Home Ownership

30th November 2007

When we relocated back in April we thought we had found the home of our dreams. It’s a fantastic layout on a pretty piece of property and it has most of the features we were looking for in a house. Unfortunately, after moving in, we discovered how beat up the house was. The previous owners had mistreated it badly. I tell people that it’s as if they played hockey indoors, literally! I’ve found actual puck marks on the walls. The girls were allowed to play with nail polish and I’ve found red and pink nail polish on the carpets, doors, walls, and trim work. The walls are filled with giant nail holes and dings and dents. The house is just 6 years old, it shouldn’t be in this condition.

One of the first problems we discovered is the bathtub/shower in my daughter’s bathroom only gets steaming hot water, no cold. I finally had the plumber come out today. He removed the face plate where the water turn on valve handle is located to get to the mixer valve. The mixer valve is what allows the hot & cold water to combine and then come out the faucet. What he found was a broken mixer valve and a really bad repair job. Yes, the previous home owners had made an attempt to repair the problem and had actually made it worse. So, now the plumber will have to remove tiles from the wall in order to put in a new mixer valve, total cost - $300-400 (including labor).

Funny thing is, the plumber noticed and commented on all the holes in the walls. I explained that yes, I am having to go through the entire house patching and painting as I go. I know that one day I will have all the repairs done, but in the mean time it is just so hard to make this house feel like home. Well, at least he’ll be back next week to do the actual bathroom repair and that will be one big item I can check off the list.

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November 2007

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1 On November 30th, 2007, lissie said:

We’ve bought a few houses, mainly rentals, and I never buy now without a builders report - it costs a few $ but it saves you more because it gives you something to negotiate price on. It also gives you a To Do list once you have access! We are thoroughly enjoying renting at the moment - the taps has a problem -call the landlord, the stove blew up - call the landlord - I may never live in my own home again!

posted on November 30th, 2007 at 7:54 pm

2 On November 30th, 2007, lynne said:

We did have the house inspected by a professional before we closed the deal, but unfortunately the previous owners were very good at hiding problems, even from him. The walls are all damaged but they had strategically hung pictures to cover all the holes. The bathtub didn’t get any cold water, but it did get water, so the inspector didn’t realize anything was wrong there. Oh well, that’s the way it goes I guess.

posted on November 30th, 2007 at 9:34 pm

3 On December 1st, 2007, Robyn said:

UGH!! I AM HATING the stupid people we bought this beautiful house from! Totally, totally shocking how some people live! They painted every window casing with many layers of high gloss white paint—it’s lovely–but they didn’t let it dry ANYWHERE!! And now—all of my window casings are gummy, and peeling–and CRAP! There were cinder burns hidden under a rug in front of the fireplace…OH–I could go on and on!! We should start a home improvement blog–and go back and forth posting on what we had to fix in our brand new homes!!

posted on December 1st, 2007 at 1:09 am

4 On December 1st, 2007, lynne said:

Robyn - I know exactly how you feel! I had an opportunity to write a post about gun holsters and the only thing I could think of to say was how I’d like to use what goes in a holster to shoot the previous owners! I decided that wasn’t the best way to go and chose not to do the op!
Seriously though, how do people beat up their home like this. This is no slum and I can’t believe what the insides of this house look like. It’s such a shame.
I like your idea of a home improvement blog!!

posted on December 1st, 2007 at 6:45 pm

5 On December 3rd, 2007, Earn money said: