D-Type (not a Jag, but a new shop/house/life)

In reply to wheelsmithy :

You have options  at and before closing. One that I would insist on is that the funding for rebuilding the deck be held in escrow. Thus permitting you to do the deck or another contractor. 

If the escrow account is worded properly, something along the lines of, 

upon completion of the new deck $X amount to be paid to person or company preforming  the work. 

Or if it’s a small town bank and they intend to service the loan just go in and talk to the loan officer. Explain that you intend to do the work and you will meet their deadline of 45 days or whatever. 

Thanks, Frenchy,

   I'm keeping options open, and your advice is very much appreciated. The thing is, the loan process has been very difficult for us. She still lives/works 3 hours away, I've had 6 jobs, and 4 residences in the last two years. Our bank required lots of f'd up documentation from each of us(letter from her employer saying she could work remotely with no cut in pay, despite the fact that she's staying put until she can find a job over here, for me, letters explaining my multiple residences/jobs, etc), and we REALLY don't want to start the loan process all over again only to potentially have to jump the same hurdles. Besides, with this loan, we're locked in to a good interest rate (and I believe they are on the rise), and I don't Have To repair the deck. There is plenty of other stuff inside to keep me busy. Here's a teaser from the listing:

Another? Sure, why not.

One more, WTF?

Like I say, we have ZERO problem paying someone to fix the deck spread over a 30 year loan. We've got nicotene to scrub off walls and ceilings, and KILZ to apply.

That mural us awesome. 

Things are moving forward. The contractor is going to handle the deck. The mortgage paperwork is frustrating (like it always is). I stopped by today and got before pictures.

Photo dump:

I want to check something...

Ok, those were taking a bit to load, I wanted to make sure they didn't take forever to load once posted.

Back to it:

Yep, it's crap.

So the deck bounces when you jump on it......

:)

It took us 6 months to close on our house last year for many of the same reasons. BEFORE i owned the place I ended up fixing both ac units, repairing the pool and installing new pool hardware pumps, etc. and a bunch of other stuff. It’s a year later and I still have projects but the house is rad. 

In reply to grover :

I'm not going to lie, that's kind of nice to hear. Misery loving company and all.

If all goes according to plan, this is the last hurdle, and you certainly put the whole mess in better perspective.

In reply to wheelsmithy :

I bought my house as a tear- down. My first house  was really neat but small. I fixed it up made it even more period. Old fashioned hand crank phone ( converted to touch tone inside ) old fashioned high tank pull chain toilet. Crows foot iron bath tub)  remodeled kitchen done in turn of the century style. Sold  it for more than 3 times what I paid for it. A week after closing it was all in the dumpster.   

In reply to frenchyd :

We want to do a similar thing with this house, only rocket-age period correct. We'll be crossing boundaries (more Victorian in the bathroom, plenty of up to date stuff all around), but in general, a Nuclear, Rocket Age vibe throughout. Gonna take some time.

   So, the house isn't ours yet. There is a SOLD sign out front, but we've moved closing back a 3rd time. I expect it to go through, once all ducks are squarely in a row. Here are some pictures of progress:

Along with the horrors that await.

A bathroom wallpaper sample:

A living room overview:

The basement:

And finally, a bit of nostalgia for all you folks who love retro:

Honestly, pictures do no justice to how truly nasty this house is. The smell is horrible-mold, cat pee, nicotine, and who knows what else. When you run your hands under countertops, you get a moist tar from many cigarettes past. The basement has mold, and watermarks on the bottom of doors. Perfect for a GRMer, and it knocked tens of thousands off the purchase price, and only requires elbow grease to fix. I'm champing at the bit.

Our new closing date is 11/13/2018, with the hope to close early, we'll see how that goes. 

Overall, I'm pleased with the progress on the deck. Communication has been urine-poor, but I've taken that bull by the horns, the weather has been rainy, which can't be helped, and it is difficult to be patient. No complaints. 

In reply to wheelsmithy :

Is your interest rate locked or are they adjusting it with market movement?  

Can I ask for a stupid favor?  Can you take a photo up-close of the handrail connections on the deck?  I've always done wooden rails a different way.  Always looking to learn new tricks though.  Or you can tell me to shut up and be patient.  I can wait until it's finished.

Maybe I've watched too many HGTV type shows, but I can see some nice potential with relatively minimal investment here. A little paint here and there, removing the popcorn ceilings and some strategic wall removal could probably make that a really nice place.

In reply to STM317 :

Eggsactly.

Bigeyedfish, glad to in a bit, but I'm not sure just what you want to see.

Frenchy, we were locked, had to rewrite, now locked again, grrr

APEowner said:

frenchyd said:

Hey!  You figured out how to post pictures!  The house looks great.  I'd love to see a build thread on it.

pictures of Frenchy's awesome house

Not exactly a build thread, but some really good stuff.

As to my house, We have a new closing date. 11/16/18. This Friday. Hopefully, all goes well. The deck looks great. No complaints, and a contractor friend said the price was on the low end of what he'd estimate to do it.

I have no new pictures to add, but it is, in fact OUR house. My special lady friend and I spent yesterday getting utilities transferred, and scrubbing wildly. The great thing about buying a truly filthy house is you can really see your work. 

Closing went okay. The bank failed to explain I needed a CASHIER's check, which I had to run and get. The Contractor sent me an email saying the full 13k was due Sunday, and a 12% fee would be added if payment was late. Still working on that one. 

All in all, I'm very pleased. After two+ years, I can finally get stuff out of storage, and get back to some dormant projects. Of course, we'll have to whip the house into shape first, but that will happen fairly quickly. We now have a relatively clean place to poo, a clean fridge for beer, and the oven is good to go. 

Today, air mattress, cleaning kitchen cabinets, then I'm deeming it a livable construction zone. Pics will be forthcoming, but I'm loosing internet for a bit, so updates may be sporadic. 

Congratulations, and good luck!

Yes! Now go fix some E36 M3! You'll he done in no time. Trust me. 

In reply to wheelsmithy :

Congratulations and well done. 

Thank You All. It has been quite the journey, and it is far from over.

Today was more scrubbing, some light shopping, Krystal burgers, and sunshine. The smell is 50% better after a full Pine Sol mopping. The dishwasher is toast, but the oven came together allright. The water heater seems suspect, but more investigation is in order.

Two of the three bathrooms have nice toilet seats, all exterior locks are now new and keyed alike, we are hammering away at the filth.

I set up an air mattress in the living room, and am ready for work Monday. SLF is off work until the Monday after Thanksgiving, so we're going to get some stuff sorted.

I ripped up the carpet in the Pool Room. 

I've got to see what's up with today's other pictures, then I'll continue.

Whelp, either the internet is broken, or I am. I'll get back to it when I can. 

I envy your Krystal burgers!! Half the family is from the South so a lot of roadtrips growing up. Nothing better than burgers chili and a chocolate shake. I love house build threads, thanks for sharing...

All right, pictures are working now, I had to take the card out of my camera, and cram it in my chromebook. Who knew? Note, if you will, in their last days on earth, this wallpaper had a propensity to place heads in crotches. Niice. 

Above is a picture of how the handrail upright is attached. I hope that is as requested. More of that below.

In other news, I live here now, and my special lady friend is spending the Thanksgiving holiday over here.

That's the living room serving as bedroom #1 above, while we're working on other stuff.

 No fewer than 10 smoke detectors have been removed. Kind of ironical in a house so completeley ruined with cigarette smoke.

Above is after removing the PO's crazy shelves.

The Sweepings.

Nice new, expensive deck.

I promise future updates will be more orderly. I'm a bit tired right now.

In reply to wheelsmithy :

Outstanding!

Im just really happy that life is finally getting back to normal for you.