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Yeah, what's up with that Pinnochio reference? lol Hey, I aint lying or trying to blow smoke. I'm just saying we've got some smart females in STEM fields. I've worked a lot with researchers, not just engineers, many of whom are women. They seem to do a better job at managing techies many times. Not always, but I've seen it a lot. In fact my last company's CEO is a women.
Derek
Hahaha....just having fun! You seem sincere and mature enough that I'd always give you the benefit of the doubt but you have to understand, I live in So Cal and smoke is being blown here 95% of the time.
Oddly enough, people are ALWAYS very sincere and true when they are mad at you. Every time I yell some profanity at a driver on the road, I meant it all, 100%!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote
It's been fun on CD masquerading as a male coyote I seem to get taken a little more seriously.
I can relate as I used to masquerade as a female coyote when I was younger. Guys were so much nicer to me!
Watching this discussion about catastrophic threats and disasters, a thought...
True catastrophe is so grand and overwhelming, as to be unpreventable. We only kid ourselves in attempting to plan for it. As goes the quip about the expert sniper who always gets his quarry, there's not point for the intended target to attempt to run away; he'll die just the same, but if trying to run, he'll only die tired.
Big disasters also have the advantage of affecting people in the aggregate. If everyone's house burns down due to wildfires, I feel no guilt about failing to change my smoke alarm batteries, or not keeping a within-spec fire extinguisher. Collective malady offers private excuse.
Instead, what's really irksome is narrowly private and comparatively small tragedies. My former house in Ohio suffered from a leaky basement, resulting in mold and all sorts of deleterious knock-on effects. No such thing happened to the neighbors' houses. Specifically for this thread, my concern would be flooding or rain damage, which of course depends on the siting of the house, its state of maintenance, and what is or isn't revealed during inspection. Making a private blunder, while in the main things are OK, is what troubles me the most.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,705 posts, read 58,022,681 times
Reputation: 46172
That's why there is Due Diligence.... Be diligent during due diligence, turn over every rock if that's what you need to do. WA disclosure is very robust, now we even must disclose the speed and cost of our ISP. (Which is ZERO for many in WA who are still waitlisted for Star-theft.).
Any home may have a hidden gotcha, so be diligent. The seller may be clueless, as some gotchas are silent killers. As are the Boogeymen waiting for you in the forest, or road rage and mass casualty shooters ready to strike. The odds are narrowing every where and sometimes very quickly. That's how this world and this chapter ends.
Instead, what's really irksome is narrowly private and comparatively small tragedies. My former house in Ohio suffered from a leaky basement, resulting in mold and all sorts of deleterious knock-on effects. No such thing happened to the neighbors' houses. Specifically for this thread, my concern would be flooding or rain damage, which of course depends on the siting of the house, its state of maintenance, and what is or isn't revealed during inspection. Making a private blunder, while in the main things are OK, is what troubles me the most.
This is true in any kind of move and purchase of a home. It's like the old proverb. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." Unfortunately, you've been burned and have learned the hard way. Flooding in basements is quite common through the Midwest and in other regions where they are more standard. Because of all the rain we get in the PNW, they are far less common (or so the story goes). But mold is still a real issue among many others that must be examined carefully before a home is purchased.
That's where a good home inspector is worth every penny you pay him. If nervous of being burned again, you could even hire two to be better your chances. Its also one of the benefits in buying a new home with a warranty from a reputable builder. We definitely enjoyed all the fixes that came with that in our last purchase here.
WA disclosure is very robust, now we even must disclose the speed and cost of our ISP. (Which is ZERO for many in WA who are still waitlisted for Star-theft.).
Wait, you lost me there. What exactly is a WA disclosure and who did you mean by "We"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MtnSurfer
Because of all the rain we get in the PNW, they are far less common (or so the story goes). But mold is still a real issue among many others that must be examined carefully before a home is purchased.
That's where a good home inspector is worth every penny you pay him. If nervous of being burned again, you could even hire two to be better your chances. Its also one of the benefits in buying a new home with a warranty from a reputable builder. We definitely enjoyed all the fixes that came with that in our last purchase here.
Derek
Literally, mold is my only concern. That thing can make you really sick and even kill you so it is no joke.
Besides good inspection, how would one go about making sure to prevent it. As much as I'm inclined to get a newer build house, I generally do not like their close proximity to each other in the same street.
How common is mold over there and if the property has a mold issue, do I simply walk away or is there an effective and not so costly way to remedy it?
I have seen a lot of property built after 2000 but most of them are lacking a proper backyard and pretty much all of them are lined up like dominos to each other, only about 6' apart from each other which to me is very annoying, they feel more like a townhouse than a detached home. That is how the newer complexes are in So Cal too which I really hate. Older neighborhoods (here and there) seem to have that spacing I really like and prefer.
What is the oldest build year would you guys go for?
...As much as I'm inclined to get a newer build house, I generally do not like their close proximity to each other in the same street. ...
I have seen a lot of property built after 2000 but most of them are lacking a proper backyard and pretty much all of them are lined up like dominos to each other, only about 6' apart from each other which to me is very annoying, they feel more like a townhouse than a detached home. ...
Exactly! Without debating the fiscal realities of why new construction is the way that it is, suffice it to say, that my objectives in a house, are almost entirely antithetical to what most new construction offers - whether in WA, CA or elsewhere. My prior "cultural" statements of preference notwithstanding, of main appeal would be as small as possible of a house, on as large as possible of a tract of land... where "large" is less about actual acreage than about distance to neighbors, residential or commercial or any other sort.
Thus the somewhat unexamined earlier question about the rural house on 30 acres outside of La Center.
Exactly! Without debating the fiscal realities of why new construction is the way that it is, suffice it to say, that my objectives in a house, are almost entirely antithetical to what most new construction offers - whether in WA, CA or elsewhere. My prior "cultural" statements of preference notwithstanding, of main appeal would be as small as possible of a house, on as large as possible of a tract of land... where "large" is less about actual acreage than about distance to neighbors, residential or commercial or any other sort.
Thus the somewhat unexamined earlier question about the rural house on 30 acres outside of La Center.
You either have to look at older, smaller homes on much larger pieces of land or you will need to custom build. Or buy something else someone has custom built. Getting even a 10,000 square foot lot is mostly relegated to homes from the 70's and prior.
Literally, mold is my only concern. That thing can make you really sick and even kill you so it is no joke.
Besides good inspection, how would one go about making sure to prevent it. As much as I'm inclined to get a newer build house, I generally do not like their close proximity to each other in the same street.
How common is mold over there and if the property has a mold issue, do I simply walk away or is there an effective and not so costly way to remedy it?
I have seen a lot of property built after 2000 but most of them are lacking a proper backyard and pretty much all of them are lined up like dominos to each other, only about 6' apart from each other which to me is very annoying, they feel more like a townhouse than a detached home. That is how the newer complexes are in So Cal too which I really hate. Older neighborhoods (here and there) seem to have that spacing I really like and prefer.
What is the oldest build year would you guys go for?
I have mold in my crawl space I found out when I had some drainage work done down there. I have not fixed it yet. I had a guy run a mold test inside the house and it came up negative. Yes, it would be nice to put new boards and fresh insulation in the crawl space. Yes, I should have done it in retrospect now that prices are up. But, it is one of those problems that does not have a long term solution. Encapsulating crawl spaces is a bad idea here as it's not warm enough and most don't get enough airflow (they end up creating mold).
If money was no object I would build a house with a nice basement. A friend of a friend did this. He had purchased a run down house in one of the best zip codes. Eventually, they did all the work to tear down and build and they built an enormous basement that also serves as project space. Then, put a big 4,500 square foot house on top of it. They have 2 acres. I'd hate to know how much more it would cost to build that now. They complain about property taxes. I mean the guy got the land with the little cabin/old house on it for $68,000 40 years ago when he got his first engineering job. They built the house 2 years before he retired and he had cashed in a bunch of stock options.. They are probably all in $500,000 and the place is now worth a few million...
Last edited by Wile E. Coyote; 02-27-2023 at 07:27 AM..
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,705 posts, read 58,022,681 times
Reputation: 46172
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote
I have mold in my crawl space I found out when I had some drainage work done down there. I have not fixed it yet. ....
If money was no object I would build a house with a nice basement. ...
You can test for mold.
You can identify homes with mold potential
Mold is not the only silent risk in SWWA
Be diligent.
Basements.... I have built all my SWWA homes with basements, but no contractors wanted to do that. So I built my own. ~$10,000 extra for 2x the SF. Lower
Tax valuations for basement sf. Even if daylight basement (which all of mine are).
Helped a coworker add a basement under an existing home. That's a lot of work, but possible. Adding a basement was one of the favorite ways to burn money for those who arrived from CA and needed to spend down their equity. Of all those friends who added basements to their Lacamas Lake front homes.... None of them use the new basement.
I use mine year round. Very quiet, very temperate, easy to heat and cool, great place to escape, great place for hobbies, guests, reading, music performance and practice...
And.. of course I have a garage / shop in my basement, as well as main floor.
*Dec 31, 2021 — Starting in the new year, home sellers in Washington will be required to share their internet provider on signed disclosure forms
Ironic that a state that hosts IT heavyweights (who have wired much of the developing nations of the world to enhance these company's profits, and in turn build the other nation's commerce, safety, productivity...), forgot to lobby and assist their own home state.
But, hey... "I've got mine, sxxxw you!", Perfect
Several nations responded to ISP very similar to what the USA did in the 1930s with rural electrification projects. Imagine that.. We've come so far
You can test for mold.
You can identify homes with mold potential
Mold is not the only silent risk in SWWA
Be diligent.
Basements.... I have built all my SWWA homes with basements, but no contractors wanted to do that. So I built my own. ~$10,000 extra for 2x the SF. Lower
Tax valuations for basement sf. Even if daylight basement (which all of mine are).
Helped a coworker add a basement under an existing home. That's a lot of work, but possible. Adding a basement was one of the favorite ways to burn.oney for those who arrived from CA and needed to spend down their equity. Of all those friends who added basements to their Lacamas Lake front homes.... None of them use the new basement.
I use mine year round. Very quiet, very temperate, easy to heat and cool, great place to escape, great place for hobbies, guests, reading, music performance and practice...
And.. of course I have a garage / shop in my basement, as well as main floor.
*Dec 31, 2021 — Starting in the new year, home sellers in Washington will be required to share their internet provider on signed disclosure forms
Ironic that a state that hosts IT heavyweights (who have wired much of the developing nations of the world to enhance these company's profits, and in turn build the other nation's commerce, safety, productivity...), forgot to lobby and assist their own home state.
But, hey... "I've got mine, sxxxw you!", Perfect
Several nations responded to ISP very similar to what the USA did in the 1930s with rural electrification projects. Imagine that.. We've come so far
I said I had testing for mold; none in the house; a slight amount in the crawl space.
Yes, if money is no object you want a waterproofed basement in the PNW to avoid all the issues with having workmen in your crawlspace and mold issues. I believe a house with a basement would be a healthier house (if the basement is done right).
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Hey, I aint lying or trying to blow smoke. I'm just saying we've got some smart females in STEM fields. I've worked a lot with researchers, not just engineers, many of whom are women. They seem to do a better job at managing techies many times. Not always, but I've seen it a lot. In fact my last company's CEO is a women. 
. We've come so far
