29 March 2006

Interesting Information

We had to have the furnace worked on today - - it was misfiring quite a bit, and we thought the igniter was going our again (it has happened a couple of times before). But fortunately it wasn't. Some of the jets were misfiring because they needed cleaning. So the Air King guy came out and gave the whole unti a good once-over, and it's working like a charm - - just in time for it to get up in the 70's today and we don't need it! But that's okay - - at least we know it's all in good shape.

While the HVAC guy was there, Dear Hubby talked with him about different types of systems for new home construction. We had been seriously looking at a geo-thermal system, which cost quite a bit more upfront, but was supposed to be so efficient and cost-effective that it would pay for itself in 3-5 years.

WELL - - seems like that is not quite the case . . .

The first thing the guy asked Steve was what kind of back-up system he planned on installing.

Back-up system??? What for?

THEN the guy told him that he, and anyone else he had talked with over the past few years, had to have a back-up system installed, because the geo-thermal system by itself could not keep up with the heating needs of a house. In fact, even though we have had a fairly mild winter with fairly mild temps, he had to constantly run his back-up system,. If he didn't, his house temperature would drop to the mid-50's!

Hmmmmm - - doesn't sound good to me.

AND - - in our area, there are only approximately 18 homes that have geo-thermal systems. NOW - - if they were so good, why don't more people consider them? Good food for thought.

So they discussed other HVAC systems, and the pros and cons of each.

Thanks to this guy, we have a LOT more information to store away for building time.

Thanks, Paul! And Thanks, Air King, for taking care of us one more time! :-)


26 March 2006

STILL On the Market . . .

Remember the house we looked at about a month ago? The one decorated like Steak 'n' Shake? That they wanted $179,000 for?

And then 2 weeks later there was another Open House, and the price had dropped all the way (heh!) down to $169,000?

Well, there was ANOTHER Open House today at that house, and the price has dropped again - - to $164,000.

Heh.

We'll STILL pass . . .

23 March 2006

Lot Update

We met with our realtor for supper tonight, and had a great time! She is such a good, nice person, we have known her for many years, and we all have a great time together.

We gave her a reduced-down copy of our house plans, and asked her to please go back and talk to the folks who owned the Summit Street property, so that they would know who is interested in the lot, what we are intending to build, and give them some information about what kind of people we are (yes, we ARE good people - - a little bit loony sometimes, but harmless!)

I can understand how they might feel - - they do not know us, or anything about us, and I would abe just as uneasy as they are about selling to someone sight unseen and maybe get stuck with the worst neighbors in the world.

We also talked with her about another addition right on the south edge of town. There are 26 acres available, and they are wanting to split it and sell lots. It's not too far from the property we looked at last weekend, and it's nice property. Some wooded areas to it, lots of deer to see, and it not only fairly private and quiet, but it's close enough to town to get to everything we need to easily.

SO - - things are looking up a little - - even though we will not be building now until NEXT Spring, at least we are still on the way . . . .

Keep ya posted . . .

19 March 2006

Pathetic!

Dear Hubby saw an open house in the paper in a neighborhood not far from where he grew up. It advertised a large ranch house, 2 big garages, and approximately 5 acres of land, part of it wooded. It was located right on the edge of town.

SO - - we decided to go have a look-see.

What a disappointment . . .

When we first pulled up, it looked pretty nice - - lots of trees, wooded area across the back of the lot, and big house and garages.

Then we really started looking things over.

PA - THE - TIC.

The house was laid out okay, I guess - - but the trim and woodwork in the rooms did not match. I mean did not match even in the same room! The hardwood floors were in pretty sad shape and in need of a great deal of TLC.

In the "Master Suite" (yeah right) - - you could tell the previous tenants had a waterbed, because the subflooring was in the middle of the room, and the hardwood flooring had been laid up to the bed pedestal.

Yes, that's right - - there was a HUGE SQUARE OF SUBFLOORING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM.

Can we say PATHETIC????

One thing we really did like, though, was the large sunporch on the back. It overlooked the back lot and the wooded area. The realtor told us that back in the trees was a natural salt spring, and the deer just flocked to it, and there were always deer around. Now that would be really cool - - sitting out on the sunporch, curled up in a big ol' comfy chair with a cup of hot tea and a kittycat or two, watching the deer walk through the treeline. *sigh*

We started to go out the side door, and was told it didn't work properly and needed to stay locked shut.

Ooooo - kayyyyyyy - -

SO we found another door to go out of, and decided to check out the yard and garages.

What a MESS!

The yard had all kinds of debris and broken yard sculpture laying around. It was really JUNKY.

Inside the first garage was no better - - they had all kinds of "stuff" crammed in there to the point that you could hardly walk around.

AND - - another "surprise" - - the realtor had mentioned to us to be careful walking around the garage, because there was about a one foot difference in the floor height between the 2 bays.

Excuse me??? WHY was there a one foot step down (or up, depending on which direction you were walking) between the bays?

Dear Hubby said it was probably to accommodate a taller vehicle.

WHAT????

Instead of putting YOURSELF and ANYONE ELSE in danger of falling and possibly breaking something when you or they land on a concrete floor (which is not known for its softness, by the way), why not (bright idea here) PUT IN A TALLER DOOR?????

DUH??!?!?!?!?!????!!!!!

Oh well - -

We went to the other garage, and it was locked up tight. No way of looking in that one. The realtor mentioned they had a lot of "junk" stored in it. (Like the first garage DIDN'T????)

So we walked around the yard some more, and the more we did, the more depressing it got. SO junky!!

NOW - - here's the GOOD part - -

The asking price for all this - - are you ready???

All this and more could be OURS - - ALL OURS - - for the low, low price of $189,000.

Yeah, you read that right.

NOW - - JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME . . .

If I were going to be asking that much "green" for MY house and MY property . . . you can be DAMN sure I would clean it up, and have the JUNK stored somewhere else (OFF SITE!), and have the FLOORING IN THE BEDROOM COMPLETED, and have the woodwork and trim in each room MATCH, and CLEAN UP THE DAMN YARD!

What are people thinking?????

It was a beautiful lot, and a GREAT location, but the house, garages, and grounds would have taken at least an additional $100,000 to bring it all up to specs!

Heh.

Think we'll pass.



06 March 2006

Small Update

Had a chance to talk with our realtor today. She has still not been able to find out anything on those lots we have been wondering about. Apparently when they are held in a bank trust, it's really difficult to find out exactly who to contact. But she may be on to something, and hopefully will have something to tell us later this week.

Also, Dear Hubby is going to stop by the County Recorder of Deeds office and see if he can track down any info by address or tract number . . .

Wish us luck - - keep ya posted.

05 March 2006

Still On the Market . . .

Dear Hubby Steve saw in the paper this morning that there was another Open House at the one we looked at a couple of weeks ago.

Also, the price has dropped from $174,000 to $169,000.

Heh.

Think we'll pass . . .