that they're so tight, they don't breathe. We think that's the problem with the home we want to buy. There's not enough venting in the roof, so moisture just sits in the attic and grows mold. There needs to be some way for the house to breathe, otherwise bad stuff happens.
It's too bad about your house. You can look at it this way, though....You won't suffocate. ;) Is there a regulation regarding pests in rental properties? Seems to me that's a serious health hazard that your landlord should take care of.
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Stef on July 11, 2006, 01:44:17 PM
Yeah, with energy prices rising all the time, those efficient houses will become far more common in the future, I guess. The apartment my girlfiriend and me live in is also very old and not very tight. In winter you can actually feel the cold air coming through the badly isolated windows. But it's only for rent and hopefully not for a very long time. I guess when you actually buy a house, you have to apply stricter standards.
Good luck, Gulf, with finding something better! At least you found out about the issues before you bought the house!! ;)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Callisto on July 11, 2006, 03:49:40 PM
Sorry to hear about that! It's good that you will not be compeltely homeless... a cabin on the river, rent free, doesn't sound too bad.
Good luck with further house hunting! And be sure to find a place with a back yard that can hold 139 of us for that BBQ! ;D
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on July 11, 2006, 03:57:12 PM
Good luck with further house hunting! And be sure to find a place with a back yard that can hold 139 of us for that BBQ! ;D
All coming by plane?!?!?
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Callisto on July 11, 2006, 04:00:49 PM
Sure why not (not my back yard! ;D)
Although not everyone here can fly... so could you pick me up Happy? :D
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Firegirl on July 13, 2006, 05:12:14 PM
I just saw this thread. Sorry to hear what happened Gulf.
What's the latest on the situation? I read that mold is a serious issue you do not want to mess around with. Can really make you sick....
As for the BBQ! RIGHT ON!! I don't think we'll have 139 planes there, maybe some can share rides ;). Plus...don't we have some helicopter people in here as well?? (I hope there will be no "Your-helicopter-blew-dirt-on-my-plane"-issues... ;) )
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: FlyingBlind on July 17, 2006, 10:35:27 AM
That is the most cutest home i have ever seen :P
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on July 17, 2006, 04:53:23 PM
What's the latest on the situation? I read that mold is a serious issue you do not want to mess around with. Can really make you sick....
As for the BBQ! RIGHT ON!! I don't think we'll have 139 planes there, maybe some can share rides ;). Plus...don't we have some helicopter people in here as well?? (I hope there will be no "Your-helicopter-blew-dirt-on-my-plane"-issues... ;) )
Yeah, right, do you have any good news? We have to throw this barbecue and share ride all around europe and us to come for a visit!! (and to avoid any "your helicopter blew dirt...." everybody will debug his/her plane, uh?!?!?
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on July 18, 2006, 05:15:12 AM
Well, my wife and I flew up there last Friday and looked at the house again. We'll be buying the house, provided the homeowner fixes everything that's wrong. We're having a mold inspector go through the attic, clean what mold there is, and make sure there's no more that isn't seen. After that's all finished, it should be a pretty nice place to live. :) We'll be closing on the house Aug. 10, closing on escrow on the 16th. We decided to stick around Fargo until the 5th, but we'll still need to stay at the cabin for a couple of weeks. Not really a bad deal. :)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on July 18, 2006, 07:44:04 AM
Well, my wife and I flew up there last Friday and looked at the house again. We'll be buying the house, provided the homeowner fixes everything that's wrong. We're having a mold inspector go through the attic, clean what mold there is, and make sure there's no more that isn't seen. After that's all finished, it should be a pretty nice place to live. :) We'll be closing on the house Aug. 10, closing on escrow on the 16th. We decided to stick around Fargo until the 5th, but we'll still need to stay at the cabin for a couple of weeks. Not really a bad deal. :)
Will it be enough to clean the mold or they also have to set some major repairs to the structure not to let the mold form again?!? When will it be ready? I ignore how the weather is in Fargo, since my geography's knowledge is quite limited :(. But, if there is as hot as here il Lugano, you probably are going to have a nice time in the cabin near the river. :)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Frank N. O. on July 18, 2006, 10:21:18 AM
I hope you're right, congratulations on the new house, see you at the BBQ, and don't worry, I'll be arriving by car :D In all seriousness then a meeting could be great, this forum has really brought out some of the best people around, from all different parts of the world and that's a great balance to all the dumb/evil/reckless people you see in the news all the time, which is why I don't watch tv btw.
|:)\ |:)\ |:)\
Frank
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: fireflyr on July 20, 2006, 12:59:53 PM
COOL Gulf! Sounds like you got the ducks in a row----glad it's working out. If you have any more vent problems you might have them install an attic fan (some really good solar ones available for about 400 bucks) and make sure insulation isn't blocking the eave vents. J
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: fireflyr on August 10, 2006, 06:55:47 PM
HEY Gulf, What's goin' on with the house ???
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: tundra_flier on August 10, 2006, 07:46:08 PM
Hi Gulf, best mold prevention I've seen is a HRV (heat recovery ventilation).
Here's a company that makes some residential size units. Very popular on new homes here in Alaska. http://www.lifebreath.com/life.htm
Hope it works out! Phil
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on August 23, 2006, 04:19:12 PM
Well, we're in! Sorry about not updating, but we've been without internet for 2 weeks. We just got hooked up today.
The move went very well. We left Fargo on the 7th, stayed at the cabin for a couple of days and closed on the house on the 10th. We moved all of our stuff in Friday the 11th and slept here Saturday.
So far, we've cleaned up the house and put most of our stuff away, but we still have boxes all over. My wife has been busy cleaning up her band room, so I've been babysitting most of the time along with trying to start a flight school with Bear Aviation (shameless plug). I've also got an interview with Marvin Windows today to fly right seat in their Beech 1900.
Thanks for everyone's good wishes. I'll upload some pictures here in the next few days. Hope everyone's well, and it's nice to be back on the forum. :)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on August 23, 2006, 04:22:10 PM
Welcome back to the forum and happy to know you're well in your new house! Good luck with all the unpacking and all the related things! :) :)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Mike on October 02, 2006, 11:05:18 PM
I know this is an older thread but:
WE'RE BUYIN' a HOUSE, HEY-HEY-HEY-HEY!!! ;D
and NO (!) it doesn't have a helipad! (you could land one behind the backyard though because there is a huge empty lot there.....) The loan and everything is approved and we will be officially in debt for a long looooong time by Oct. 16th... (I am gonna need so sell A LOT of CW books to make up for this one.... better not quit my day-job)
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: cj5_pilot on October 02, 2006, 11:19:49 PM
Sweet! Congrats!!!!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Frank N. O. on October 02, 2006, 11:49:35 PM
Wow, really pretty house to look at. You might be in debt but if the quality matches the looks then it'll be worth it |:)\
Frank
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: Gulfstream Driver on October 03, 2006, 08:59:43 PM
Congrats, Mike! Feels good to mow your own lawn for the first time. After that, it becomes a chore. ;)
I'll get around to posting pics of my place eventually.
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: happylanding on October 03, 2006, 09:07:37 PM
YEAH, congrats Mike! it seems that we find even more places in which we could throw BBQ in the lawn, uh? :) And Mike and Gulf, you two have to post more pics!
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: tundra_flier on October 04, 2006, 03:20:12 AM
Hey Congrats on the new place! I hear what you're saying, I've been in mine for 4 weeks now and still unpacking and trying to get organized. I think I'll go trim my willow patch now...someday it'll be a lawn. :p
Phil
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: cj5_pilot on October 04, 2006, 04:47:20 AM
Hey Congrats on the new place! I hear what you're saying, I've been in mine for 4 weeks now and still unpacking and trying to get organized. I think I'll go trim my willow patch now...someday it'll be a lawn. :p
Phil
Unpacked and organized? How long I lived in Wasilla? 3 + years? Dream on son...... ;D Didn't you say you found boxes you didn't remember when you moved from the Apt to the hangar?
Hmmm....your house just got a new nickname...."the Hangar"......or maybe "Hangar 13".......
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: chuckar101 on October 04, 2006, 09:11:43 PM
Nice house Mike. The only problem I can see is that its in Vegas. :D Congrats either way
Title: Re: Buyin' a house, buyin' a house, buyin' a house, hey-hey-hey-hey!
Post by: TheSoccerMom on October 04, 2006, 10:15:09 PM
Congrats to Mike, and ALL the hard workers who have made the dream work!!
