Practicality of a swimming pool?

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by Zymer

WhoFan- yes, it was specifically included in the agreement, and also specified that the pool would be properly maintained until closing.

Great, if that is the case, have your agent notify the listing agent that the seller is in default and you expect your deposit back, as well as any fees for appraisals, inspections, etc. I'd run, not walk from this house!

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

OK, now I'm confused, I thought you made the offer in July. Are you and the seller under contract or still negotiating terms? If you are under contract, Paragraph 13 stipulates how many days from the Effective Date (Date both parties are in agreement) the Buyer has to perform inspections and notify the Seller. If this period has elapsed, you have no choice but to honor the contract and purchase the property or default and put your earnest money deposit at risk. If there was a sump pump when you made your inspection, there must be one there at closing. If you are not under contract, you are in good position. Has your agent been sending you alternatives to jump to if you walk on this one?

We did make the offer in July. It was/is a short sale that has turned into a MCF (Mongolian Cluster....). We just recently found out that there were TWO mortgages on the property, with two different lenders. Plus, apparently someone has been dropping the ball and sitting on the paperwork but I'm not sure who. Since we already caught the seller's agent lying we can't trust him, so I don't know who is screwing up the works.

I have retained a lawyer in Bangor who is looking into it now. I think that, technically, at this point there is no valid contract.

My agent has been pressuring us to look at some other properties but we discontinued another deal (that I liked) in favor of this one (which my wife liked more because it was closer to Bangor). I don't like bouncing from deal to deal. Once I make a decision I like it to stay made. Maybe I'm too hard-headed like that.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by Zymer

We did make the offer in July. It was/is a short sale that has turned into a MCF (Mongolian Cluster....). We just recently found out that there were TWO mortgages on the property, with two different lenders. Plus, apparently someone has been dropping the ball and sitting on the paperwork but I'm not sure who. Since we already caught the seller's agent lying we can't trust him, so I don't know who is screwing up the works.

I have retained a lawyer in Bangor who is looking into it now. I think that, technically, at this point there is no valid contract.

My agent has been pressuring us to look at some other properties but we discontinued another deal (that I liked) in favor of this one (which my wife liked more because it was closer to Bangor). I don't like bouncing from deal to deal. Once I make a decision I like it to stay made. Maybe I'm too hard-headed like that.

OK, makes sense now and you have done the right thing to retain a lawyer if you really want this property, as it looks like there are title issues. Many buyers ask me about REOs and Foreclosures and I always ask them why they are interested, and the answer is, "to get a deal on a house." If they've never done this before and they are not a contractor (it sounds like you are), they may be asking for more than they can handle. The only ones who get rich from the late night infomercials are the ones selling the books and tapes (or now CDs). If the former owner hasn't been able to keep up with payments, there's a good chance there are issues with the home, as others have said. Think carefully about the home - you're going to have to live in or own it for a long time to recoup your investment. Good luck to you!

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

OK, makes sense now and you have done the right thing to retain a lawyer if you really want this property, as it looks like there are title issues. Many buyers ask me about REOs and Foreclosures and I always ask them why they are interested, and the answer is, "to get a deal on a house." If they've never done this before and they are not a contractor (it sounds like you are), they may be asking for more than they can handle. The only ones who get rich from the late night infomercials are the ones selling the books and tapes (or now CDs). If the former owner hasn't been able to keep up with payments, there's a good chance there are issues with the home, as others have said. Think carefully about the home - you're going to have to live in or own it for a long time to recoup your investment. Good luck to you!

I'm not a contractor but I can learn and do most anything, and sometimes figure stuff out on my own if there is no one around to show me and I can't find a book to learn from. I've worked with/for different contractors- electrician, iron work, concrete, construction and others- sometimes for no cash pay, just to learn.

There are only a couple of issues that need to be dealt with- one is that the basement isn't "full", more like a glorified crawl-space 4 to 5 feet high. It's clay that needs to be dug out, then add gravel and a vapor barrier to block the water seeping up, then pour a floor.

The second problem is related- apparently somebody didn't do a proper support under one of the carrying beams and the post is sinking into the clay. The sag isn't too bad (yet) and should be easily rectified if done fairly soon. The house was built in 1992 so it isn't all that old.

As far as the former owner keeping up with the payments, the issue is with his financial management. His original loan wouldn't have been all that bad, but a couple of years ago he took out the second mortgage. He managed to get the property appraised for an astronomical value and borrowed the max against it. I suspect that one or both of the mortgages was an ARM.

He put some of the money into work on the house, new metal roof and a wrap around porch, then blew the rest on toys- two classic cars, a boat, the pool, and new car/truck for him and his wife. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that he has some maxed-out credit cards too.

Now I think he just wants out. I would have sold off the vehicles and the boat to pay down the debt and eliminate some of the monthly payments, in order to save the house. I can't figure why he didn't. I have half a mind to track him down and find out, I've never actually met him so he wouldn't know me if I were to strike up a conversation with him over a couple of beers.

And to keep from wandering too far off-topic, I don't think that maintaining a pool is all that difficult, if you keep up with it. A few minutes a day to maintain chlorine level and check/adjust the ph, there are automatic vacuum crawlers to pick up debris, and a solar cover to keep the water temp up, flush the filter every now and then. A little more work at the beginning and end of the season but I don't see it as overwhelming.



(Oh yeah, I have no illusions about those "easy money" schemes on the infomercials. If it was all that easy and lucrative the scheme-sellers would be keeping it secret and doing it themselves and keeping all the cash. It takes a LOT of work to make it in that kind of business. It's much easier to sell "plans" to suckers who want something for nothing.)

[7th generation]

A pool is really nice other then the fact we have so many "natural" swimming pools within close proximity to most towns.
Usually a fence and gate is required by the insurance company.
My friend used neoprene, built walls (2' high),and floods it to skate on. He finds if you can use hot water, you just need to skim it with 1/4" and it's just like glass. Now he has to set "rink" rules and times as all the neighborhood kids spend a lot of time at his house.

[Elcarim]

This may have been covered already, but is it true that you can't swim in the ocean there?

[WhoFanMe]

Well, depends on your tolerance for pain. Kids can spend 20 minutes in the water, while I can barely get my ankles in. Then there are the Polar Bears who do it off of East End Beach in Portland every New Year's Day.

[7th generation]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

This may have been covered already, but is it true that you can't swim in the ocean there?

Why yes you can E.
Many,many,many times as kids,as soon as someone got their license,we'd head to the coast for the day to swim. Let me tell you it's probably the coldest water in the lower 48,but wonderful and clean.

[mollysmiles]

lol....you can, but it's wicked cold!! we usually do the run in, paddle around, run back out thing

[jenkaye]

My kids loved it and splashed around but when they got out their legs were all red! I got in but froze to death and couldn't stand it for long. My husband got a wetsuit while we were there to surf in and said it worked great. This was in July