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Old 12-04-2015, 11:37 AM
 
17,384 posts, read 11,899,200 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel View Post
And even if things are wonderful after you move in, there's no guarantee they'll stay that way. Your lovely neighbor could move and be replaced by the Neighbor from Hell at any time. Likewise, a house can develop a serious problem without much warning.

There's a level of risk involved in home ownership that simply can't be avoided.
Or die, and leave her house to her drug addict son, his nutty wife, and loser kid. You just live with it.
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Old 12-04-2015, 04:30 PM
 
Location: Howard County, Maryland
1,539 posts, read 2,290,801 times
Reputation: 2450
Nope, that's crazy talk. You don't get to test drive houses.
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Old 12-04-2015, 06:13 PM
 
Location: Michigan
2,741 posts, read 2,965,008 times
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We were allowed to stay in a vacation house overnight, prior to purchase. It was vacant at the time, and on an island in Lake Michigan. We did end up buying it.


So, if it's a vacant house, there is precedence, and I can't believe WE are the only ones that ever did so.
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Old 12-05-2015, 11:33 AM
 
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
11,936 posts, read 13,009,985 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeBear View Post
We were allowed to stay in a vacation house overnight, prior to purchase. It was vacant at the time, and on an island in Lake Michigan. We did end up buying it.


So, if it's a vacant house, there is precedence, and I can't believe WE are the only ones that ever did so.
That's an entirely different animal.


It is common to have lots of strangers stay at a vacation home. It isn't common to have strangers stay at your home.
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Old 12-05-2015, 11:54 AM
 
473 posts, read 517,061 times
Reputation: 1034
Depending on where you are, you might be able to find a rent-to-own arrangement. It will rule out some (many) properties but could alleviate your concerns. The terms are usually longer than a week though.
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Old 12-08-2015, 11:26 AM
 
1,039 posts, read 1,149,062 times
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also drive around at around 8pm during xmas time to see how many folks have xmas lights up tells you a lot.
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Old 12-08-2015, 11:28 AM
 
1,039 posts, read 1,149,062 times
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go on airbnb or vrbo etc and rent a place as close as possible. For instance I live in a condo complex where one or two folks rent on-line in as little as a one week period.

Living in complex one full week would tell you a lot if you want to buy a unit there.
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Old 12-08-2015, 11:34 AM
 
646 posts, read 687,637 times
Reputation: 2051
Quote:
Originally Posted by DelightfulNYC View Post
also drive around at around 8pm during xmas time to see how many folks have xmas lights up tells you a lot.


Huh? What does THAT tell you? That there are a group of people who like to put nails in their roofs to hang up lights? That has no bearing on if the people inside are "good" people. That just means they like to decorate. Now if it was May and they still had up Christmas lights.... THAT is an indication of seriously lazy people...lol.



Moderator cut: off topic

Last edited by Marka; 12-13-2015 at 04:14 AM..
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Old 12-08-2015, 02:42 PM
 
Location: Somewhere in America
15,479 posts, read 15,520,299 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DelightfulNYC View Post
also drive around at around 8pm during xmas time to see how many folks have xmas lights up tells you a lot.
What do Christmas lights say about a neighborhood? I see them in plenty of neighborhoods. I also see plenty of neighborhoods where there aren't any for a variety of reasons - lots of elderly, lots of Jewish folks, lots of people don't want to spend the money, lots of people don't care, etc. So what does this tell anyone about a neighborhood? Aside from some people put up Christmas lights and some don't?
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Old 12-08-2015, 05:43 PM
 
Location: Caverns measureless to man...
7,588 posts, read 6,579,646 times
Reputation: 17966
Quote:
Originally Posted by marino760 View Post
The worst thing you can do is not answer. If it's someone going to try to break into your house, that's the signal they are waiting for telling them no one is home.
And the loud "BANG!!!" they hear 4 seconds later is the signal that I actually was home, and keep loaded firearms in the house.

I very rarely answer the door to a stranger. There's no reason to. I work from home , and don't have time to take off work and chat with strangers about things that don't concern me.

And if you ever do want to buy our house, and want to ask the neighbor, good luck with that. He's harmless enough, but he's nutty as a squirrel's pantry and has had more strokes than I've had cheeseburgers. He'll have to interrupt you every thirty seconds to remind him whether you're there to buy our house, or his. Get all the information from him that you want; garbage in, garbage out.
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