Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You say the words, but it honestly doesn't seem like you mean them. Mostly this is because you were thumbing your nose at a house $30K under your budget because it has outdated cabinets, wall colors you don't like, and a dirty bathroom. That is probably the house you should have offered on since you did say it has large bathrooms and did NOT mention that it seemed to have any structural/safety issues.
I thumbed my nose at a condo.
One with lots of stairs
If you FIL plans to live out his years in this house with you, you may want to consider whether the house has a bedroom, or a room that can be converted to a bedroom, and a bathroom on the first floor. There may come a time when the FIL will have trouble navigating stairs. Just something to think about when you're considering the layout of various places and their suitability for your situation.
This is the best and most important advice in either of your two threads.
I live in California, not Boston, but having a roof replaced is a piece of cake (easy to hire someone to do it) and does not cost a fortune. Someone handy could do it themselves, with friends. But yes, we do not have snow, so maybe my thought about roofs being an easy redo does not fit for your area.
In most places, a roof is a costly replacement and banks here require a certain amount of years left on a roof before they will write a mortgage. If the roof in question is tile and needs to be replaced, you are looking at $30,000 on a modest 3/2.
You also just can't hire a couple of people to replace it.
But you're not paying for this house! Your finance's father is paying for it with his VA loan. Looks DO in fact matter with a VA loan. If there's peeling paint, they won't approve.
^^This. The OP thumbed his nose at quite a bit in another thread....doesn't want to commute and be exactly where he wants to be....Meanwhile he's not paying!
Who do you think pays 50% of the bills currently?
I already commute 23 miles. It takes up to 3.5 hrs round trip.How much more do I need to add?
Many people on this board are not in a position to evaluate what would/should be acceptable in a greater Boston property. Much of what sells like hotcakes in Boston would never land a buyer elsewhere.
So in Boston I would be fine with: asbestos thats in good shape, no air conditioning, old sash weight windows with decent storm windows, oil heat, steam heat (one or two pipe), no air conditioning, minimal termite that can be easily treated, foundation seepage into unfinished space, a working sump pump, unpermitted "improvements" provided they were from years ago.
The bar for what is acceptable is just much much lower in Boston. The thing that is going to hang you up is knob and tube wiring. In theory no mortage will be given with evidence of connected knob and tube and yet somehow those houses sell every day. I sold both of mine with obvious knob and tube. I dont know how the VA would feel about knt wiring. Also if you have oil heat don't ever buy a house with an underground tank.
My Boston goals at 300k would be- no roof/soffit leaks (look above drop ceilings), no mold, windows replaced in the last twenty years, a roof with ten years left on it, a heating system that shows its been well maintained (could be 60yo), some kind of garage and circuit breakers with a 100amp box.
The VA insists thusly "Structure is sound, clean and free of dry rot, decay, mold, fungus, peeling paint, broken windows, bad construction, poor craftsmanship, dampness, leaks, exposed wires, evidence of continuing settlement and termites and other pests. "
For sure, a difficult adventure.
I am hoping to avoid oil heat as it's just as expensive as electric..
And I work for an oil heat company so if I had to I could lock into futures, etc.
But I'd prefer not to have it.
Knob and tube in most places have been updated and thank goodness for that.
And yes, we all need sump pumps lololol. Like if the house don't come with it you gotta wonder lol
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
