The Joy of Home Ownership

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JD8

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Things home ownership taught me
How to be a victim of mortgage fraud
How to be the victim of mortgage refi fraud
How a crooked mortgage company can and will bribe your attorney to throw your case.
Ice dam roof leak damage insurance doesnt cover
Storm downed tree damage to roof insurance doesnt cover
Crooked insurance adjusters writing false reports after telling me damage would be covered
Home flooding from roofing contractor blocking drains and piling roof tear off debris in french drain paths not covered by insurance.
Increases in home insurance deductibles and premiums due to reoccurring storm damage
How a great credit rating can be destroyed by a crooked mortgage company
How city codes enforcement can interrupt repair contractor and then tie up repermitting process over something thàt was actually more than compliant with city codes admin.
How the anger and angst over house problems can ruin a marriage
How crooked realtors really can be
How nobody regulates or investigates crooked realtors
How the US Attorney and FBI can refuse to investigate interstate mortgage bank fraud
How you personally can be locked in a room and treated like a criminal for trying to give your case file to the FBI.
How animal control tried to bait and lure my dogs off my property when they were invisible fence trained
How my crooked mortgage company turned my dogs in to animal control for running loose when they werè invisible fence disciplined
Add in the cost of lawn maintenance, repairing salt spray and weed killer damage to my lawn by city crews being careless oŕ trying to spray my invisible fence trained dogs with their applicator pump wand
How crooked the entire HUD home sales process is.

And people ask me why I rent

Yeah that invisible fence stuff doesn't work.. Guy had one of those on the backside of the neighborhood we just moved out of. Big ol Mastiff and what looked like a rot mix. They were actually pretty good when I would walk my dogs but my dogs didn't pay them attention. Welp, one of our neighbors with a yippy little dog was back there one day and the dogs just went straight through the "barrier" and killed that dog and bit the owner.
 

Aries

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Well, the Great Statewide Remodeling Saga of 2021 is about to end, After the fourth, yes I said 4th, tear out and tile of our bathroom, they left here today with a much better quality result than the previous ones.

I'll just say this fiasco started last May, May 2021. I knew it was going to be a bad deal when the original sales lady for our project would never get back with us. We had crews that thought they could tile a wall that couldn't. We had the wrong tile shipped and installed, and the time before this we left the "expert" alone and at the end of the day had black grout instead of the contracted white grout.

Within one day of Statewide receiving my wife's complaint to the BBB, the third rep showed up saying the previous two were fired and they would chop off thousands of our contract in order to get it done right.

From uneven tile, 3/4 inch grout lines, drawers that hit the walls when opened, a ceiling that was so uneven you could see it with the naked eye, chipped tub, tub not grouted in, no hot water to bypass valve, no insulation in wall or ceiling, scratched up toilet bidet lid and broken bidet lid spring, cigarettes and trash in yard, broken tile pieces all over the back yard, I could go on forever.

Maybe, I said maybe, the fourth time is the charm.
My wife's pet peeve is when you can see sort of a pattern in the tile going a direction, and they get even one tile turned 90 degrees the wrong direction. No matter how subtle, she will catch it and it will annoy her forever. She told the contractor exactly how she wanted them laid out and told him that if ONE was going the wrong direction they WOULD be replacing it. I caught them turning a couple the wrong way and had them change it before they got too far along. :rollingla
 

wawazat

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My wife's pet peeve is when you can see sort of a pattern in the tile going a direction, and they get even one tile turned 90 degrees the wrong direction. No matter how subtle, she will catch it and it will annoy her forever. She told the contractor exactly how she wanted them laid out and told him that if ONE was going the wrong direction they WOULD be replacing it. I caught them turning a couple the wrong way and had them change it before they got too far along. :rollingla
The devil is in the details, I get it. Asymmetry catches my eye very quickly and once I see it, I have to consciously ignore it. I could never make a living at a skilled trade, I end up taking way too long to get it just right before I can put my name on it.
 

Forgalspop

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The devil is in the details, I get it. Asymmetry catches my eye very quickly and once I see it, I have to consciously ignore it. I could never make a living at a skilled trade, I end up taking way too long to get it just right before I can put my name on it.
Same here. A model I live by = "Your work is a portrait of yourself" I might be slow, but I do my best to do it right the first time.
 

TANSTAAFL

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My mortgage has never been sold, but I let the bank talk me into a 5 year fixed rate with a refinance after that. My rate is really good, and with current rates going up fast right now, I’m throwing all the money I can at the loan to pay it off in the next year and a half before refinance time. Since I borrowed the money through my bank here in TX, they made me use my place here as collateral (which was paid for), so paying off that loan will actually free up both my places.
I have heard nightmares in states were buyers were told recently, "don't worry, this area is increasing in value rapidly and your home will, you will be able to refinance in 6 months and even pull money out! " Very sad, no stock broker or real estate agent can promise that legally but they are. In one case the property has done what the agent said, however with rates as high as they are currently the home payment would be unmanageable and the home is in a blue state.
 

BillM

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Does it ever end? I've owned my own home(s) since 1983 and it's a non-stop list of things that are always needing to be done.

Today, it's pressure washing the deck so it can be stained/sealed. The previous owners never did it...because it's covered, I think. I'm hoping this is a once every 5 years or so thing instead of every year or two since it is out of most of the elements. It's still a pain in the ass...

View attachment 291801
The definition of a car is a hole in the road you throw money into. A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into. And a house is a hole in the ground you throw money into. It will never stop! The best you can hope for is to do or have done quality work with quality materials so the car/boat/house lasts longer between instances of having to throw money into it. And if you miss doing some of the work you need to do, understand that it will be a great deal more expensive when you finally just absolutely HAVE to do it, or have it done...

Speaking as someone whose house hasn't had much maintenance done on it in the past decade. Fixing some of the problems I have is really, really going to suck!

Bill
 

TANSTAAFL

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I will say four things I am happy about with my home:

1) Great neighborhood and it has appreciated in value beyond what I have put into it (however with the current economy that may change)
2) Enough square footage indoors and out
3) Great neighborhood with a solid HOA
4) Friends and neighbors do find it desirable (pride of ownership.)

All of this is in spite of a very expensive foundation repair.
 

cmc tom

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Looks good
image000000(124).jpg

Looks good
Finished the bathroom floor and walk in closet. Always something next.
 

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Snattlerake

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At least by doing it myself I'm the only one to blame if I f*** something up. No worries about getting someone else to do it...or do it right.
That's just it. I don't have the knowledge or the skills to tile the bathroom. I never knew you had to grout in a tub to keep it from flexing. had no experience moving a cast iron drain 3 feet. I didn't know, and apparently the three tilers before this one, about a metal tile transition piece instead of bull nosed tile. So, ya see, I picked the wrong contractor to do a week's work a year ago.

Wifey is ecstatic. She gets to use her new whirlpool air jet tub and bidet tomorrow. That's another thing. We had been pricing these things for years and the tub was below $800 when she started. She kept watching the price go up and up and the availability was spotty. We finally bought the tub for $1200 and it didn't come with a heater for the recirculating water. No problem, I went online and got one recommended for this particular tub. There ain't no way it would have fit. It wasn't even the correct size or type of fittings. No problem, I called the tub maker and they gave me a model number and charged me twice what the other one cost. The tech guy assured me it would fit and it did.

Apparently, the plumber didn't tighten the fittings before closing up the tub. Jesus Christo in Excelsis Deo! I'm telling you they weren't even hand tight. After replacing all the tub insulation that was soaked we tried it again.

Here is what we have today when they left for lunch.
1659722251151.png
 

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