I truly hate home ownership

[Sugar Land]

At least with home owning if you ever move out you can get a fat check to take with you.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

At least with home owning if you ever move out you can get a fat check to take with you.

 

[Anger]

A good friend and I were having this very conversation a few days ago. We were reminiscing about apartment life and the fun we had. Ben if it makes you feel any better I've been in that place you are in before so I can feel your pain.

I'd do an apartment and live the life but I have too much junk (not junk, just stuff).

 

[Blind Sniper]

Ben, at least you're man enough to admit you may have screwed up/made things worse. Whenever my dad would try to fix a plumbing problem at our house in Hurst things always got worse. Master bathroom was half-finished for a solid decade, and the jacuzzi tub in the other bathroom took twice the pipe it should have because he kept mis-measuring, and it wound up wired to the front porch light.

Memories like that are why I plan on renting, never buying.

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[TX69]

I'd do an apartment and live the life but I have too much junk (not junk, just stuff).

Apartment life was awesome when I had nothing but in the end I couldn't stand all of the people in the buildings I lived in. At least with home ownership I can sleep a full night and also not worry about the place burning down.

 

[Rebel]

First place I lived, the wiring/breakers were good, but old. You had to be careful what you plugged in where. They also had issues with a particular hot water pipe breaking every 2-3 years. It would typically take at least a week for someone to come out and fix it. You could jump up and down on the concrete slabs at the base of the stairs and watch water come out the edges. There was a 2 year period where a different water line would fail every 2-3 months. New management company took over, dug up the old lines. Lo and behold, galvanized steel pipe that was both too narrow and too shallowly buried. Wonder how much the original property owners/builders paid off the inspectors?

Second place I lived in literally had the shower floor collapse while in use because there was an unknown water leak. Also had only 3-4 grounded outlets in the whole house.

The third place I lived in did not have a single grounded outlet in the house (built in 1952). At one point a breaker failed. Found out the breaker was made by an English company about 50 years ago. They were so bad it is now illegal to install one in a home in California. They had a penchant for failing to trip. Every other breaker on the property was the same (2 duplexes, 7 breakers per duplex). Owners elected to replace only the failed breaker. One of my neighbors had a semi-functioning stove for 2 months (oven and 1 burner worked). Owners replaced it with a used unit from another property. And no studs in the walls outside of door frames that I could find (checked with 3 stud finders).

The fourth place I lived wasn't bad, just cheap and not a great neighborhood. They also had painted sinks. And large gaps underneath every door except the front door. The dishwasher didn't work either (was initially excited when I saw that, had never used one before).

The place I live now (#5) is amazing. In the kitchen, I ran the microwave, washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher (hot damn!), and stove all the same time. I could not have done that any other place I lived.

One day I will own my own property and have a house built on it. I will have it overbuilt. It will cost a lot of money, but damned if I'm not setting my own terms. I want it to last 100 years.

 

[Blind Sniper]

Oh God, wiring issues... house we had in Saginaw was a nightmare. Previous owner was an electricians mate in the Navy (his wife was the realtor that sold us the place), and thought that he was qualified to rewire the entire house (two story farmhouse, built in 1913 - the rewire job was done in the 60s). We didn't find out how bad his work was until moms hair dryer started sparking at the outlet, and then started smoking. Turns out the dumbass had used that old 'knob & tube' wiring with cloth insulation in some parts. We sued, they paid almost ten grand to have everything rewired properly, and got the wife arrested after finding out they bribed inspectors.

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[stdreb27]

Oh God, wiring issues... house we had in Saginaw was a nightmare. Previous owner was an electricians mate in the Navy (his wife was the realtor that sold us the place), and thought that he was qualified to rewire the entire house (two story farmhouse, built in 1913 - the rewire job was done in the 60s). We didn't find out how bad his work was until moms hair dryer started sparking at the outlet, and then started smoking. Turns out the dumbass had used that old 'knob & tube' wiring with cloth insulation in some parts. We sued, they paid almost ten grand to have everything rewired properly, and got the wife arrested after finding out they bribed inspectors.

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Whaaaaat? A corrupt gubbermint official in Saginaw!?!

 

[Blind Sniper]

Saginaw MI, not Saginaw TX.

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[shortround]

Home ownership is all it is supposed to be in The Lone Star State:

Property taxes that suck all the air out of your chest.

Recurring maintenance costs like painting, mowing the yard, replacing faulty water heaters, & busted water softeners.

Then, you have to have your septic tank pumped, pests removed, foundations stabilized, and HVAC replaced every ten years or so.

Not to mention a roof replacement after a heavy hail storm.

The insurance companies love Texas because of high rates and high deductibles.

The Legislature loves us because they tax us to death.

Gotta Love It!

Be Well!

 

[TX69]

Home ownership is all it is supposed to be in The Lone Star State:

Property taxes that suck all the air out of your chest.

Recurring maintenance costs like painting, mowing the yard, replacing faulty water heaters, & busted water softeners.

Then, you have to have your septic tank pumped, pests removed, foundations stabilized, and HVAC replaced every ten years or so.

Not to mention a roof replacement after a heavy hail storm.

The insurance companies love Texas because of high rates and high deductibles.

The Legislature loves us because they tax us to death.

Gotta Love It!

Be Well!

I've owned homes in other states that double the Texas property taxes. It sucks the air out of your chest and rips your balls off at the same time.

 

[stdreb27]

Saginaw MI, not Saginaw TX.

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Lol was wondering about that.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Where ya been, Ben?
Been 18 hours, sure hope you didn't touch that mystery exposed wire....

 

[benenglish]

Where ya been, Ben?

Dealing with it. My first post contained errors and assumptions and I've paid a price for that.

That running water sound that I ignored because I saw the toilet running? It turns out that the toilet running was just a coincidence. Also, me saying "Oh, it's just a leaky toilet. I can put it off another week." was extremely stupid.

What I was actually hearing was a broken pipe some feet away in the same wall. Well, not broken, just a pinhole spewing water. So, I didn't break the pipe when I turned off the water to the toilet. What I did, however, was fool myself into thinking that I'd stopped the water from flowing. Shortly after that, my ears told me different and the water on the floor confirmed it.

Bottom line? The pipes in a corner of the house have all been replaced and the plumbing is now completely functional. Many loads of soaked drywall were hauled away. A remediation company came in to do clean-up and removed large amounts of fresh mold and still more soaked drywall. There will be blowers and a giant dehumidifier running in that room for a few more days, at least. Finally, with the demo work started in earnest, though not by choice, I have to decide if I'm going to go ahead with a full bathroom remodel or just patch up the drywall.

Today I finally get a day without tradesmen tromping in and out of the house and I'm thankful for that; it's pretty exhausting dealing with them and watching them tear out so much of your house. So today is shower/shave/eat/watch TV day. It'll be Tuesday before I have to deal with the remediation folks again. Once they've re-tested and gone, I'll be hunting for at least a drywall and tile contractor and maybe much, much more. But at the moment I'm going to pull a Scarlett O'Hara: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Holy crap, that's terrible.
Does insurance cover any of the costs?

 

[benenglish]

Holy crap, that's terrible.
Does insurance cover any of the costs?

My insurance doesn't cover plumbing repairs; they're considered normal maintenance. They do cover the damage remediation work but wouldn't you know it? The deductible was just a tad higher than the cost. Bottom line is that this will all come out of pocket.

A few thousand here, a few thousand there...eventually it starts to add up.

Did I say I hate home ownership? I want to be really clear about that.

 

[SA_Steve]

It is amazing to me that consumer grade materials and appliances have such short lifetimes these days.
Couple years ago all major appliances dropped back to a one year warranty.

Indoor paint should last a lot longer than it does (need more lead in it?).

 

[Younggun]

It is amazing to me that consumer grade materials and appliances have such short lifetimes these days.
Couple years ago all major appliances dropped back to a one year warranty.

Indoor paint should last a lot longer than it does (need more lead in it?).

That's because people have made the choice to buy cheap crap that looks neat and has cool lights and digital displays over quality built products at a higher price.

I paid more for a quality washer and have a 5 year warranty top to bottom, 10 years on the drum. I'll be getting a Matching drier next year. It washes just as good without the pretty lights and display.


Sent from my HAL 9000

 

[stdreb27]

It is amazing to me that consumer grade materials and appliances have such short lifetimes these days.
Couple years ago all major appliances dropped back to a one year warranty.

Indoor paint should last a lot longer than it does (need more lead in it?).

Commercial appliances aren't that much different. They need preventative maintenance and repair. Albeit they may be on for 12 hours a day. And are abused at best.

 

[TX69]

My insurance doesn't cover plumbing repairs; they're considered normal maintenance. They do cover the damage remediation work but wouldn't you know it? The deductible was just a tad higher than the cost. Bottom line is that this will all come out of pocket.

A few thousand here, a few thousand there...eventually it starts to add up.

Did I say I hate home ownership? I want to be really clear about that.

Accidental fires happen all the time.