Our purchase agreement was unfortunately cancelled last weekend. After this whole house wrap situation came up, we could not come to an agreement with the current owners regarding the price of the house. In a counter-offer, we asked the current owners to cover the cost of the replacing the siding, putting up Tyvek or some sort of house wrap, and taking care of any water damage that may have occurred. Kyle and I were willing to increase our purchase price to reflect an upgrade in siding. The house currently has steel siding, and we were planning to put cement board siding on the house. The current owners were willing to either sell us the house, as is, for $10,000 less than the initially agreed upon price or would cover the cost of all of the repairs for $15,000 more than the initially agreed upon price. Kyle and I did not feel like it was our financial responsibility to pay for a repair that was assumed to be unnecessary when we wrote up the initial offer.
We both feel a sense of loss, as this house really seemed to meet a lot of our wants on our wish list. We do however have peace about the situation as well. Something will eventually come up. For the time being, we still love our current house.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
A mess!
Over the past few weeks, I've been cautious about posting too many details on the house that our offer was accepted. This is only because I wanted all of the details to fall in place, and know that it was going to "ours" before disclosing too much information.
This past week, Kyle and I had an inspection on the house. The inspector was someone who was recommended by our realtor, and overall he was very thorough. The inspection itself took over 4 hours. Overall, he found some minor issues with the house including a retaining wall that was pushing into the back deck, the balcony off our bedroom could use additional support, and a piece of siding was missing from the south side of the house exposing some OSB board. His recommendation was to have a licensed contractor come out and look at the above listed issues.
On Friday, Kyle, the contractor and our realtor went out to the house. The consensus - the retaining wall, deck, and balcony could easily be fixed and were really non-issues. The large issue began when the contractor began looking around the area of the missing siding piece. He noticed that there was no Tyvek house wrap in this area. Thinking that the Tyvek may have ripped off or the builder may have missed a small section, he began looking at other places of the house where Tyvek would be visible. He could not find any Tyvek paper, which is a major problem. Tyvek is a barrier between the siding and the outer wood structure that protects the house from moisture. Our house was built in 1987, and the contractor assured us that they were using Tyvek long before then. It's something that a builder would put around the entire house, not just a few sections.
This poses a pretty significant problem! The current siding on the house needs to be completely ripped off, and the OSB needs to be inspected for water damage. If water damage has occurred, that needs to be addressed. The house will need Tyvek house wrap and new siding. At minimum, the contractor feels that the project will cost $20,000, and that is assuming that there is no water damage.
So, right now everything is at a stand-still. Kyle and I are bummed out. But, we feel even worse for the sellers. Already, Kyle and I were buying the house for less than what they paid for it in 2007, and they had put over $50,000 in renovations in the house since purchasing it. Our gut feeling is that there can't be a lot of water damage, as the inspector saw no evidence of water leaking into the inside of the house. One of the current owners is very sensitive to scents/pollen/mold, and hasn't really been bothered by anything since purchasing the house, but we ultimately won't know until the siding is removed. Kyle and I are still interested in the house. We don't want to back out at this point, and we are in the process of writing up a counter-offer which would make the current owners responsible for repairing the problem, with the purchase price remaining at or around our initial agreement. Of course, Kyle and I would want a say in the type of siding and color, so the purchase price would have to reflect the difference from equivalent siding.
Our realtor is still recommending that we put our house on the market this next week, as the market in Winona has really picked up this spring. After talking to Kyle, we don't think we can. It's taken us over a year to find this house, and if this current house falls through, the selection within our price range in Winona is small. Nonetheless, Kyle and I have been still preparing our house for going on the market all weekend/or what can be called some major spring cleaning too. A huge thank you to Micah's grandparents for watching him, and a huge thanks to my parents for allowing us to temporarily re-home Brutus at their house.
More on this fiasco as more details arise...
This past week, Kyle and I had an inspection on the house. The inspector was someone who was recommended by our realtor, and overall he was very thorough. The inspection itself took over 4 hours. Overall, he found some minor issues with the house including a retaining wall that was pushing into the back deck, the balcony off our bedroom could use additional support, and a piece of siding was missing from the south side of the house exposing some OSB board. His recommendation was to have a licensed contractor come out and look at the above listed issues.
On Friday, Kyle, the contractor and our realtor went out to the house. The consensus - the retaining wall, deck, and balcony could easily be fixed and were really non-issues. The large issue began when the contractor began looking around the area of the missing siding piece. He noticed that there was no Tyvek house wrap in this area. Thinking that the Tyvek may have ripped off or the builder may have missed a small section, he began looking at other places of the house where Tyvek would be visible. He could not find any Tyvek paper, which is a major problem. Tyvek is a barrier between the siding and the outer wood structure that protects the house from moisture. Our house was built in 1987, and the contractor assured us that they were using Tyvek long before then. It's something that a builder would put around the entire house, not just a few sections.
This poses a pretty significant problem! The current siding on the house needs to be completely ripped off, and the OSB needs to be inspected for water damage. If water damage has occurred, that needs to be addressed. The house will need Tyvek house wrap and new siding. At minimum, the contractor feels that the project will cost $20,000, and that is assuming that there is no water damage.
So, right now everything is at a stand-still. Kyle and I are bummed out. But, we feel even worse for the sellers. Already, Kyle and I were buying the house for less than what they paid for it in 2007, and they had put over $50,000 in renovations in the house since purchasing it. Our gut feeling is that there can't be a lot of water damage, as the inspector saw no evidence of water leaking into the inside of the house. One of the current owners is very sensitive to scents/pollen/mold, and hasn't really been bothered by anything since purchasing the house, but we ultimately won't know until the siding is removed. Kyle and I are still interested in the house. We don't want to back out at this point, and we are in the process of writing up a counter-offer which would make the current owners responsible for repairing the problem, with the purchase price remaining at or around our initial agreement. Of course, Kyle and I would want a say in the type of siding and color, so the purchase price would have to reflect the difference from equivalent siding.
Our realtor is still recommending that we put our house on the market this next week, as the market in Winona has really picked up this spring. After talking to Kyle, we don't think we can. It's taken us over a year to find this house, and if this current house falls through, the selection within our price range in Winona is small. Nonetheless, Kyle and I have been still preparing our house for going on the market all weekend/or what can be called some major spring cleaning too. A huge thank you to Micah's grandparents for watching him, and a huge thanks to my parents for allowing us to temporarily re-home Brutus at their house.
More on this fiasco as more details arise...
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Weekend Happenings!
The past 2 weekends have been busy, but with fun activities. Two weeks ago, we used some of our tax return money to get out of Winona for a weekend. Our destination - the Cities. We had a great time hanging out with my brother Scott (aka Uncle Auggie) and our good friends, the Chamberlains. Fortunately, the weather was rainy and cold on Saturday making it a good weekend to visit the Children's Museum, Ikea and the MOA.
This past weekend Kyle worked, while Micah spent some time with his Grandparents. On Sunday, Micah and I met up with his honorary"grandparents", the Matheny's. Jerry and his wife,Vicki, will forever hold a special place in my heart. You see, Jerry was one of my first patients when I was a PT student up at the Rehab Unit on 3 Mary Brigh at the Mayo Clinic almost 5 years ago. At that time, Jerry had become very weak due to hospitalizations and several abdominal surgeries. He and I worked together for an hour and a half daily, as he re-learned to stand, walk, and negotiate stairs. And, by his side his entire time was his supportive wife, Vicki. Jerry had more determination than any patient that I know, and we really bonded during the few weeks that we worked together. The two of them (along with their Golden Retriever) live in Peoria, Illinois, but come up to the Mayo Clinic once a year for check-ups. I am so thankful that they were able to locate me, upon one of their visits, and we've been meeting up since. It's great to see how well Jerry is physically doing now!
On the look-out for "t-rucks" at the Children's Museum
I love this little man!
Busy little Beaver
Little Postman in action
Sunday was warmer, and it was great to catch up with our good friends, the Chamberlains. It was great being able to sit outside and watch our kids play in their beautiful backyard. They recently purchased a huge pirate ship playground, which was enjoyed by Micah (especially the slide).
It's impossible to get 3 kids together for a picture! Animal crackers had to be used to bribe these boys to sit for even 1 minute.
The pirate ship
This past weekend Kyle worked, while Micah spent some time with his Grandparents. On Sunday, Micah and I met up with his honorary"grandparents", the Matheny's. Jerry and his wife,Vicki, will forever hold a special place in my heart. You see, Jerry was one of my first patients when I was a PT student up at the Rehab Unit on 3 Mary Brigh at the Mayo Clinic almost 5 years ago. At that time, Jerry had become very weak due to hospitalizations and several abdominal surgeries. He and I worked together for an hour and a half daily, as he re-learned to stand, walk, and negotiate stairs. And, by his side his entire time was his supportive wife, Vicki. Jerry had more determination than any patient that I know, and we really bonded during the few weeks that we worked together. The two of them (along with their Golden Retriever) live in Peoria, Illinois, but come up to the Mayo Clinic once a year for check-ups. I am so thankful that they were able to locate me, upon one of their visits, and we've been meeting up since. It's great to see how well Jerry is physically doing now!
Finally, we put an offer in on a house. It's a house that we looked at back in December, liked it, but we wanted to sit on it for awhile. After looking at the house another 3 times this spring, and comparing it against everything else that we've looked at over the past year, we decided that it really is a perfect fit for us. After some counter-offers and negotiating, we were able to reach a deal and our offer was accepted. So we now begin the process of putting ours on the market and hopefully having a sale within the next few months. Our offer is contingent on the sale of our house and inspections. I'm optimistic that everything will work out okay.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
15 months
Our little (or big) Micah Man turned 15 months last week on April 26th. This past Monday, we had his 15 month appointment, and he had a great check-up. Our PA confirmed that he is right on track developmentally for his age. He also had to get 3 shots, which was much harder on me than it probably was on him.
15 fun facts about this little ray of sunshine in our lives...
1) Gentle Giant - Micah hit the 90% percentile for all measurements taken at his 15 month check up. He is in the 90% percentile for weight at 28#. No wonder my arms are so tired! And he's in the 99% for height (35 inches) and head circumference (20 inches). According to this daycare, he's bigger than a lot of the kids in the toddler room. Currently he wears size 18-24 clothes, and he has a few 2T sized shirts. Micah also wears size 5 diapers.
2) Toddler Room - Micah will be making the transition to the toddler room at daycare over the next few weeks. He is definitely ready for the transition, and I too am excited for him to be surrounded by other kids near his developmental level.
3) Micah has 16 teeth. Four just recently popped through.
4) Micah love to eat. He is not too picky of an eater which makes me happy. He still loves Mac and Cheese, goldfish, bananas, toast, and our Friday night pizza night. He fortunately did not inherit my sweet-tooth.
5) Goal met - Micah is drinking from a sippy cup without our assistance. Next month's goal - eating from a spoon.
6) Little Jabber Mouth - Micah has become more vocal over the past week. We still can't make out half of what he's saying, but it's great hearing his little voice! Consistent words are - "t - ruck" - the "ck" emphasized, "bupf" for bus, duck, quack/quack, mama, dada, dog, ball, and occasionally we hear a "car".
7) Loves to be outside and he loves the park. This past week, we also found that Brutus also likes playground equipment as well. More about that in another post.
8) He becomes a little prune at bath time, because he loves to splash in the water for ample amounts of time (or until he gets cold).
9) Until this past week, I could not remember the last time Micah DID NOT sleep through the night : ) This past week, he woke up 1 time, likely from a bad dream and was easily comforted back to sleep.
10) Walking, running, beginning to go up and down stairs. He is full of bumps and bruises from his high level of activity and trips and falls that come along with it.
11) Still loves books.
12) Starting to take an interest in a few TV shows - Dogs 101 on Animal Planet. He also likes Sesame Street which I'm finding is also quite entertaining for adults too.
13) No interest in potty training, nor have we initiated it. That'll be my goal in the next few months.
14) Enjoys helping me unload the dishwasher. Also will clear out a drawer, cupboard, etc if given the opportunity.
15) He loves his family - us, his fur-brother Brutus, his grandparents, uncles and aunt, and cousins. And, we are so thankful for him every day. He truly makes our lives brighter!
7) Loves to be outside and he loves the park. This past week, we also found that Brutus also likes playground equipment as well. More about that in another post.
8) He becomes a little prune at bath time, because he loves to splash in the water for ample amounts of time (or until he gets cold).
9) Until this past week, I could not remember the last time Micah DID NOT sleep through the night : ) This past week, he woke up 1 time, likely from a bad dream and was easily comforted back to sleep.
10) Walking, running, beginning to go up and down stairs. He is full of bumps and bruises from his high level of activity and trips and falls that come along with it.
11) Still loves books.
12) Starting to take an interest in a few TV shows - Dogs 101 on Animal Planet. He also likes Sesame Street which I'm finding is also quite entertaining for adults too.
13) No interest in potty training, nor have we initiated it. That'll be my goal in the next few months.
14) Enjoys helping me unload the dishwasher. Also will clear out a drawer, cupboard, etc if given the opportunity.
15) He loves his family - us, his fur-brother Brutus, his grandparents, uncles and aunt, and cousins. And, we are so thankful for him every day. He truly makes our lives brighter!
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