Update: the float switch isn’t broken. Wanna know how I know? I got so caught up in seeing if I could fix it that I forgot the first step, which is to disconnect it. Again…glad we hadn’t been using the bathroom, and I dodged in time. But, I immediately thought, this is not broken. So what’s the problem? And I glance over, and leaning between two studs is a copper pipe with a fishhook bent into it. So some other owners were aware, that the floater gets stuck. I put everything back together, flushed the toilet a couple times, and it came on fine.
We all start somewhere. A lot of new homeowners would've completely freaked out with what you just went through, but you took the right approach and then started researching and learning how to make things right. You're going to learn all sorts of new skills on this little adventure. Has anyone here ever had a house on The Historic Register? I'm eyeballing one right now and near as I can tell about the only benefit is tax credits for repairs. What I'm curious about is what, if any, changes are you allowed to make to the property and how closely it's monitored.
Where I live it's a financial death sentence. If you want to do just about ANYTHING to the place, it has to be approved by committee. No chance of changing the exterior appearance, at all. Depending on how strict they are, you may be forced to use period correct supplies for things like paint, roofing, etc. I think the tax credits are supposed to help with that, but come nowhere near close enough to help make up for the added cost. (Again, taxes, very regional, I'm speaking of my local area). I'm going off of stories/advice that my parents and their business associates (real estate agents/brokers) have suggested to their buyers when they were asking about them. I, personally, would never touch one with a 50' pole.
Good to know, thanks. I'll have to dive in a bit deeper. The house itself isn't historically significant, it's just the architecture...it's a Victorian built by a locally prominent attorney in the 1880's. So, maybe it might have slightly relaxed restrictions.
It’s given that designation to save it. It’s the exact opposite of “I can do what I want to my house”.
At least this is heartening: "Listing in the National Register places neither restrictions nor requirements on a private property owner. You may do with the property as you wish, within the framework of local laws or ordinances. You are not required to maintain the property in any specific way; you may demolish the property without federal permission." That's at the federal level. At the state and local level it may be an entirely different ballgame and thus far I haven't been able to garner much information....ah well, it's all part of doing the DD before buying.
I don't remember exactly how it came up, but I remember a business law professor once stopping mid lecture and explaining how we should never, ever, ever, ever, ever buy a historic home and went into specific details - like how his wife essentially badgered him into getting one and they regretted it from the get go. It almost seems more like an expensive art piece to show off rather than someplace to live in. Side note - The wife and I bought a place back in February and are settling into the new homeowner life. We bought our place (relatively) cheap for Chicago. Upside - We got a (granted, small) 3 bed 3 bath place and our all in payment is only a couple hundred bucks more than what we were paying in rent. Downside - It's a hundred year old house and definitely has old house problems. We already had to replace the furnace/ac, spent about two grand in plumbing repairs and already have a list of repairs/replacements/etc. Our plan is just running through our inspection report and updating the most pressing items while trying to make some cosmetic updates as we go along. It'll definitely keep us busy and I'll be reading through and asking very dumb questions here, no doubt. Even with the work we've had to do (and will have to do) we're pretty lucky. We love our place, my MIL is pretty handy and can help out here and there, and we're already building out a good list of vendors we can rely on. I just need to sit down and learn some things on my own so we're not constantly shelling out cash and relying on others to fix things for us.
We looked at a historic house prior to buying the one we are currently in, it was just going to be to much hassle, came with local government restrictions to repairs and updates. The tax credit didn’t begin to offset the pain in the ass it would have been.
Yeah, nothing I've ever heard about is at the federal level. 99% of the absolute bullshit was done by local city council and their "historical committee."
But, what if it's the missing LaRue? There are enough mouse hunters on here to help out with that pesky rodent. (very obscure movie reference but it still makes me laugh)
So I had this thought back in September: "Geez, I should do a deep clean on my house and re-paint the baseboards. They're looking kind of rough." Fast forward to a full re-paint of the entire main floor (except bedrooms, which I did over the summer), new flooring in the kitchen, new countertops, new sink and dishwasher, new light fixtures and, yeah, the house is clean top to bottom. Pictures for anyone who's interested: Living room before: Spoiler Living room after (built-ins were A BITCH to construct. Made out of MDF and anchored to the floor and wall; good luck demoing this baby: Spoiler Dining room before: Spoiler Dining room after (note the crazy-but-I-love-it chandelier). Also, that picture is a photo taken of the Canadian and the UK Lancaster bombers flying together in 2014: Spoiler Spare bedroom before: Spoiler Spare bedroom after: Spoiler Done with three days to spare before Christmas.
Thanks, everyone. That spare bedroom photo is an illusion. The dogs have taken to laying on it with muddy feet. So I've now washed the bedding five times, and it's not once ever been slept in. I give up, and I accept that the bed is never properly made and has paw prints all over it.
An update to our geothermal project ( I had pics but deleted them ). The guys arrived to start the installation on Dec. 14th and finished it up on the 17th. I was amazed at how fast and efficient they worked, and the degree of quality ( at least to my untrained eye.) Everything was as clean as they found it, and the rough grading in our yard isn't as bad as I thought it would be. They were smart enough to mound the dirt over the trench so when it settled it leveled off instead of caused a dip. The geothermal is taking some getting used to. Until now we've been accustomed to feeling a chill, and then suddenly a rush of warm air as the heat came on. With this, it's a steady supply of whatever level of fan is needed to stay at the temp we set it at. It's different, but nice. Once in a while I feel like our kitchen is colder than the rest of the house, but then when I come inside from outdoors I notice that, no, it's warm out there too. I'm very curious to see how this cools the house compared to the central AC we had. They still have to come back and do the aeroseal, which is a material they spray into the heat runs to seal up any small air leaks, making it even more efficient. Once that's done, I'll insulate the supply runs in the basement, which is not insulated. This combined with the better insulation to part of our attic and crawlspace under the house is making me feel good about the investment.
Very cool. Thanks for the updates, and I can't wait for more. Glad to hear it's working out for you so far.
Anyone have their gutters replaced somewhat recently? We received an estimate from Leaf Filter ( https://www.leaffilter.com/ ) and about fell out of my chair. We need about 160' of gutters for comparison's sake. We have a real asshole of a tree that drops a ton of leaves and those little seed things that twirl like a helicopter so something that prevents me from climbing on the roof 3-4 times a year to clean the gutters out with be preferred. The Leaf Filter design and reviews look strong, but God damn it seems ridiculously expensive.