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I am using the wrong wrong term for the chimney. It needs a new crown and a firebox. I am honestly not sure how to repair these windows. I tried to buy latches, but they are no longer made. Also the part that holds the glass in is a wierd plastic that is no longer made. The glass is the thinnest available. Previous owner went cheap. So we can live with the windows if I can find a way to make them actually work right and block cold air.
The furnace cannot be repaired as I was told it is too old and does not meet current reg, but can stay until it dies.
Deck boards have to be replaced. Too much rot on the ends.
If we stay longer than a few months appliances have to go. We run a window air unit in the kitchen because on hot days the freezer part cant keep food frozen.
Floors can stay though I hate that worse of all.
As if the fiasco with your inspection and termites is not enough now you are saying this house:
Has windows of the "thinnest glass, latches no longer made, weird plastic holding glass"...
Furnace that "cannot be REPAIRED as is does not meet "regs" but is ok until it dies"
Deck boards with "rot on ends"
Appliances that are only acceptable "for a few months" due to FREEZER needing boost from ROOM AIR CONDITIONER...
Seriously? The more you post the worse the whole situation sounds. I've heard some interesting stories over the years, especially when was I landlord and tenants were trying to get something for nothing, but it is like any one with any kinds of sense at all would have found such grievous problems...
If the real estate agent can get the place sold and you pocket $100k why not just rent? Isn't Portland an AirBNB "mecca"? Surely with $100k windfall you can find a place where the fridge works. Heck you could move into a nice motor home for a while...
Fridge part works fine. Freezer part is fine as long as temps in the house stay below 80. Then it softens all our ice cream and it doesnt freeze ice cubes until night falls. How would anyone know that. Chimney should have been called out in inspection but wasnt. Honestly that isnt that expensive and we knew the deck needed work but the inspector said structure itself was fine ( it actually is only fine as long as you dont try to fix it).
Windows are just old. So I knew they werent great I didn't know I couldnt get parts. But every house in my price range has old windows.
Furnace I knew about and planned on replacing before my money went to surprise problems.
So it isnt as bad as I make it sound. I have a negative bias.
Just to be clear none of the things I asking about upset me because to me these are the cost of an older house. I just lost the money to do these thing thanks to the other stuff I do hate except the floors. Those **** me off.
If I loved the house or simply didnt hate it I would do all of these without question. I did many of them in my last house. But the diff here is I want out of here yet don't think that is possible.
It sounds like you have a real 'money pit' that is only going to get worse (as a 50-year old house is prone to do) ... and which you hate. You are also in a white-hot real-estate market with rising prices. You say you can't afford to rent OR do necessary repairs.
It sounds like an ideal time/situation to put the house on the market at a fair price. It will certainly cost less to rent for a while, than to spend $40K, throwing good money after bad, trying to patch-up this dog. Sell your problem house to someone else who is in a better/different situation than you and may be looking to do a significant upgrade in your area. If you need some interim funds to get you out of this place and into something else, look into a HELOC.
If it doesn't sell, you can always fall back on "plan B" -- doing the necessary maintenance/repairs yourself, but, it doesn't sound like the type of things you are going to be able to recoup your money from. Also, a $40K 2nd/loan is going to cost you as much as a rental. (where will that money come from?)
Okay. Well thanks for all your thoughts. We havent been able to find a rental in our price range. Nor a house ( which would be cheaper than rent). I guess we will just keep fixing as we go and leave the big ticket items on the table. My fear is getting stuck here.
I'm pretty much with Chet Everett - do the maitenance work but not any upgrades. Use a HELOC instead of a refi, use a bit of that money for some marriage counseling, then pay that sucker off Dave Ramsey style. Mayve the counseling will help you come to terms with this house or help your wife to see your misery.
(As far as the freezer issues with the fridge - that's probably a $200 repair. Or just stop buying ice cream in the summer.)
I think the windows might be worthwhile. Not because they add any real value, but because dual pane vinyl windows will be better at shutting out some of the sound. If one of the complaints is the noise, that could be something that would be worthwhile doing.
At least I had single pane aluminium windows in my first house, and replaced all of them with dual pane vinyl windows in a couple years of living there. Because the single pane windows didn't do much to keep out the sound out, and anytime someone would drive by with their bass up the windows would rattle. It wasn't necessary to replace them, but they improved my quality of life while I was living there. So it could be worthwhile doing. I would not borrow money to do them, but save up and pay cash, as it's not urgent.
Nothing else on the list sounds like it has to be done right away, so I'd just start saving to replace things like the furnace, etc.
Maintain the property. I'd choose refi over heloc. I'd put the wife in charge of some of the repairs. Choose a sell date.
WHY? He bought this house recently, so we can safely assume he's got a low rate already. He would have to come up with cash for closing costs and new escrows - or, worse yet, add it to the principle of the mortgage. He's gonna keep after the wife to sell this hated dog, or end up filing for divorce - either way, he won't stay long enough to even break even on that refi IF thete were any savings.
HELOC's are free and less than 5% right now. Interest paid is tax deductible.
Unless he's going from a 30 year note to a 15 year note, a cash out refi makes zero financial sense here.
It sounds like an ideal time/situation to put the house on the market at a fair price. It will certainly cost less to rent for a while, than to spend $40K, throwing good money after bad, trying to patch-up this dog.
The rental market here, Portland and Salem is insane. I have no doubt that Zarick has a nice low-interest rate and that his mortgage payment is probably well below market rents. He will eat that $40k in increased rent very quickly, and the place he would rent would not be as big or as nice as his current home.
While not good for his mental health to stay, I think he is probably making the right financial decision to stay. The real estate markets here are just crazy right now, especially the Portland area.
Thermal drapes/curtains will help block the heat exchange in the windows. For that matter, inexpensive shades will help. Replacing the refrigerator isn't a house upgrade as it's an appliance you can take with you. If you hate the floors so much, get some area rugs. Can't lock the windows and it's important to you? get a dowel, cut it to fit and slide it in. Cheap/temporary safety fix.
You are letting your hate for the house rule and not using any common sense whatsoever.
Seriously, since your wife loves the house/area, you need to let go of your hate and find your rational brain or you are going to destroy yourself and your marriage.
We bought our house sight-unseen (if you don't count a realtor who knows how to use a video camera), but we didn't buy this property for the house, it was for the land and location. We aren't unhappy on the latter but I hated the house and sometimes the upgrading and updating consruction and upheaval get to me and I wish we'd taken a match to it. Our house is TOO small - we wanted small but - and we have found some workarounds and are planning to turn the carport in a room soon. The windows - joke - wood that doesn't fit right, single pane, single hung, gaps so big we watch the wasps come in and keep plugging new spots. And that's with storm windows. Getting new windows and storm doors is in the budget; timing the work is another issue. We just finished with the new roof and chimney removal after 3.5 years here. The kitchen got a temporary make-over when we first moved in - new countertop, paint, conversion to gas stove/oven; and the bathroom remodel was finished 3 months ago - we had to move a wall, close a window, add a vent, remove the avocado tub - you get the idea.
We got a good deal on this property because it had never once gotten an upgrade, built in 1974. It's our retirement home and so we make do: save up for big projects, do the smaller ones ourselves, we found a handyman to work with my husband (actually a handywoman), and do the jobs piecemeal.
But the worst thing you can do is keep nursing your hate for the house. It's a house! Make it yours "for now". Make one room the way you want it - don't scatter yourself trying to do everything and have not one room the way you can live with it. There are inexpensive ways to deal with "for now" that will allow you to focus on the really important things - like your family.
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