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It's absolutely illogical to me that you can bring a shirt home for 30 days and then return it if you don't like it, can even test-drive a car and take it to your mechanic to be checked out, keeping it all day, yet can't "try out" life's largest purchase for more than a ten-minute walkthrough before committing to it for the next 30 years.
But maybe not many houses would sell if living there for a week first were an option!
I will never buy a house with a sidewalk again. I had no idea that each town handles responsibility different. In my town it's "Town owns the property, town put in the sidewalk, owner is responsible for keeping it clean, maintaining it, repairing or replacing it, and can still get sued by some idiot who has their nose in their phone and falls on it". Never again.
When we bought our house in 2017 there wasn't a big selection available in Southern Nevada. We were moving from Illinois and found the house we bought online. We were lucky that it hadn't sold when we got out here to see it. It had been nicely updated and had everything we wanted. The seller accepted our bid and the sale went well.
We did have it inspected and it got a good report. It needed a few minor things that the sell paid to fix. The one thing the inspector either missed or thought was okay was the roof. It is a tile roof that was pretty much shot. Almost all the tiles were cracked and it started leaking. The leaks didn't start until 3 years later, so maybe it was just starting to fail when we bought the house, but I feel the inspector should've seen that.
In the end it cost $18,000 for a new roof. We just bit the bullet and did it because we had no choice, and don't have to worry about it anymore.
...a STEEP hillside along the right side and along part of the right back corner of my lot -- making that part of the lot unusable without a SERIOUSly engineered retaining wall.
An 85% slop in less than 6 feet.
Had a landscaper come out. He said I'd need an engineer, permits, and plenty of money (50K). He advised against it.
Said, "Mother Nature always likes to take back what's hers."
My kids are going to be purchasing a house next year. One thing that is definitely on my list to check are the water shut off valves for under sinks and the toilets. When I went to replace the 2 sinks in one of the bathrooms, of course the first thing you do is shut off the water. One turn and they both snapped off. So did the other 2. I haven't touched the other bathrooms for fear that they will probably snap off too. I will be replacing the outdated toilets next year and will definitely purchase new valves for all.
I wouldn't buy in a neighborhood with an HOA ever again if I could avoid it.
Also if they leave any hoses attached to the spigots outside, make sure they will easily come off. Places with hard water will cause corrosion and will be almost impossible to remove without destroying either the hose or the spigot.
Last edited by MGS4EVER; 12-27-2022 at 11:30 AM..
Reason: added more info
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,605 posts, read 81,297,702 times
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One reason for buying this house was the mountain forest feel, with several mature Western Redcedar trees, and Douglas Fir trees 3-4' diameter and as tall as 80'. Shortly after moving in (1993) a neighbor told us about how the previous owner was out there every day sweeping up the fallen needles and cones. I use a leaf blower, and pay a guy to clean the roof and gutters 2-3 times a year, but it never occurred to me that there would be so much debris falling most of the year.
I will never buy a house with a sidewalk again. I had no idea that each town handles responsibility different. In my town it's "Town owns the property, town put in the sidewalk, owner is responsible for keeping it clean, maintaining it, repairing or replacing it, and can still get sued by some idiot who has their nose in their phone and falls on it". Never again.
If someone falls on your property -- sidewalk or no sidewalk -- they can still sue you.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,605 posts, read 81,297,702 times
Reputation: 57848
Quote:
Originally Posted by selhars
If someone falls on your property -- sidewalk or no sidewalk -- they can still sue you.
True, but there is no law requiring us to keep our dirt/gravel/ditches clean. In fact the city cleans out the debris from the ditches a few times a year. In many cities (such as Seattle and Tacoma WA) if your sidewalk is not cleared of snow within 24 hours of it falling, the fine is $50 for homeowners and $250 for commercial property owners.
When it comes to sidewalks, someone falling due to a sinking or big crack is more likely to sue the city (deep pockets) since they own it, you if it's slippery or has debris that they trip over.
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