Why Did We Buy This House Again?
Ah, spring…that lovely time of year when I’m again reminded that buying this house was perhaps not such a good idea.
What do they say? April showers bring May foundation leaks?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Our naive first-time homebuyer, no-down-payment, 2005 height-of-the-housing market purchase has quickly turned into a real-life version of The Money Pit.
Here’s the plot synopsis:
May 2005
Home-buying fever hit us hard. All our other friends had already bought their first homes and were urging us to do the same. “But we don’t have a down payment,” I protested. “Oh, you don’t have to have a down payment anymore - we didn’t.” Because we were making $80,000 and living in a rented townhouse with a brown recluse problem, I didn’t need much convincing.
July 17, 2005
My boss recommended a realtor, we got preapproved for a loan and it was off to the races. As part of my husband’s court-ordered mediation with his bipolar ex, we had agreed not to move out of my stepson’s elementary school district if she would agree to let him attend its far superior schools. At the time, we didn’t realize that his elementary school district encompassed only two subdivisions: one preferred by the city’s professional football and baseball players, and a small neighborhood of homes built in the seventies. After broadening the search to a neighboring elementary school that would allow us to apply for an in-district transfer, we visited eight homes in our price range and made an offer on the fifth.
When viewing the home, we had noticed a few hairline cracks in the foundation wall near the window, but our realtor told us it was very common and probably not something to worry about. Besides, the home inspection would alert us to any issues.
July 25, 2005
The home is inspected by our realtor-recommended home inspector. She does not think the foundation cracks are a problem. Her only recommended repairs are to have the homeowners fix the seeping kitchen faucet and re-attach the guest bedroom’s smoke alarm.
Slight settlement noted. There are cracks in the south wall on the outside and inside of the basement and one at the NW corner. These indicate slight settlement. Monitor for future movement and maintain exterior drainage. No repairs recommended at this time.
August 2005
Less than one week after closing on the house, the city is deluged with rain storms and a large puddle forms on our foundation’s floor. We are freaking out, and my husband is convinced that the previous owners ripped us off by not disclosing the problem. I call ourrealtor. She says that she’ll call the other realtor , but that there’s probably nothing we can do because the previous homeowners only lived there for two years, and they really might not have ever had a problem. Besides, it’s been an extremely dry summer followed by a ton of rain, so a little water in the basement is nearly unavoidable. We probably just need to check the slope of our yard and then call The Crack Team to seal up the crack for good.
Summer 2006
We do some work on the drainage under the deck and re-grade the dirt near the foundation. No signs of water entry. The Crack Team gives us an estimate of $800 for sealing the main crack, and $500 more for the hairline cracks by the windows. Since we don’t have the money and think we may have fixed the problem, we decide to wait a year or so.
Summer-Fall 2007
A noticeable crack develops at the peak of our living area’s cathedral ceiling. Doors are not closing easily, and small hairline cracks are developing above some interior windows. Water occasionally enters the basement, though there has only been one other instance of a puddle on the floor.
We look into having a structural engineer assess the situation for $300-$350. My husband’s aunt and uncle recommend that we call a reputable foundation repair company and get a free evaluation instead. I am worried that this is a conflict of interest and that we won’t get honest feedback, but my concerns are laid to rest when the company looks at the house and says there’s probably nothing to be worried about. The foundation cracks are minor settlements that have likely stabilized , and the ceiling crack is the result of extreme temperature fluctuations between the outside and inside of the house in a spot where not much insulation can fit. Their advice is to seal the foundation cracks with a special caulk, then pour buckets of water outside the foundation in the spring to see if the crack leaks. If the problem persists, it may be due to pressure from ground water, and they can give us an estimate for a water lock system (typically around $3,000).
March 2008
A new discovery: A long, winding crack has formed on our foundation floor, and it looks as if some water came up from under the slab in the last week or so. My husband is ready to the foundation repair company and have the water lock system installed as soon as possible, so I’ve temporarily cancelled our monthly debt snowball payments. However, I think we’re going to call in a structural engineer to diagnose the problem before we start shelling out money for repairs.
So here’s the short list of home repairs that will need to be made within the 5-6 years that we are planning to get completely out of debt in: Evaluate/Fix Foundation Problem, Paint House, Replace Carpet, Replace Roof, Replace Water Heater, Replace Heat Pump, Replace Appliances…oh, I can’t go on. Is this the dirty little secret of home ownership: you never stop paying?
12 responses so far
Unfortunately I think that you are right about hom eownership being very expensive. A lot of people think their house is a great investment but by the time you have paid for it, then paid for it 3 more times in interest to the bank, paid to maintain it, decorate it and insure it, it can be really expensive. I do wonder whether in a lifetime if renting woudl be cheaping than owning a home.
oh! so sad! i had a house-buying situation years ago where we bought the house in august and in october there was freak flooding (never happened again)… when about half of my then-boyfriend’s very extensive and very pricey record collection was still in crates on the basement floor! i went down to get some laundry in the morning and 10 minutes later was nekkid and hauling record crates, sopping wet, up the stairs. by evening, his nerd friends had convened to try to save the records! heh. but, we were so lucky that it was a one-time deal. i can’t imagine the stress you’re under! good, good, good thing for ER funds
Yeah, boo for water!
Luckily, I just found out I’m getting my 1Q bonus on Friday and it’s $2100, which is about $1500 more than normal. So between that, the emergency fund and the economic stimulus, it shouldn’t add too much time to our plan.
I’ll post an update once the engineer comes out.
And Rachel - you could be right. Some PF bloggers say renting is indeed cheaper than buying - they prefer to invest the money.
There’s a statistic that some folks throw around: expect to spend 1 to 2% of your home’s value — per year — on maintenance and repairs.
You don’t mention how much the house is worth, but if it’s a $200,000 house, then you should expect to spend $2K to $4K per year.
-mr. stupid
Yes, you keep paying and paying and paying…you get the idea!
Mike
Mr. Stupid -
Our house is probably worth about $185,000. We don’t typically spend more than $2K per year on maintenance, but we’ve been trying to only do what’s absolutely necessary while we get out of debt. Another mistake on our part was thinking we’d be easily able to afford the maintenance on this house, and not realizing how many things would need to be replaced/repaired on a 10-year -old house.
Mike -
You sound like a seasoned home owner! Everyone always told me houses are expensive and you’re never really finished working on them, but I didn’t listen…
[...] Girl presents Why Did We Buy This House Again? posted at Finance Gets [...]
Argh! Sounds like you must live in Arizona…in my neighborhood, maybe???
Actually (thank god) we don’t have widespread foundation problems in this part of town. They’re all out in the fringe suburbs, where builders blithely tossed up houses on caliche–poorly compressed caliche–which expands when water soaks into it. Expensively.
But after moving into the House from Hell (whose previous owners, Satan and Proserpine, were happy handypersons…never, ever, EVER buy a house from a do-it-yourselfer!), I learned one major Life Lesson:
Go right ahead and pay the fee for your real estate agent’s pal, the home inspector. He or she will say nothing very serious is wrong, because few new jobs emanate from Realtors whose sales have been queered by inconvenient truths. Meanwhile, tell the agent and the seller that the sale is contingent on inspections by YOUR tradesmen. Then hire your favorite plumber, electrician, roofing dude, and HVAC guy to come and look at everything.
And figure that in the first year of residence in a resale house you will spend 10% to 15% of the house’s purchase price in repairs and upgrades.
After you’ve replaced the roof, the water heater, the leaking refrigerator, the defective dishwasher, the seeping faucets, the toilet that doesn’t flush, the carpet whose saturation with dog pee was disguised by the perfume laid down by the professional carpet cleaners who came in two days before you saw the place, the watering system that doesn’t water, the “fire door” with a hollow core, the out-of-code plumbing under the bathroom sink, the pool cleaner whose bizarre thumping noise permeates the house (how??), the handsome kitchen countertop whose DIY redesign left too little room to prepare a meal that doesn’t come out of a pizza box, the dinky kitchen sink, the insane tree that turned into something from The Little House of Horrors, the Romax wiring draped over the garage door opener, the garage door opener that falls off its fastenings onto your vehicle, the garage door springs (while you’re at it), the…the…huh? Running a little long? Oh, sorry. Well, you get the idea. Ten or 15 percent is a modest estimate.
I will say this, though: with all that stuff done, the place has run pretty much trouble-free with very little extra expense over the past five years. So there’s hope. I guess.
When my son & I copurchased a house as an investment, I insisted on having all the tradesmen who had worked on the H from H inspect the new shack. That’s when I learned that a buyer has a right to have ANY NUMBER of inspections on a house. So, if they tell you otherwise, turn and run.
Wow, FAM, that was a long list of things you had to fix! I live in the midwest - not sure what the problem is out here. Possibly the extreme weather fluctuations with the seasons? And a lot of clay in the ground?
If I’ve learned one thing from all of this, it’s to never fully trust your real estate agent or the people they recommend, because it’s better for them that the deal gets done (and that you pay as much as possible).
I’m really, really eager to get started on fixing stuff, even though its not the most convenient time. I don’t want to end up with worse problems due to neglecting the house for five years. But once I get started on home projects, it’s so easy to get carried away! I’m hopeful my house will be great once we get all the fixes done, because we’ll probably be here a while.
LOL! I hope you get your foundation problems solved. It sounds like you’ll be enjoying the Workman Waltz for a while.
This post got me so inspired I had to link with it in today’s Funny about Money post, which spins off from your story.
[...] in my case, we’re looking for a structural engineer to examine some potential foundation problems and don’t know anyone who has had this type of service done. Although a few people are [...]
[...] Even More Reasons Why You Can’t Trust Your Real Estate Agent (the follow up to Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Buying a House and Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Selling a House) from Quest For Four Pillars. Things that make you go hmmm… [...]