Jerseygirl

We lived in the edge of a small NJ town…what I would call a village…30 miles due west of NYC. I saw coyotes, bears, foxes, deer and lots of snakes etc etc on our property.

Good luck C…here’s to a wonderful retirement up north.

BristolUK

Ah thanks...I should have thought of that

Jolly Good

yep that was the feeling!

Estate sale and nature reserve!! I get too excited sometimes and mistype

I hope most of the snakes and nasty bitey things are back in Texas!

Jolly Good

Hmmm...I just realized I've never been a northerner before in my life

lizzyq

Where we live in central PA there is lots of nature, but I've never seen a snake. We regularly see chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits, occasionally deer, groundhogs and possums, in the spring black bears come into the neighbourhood to take advantage of bird feeders - once one drained my hummingbird feeder two nights in a row before I twigged to it. Lots of birds in our shady tree filled area too. I have smelled that the skunk has been around sometimes but never seen that either, not seen foxes or coyotes but they will be around somewhere I'm sure.

Lion in Winter

You're from north of the river. Pretty much the same thing.

Jolly Good

Jolly Good

Sad day. The inspection was not good and we decided today to terminate our offer.

First of all the roof needed replacing but also there was damage to the structure of the roof due to on going water damage. It was sagging. The attic had water damage, there was termite damage. The a/c and the water heater did not work. There was a leak in the ensuite shower that had caused damage through the closet behind it and the basement had the start of structural damage. So basically it would be a money pit and a lot of work..and we are too old for that much work!
So back to the drawing board. We are off to view four more tomorrow and hopefully find something else we like

I have to say we were really impressed with the inspector. I have worked with home inspectors in Texas and i know their inspections and reports are no way as detailed and as thorough as the one we had. He explained everything in great detail and his report, 62 pages, was easy to read and understand.

Nutmegger

Sorry about the disappointment. The right house is out there somewhere, waiting for you to discover it!

ddsrph

The house in question is probably owned by some family members looking to get it sold quickly. If you like the location and the house in general a really really lowball offer might be accepted. An offer so low everything could be fixed without question plus come out ahead value wise. This would work especially well for those with DIY skills like yourself.

Jolly Good

Thanks. It is, the search is on again!

It wasn't low ball enough and they weren't prepared to negotiate. We had planned to do a lot of the work ourselves but we also didn't want to be constantly pouring money into it and after talking with the inspector it seemed we would be!

Just need to keep looking

joto

Hope that the right house comes along soon. Maybe see if the realtor has some that will be coming onto the market soon, so you get a heads up, and they know what you're looking for.
I just saw this house for real, on the day we moved in. After two house hunting trips, the realtor sent me the details, which I liked the look of, on the day I flew back, so DH had to do a quick viewing. Ours wasn't the highest offer, but the owners liked the reason we wanted to move there, and our realtor put in a good word with their realtor, and the rest is history.

Jerseygirl

I am very glad we didn’t rush into the first house we were interested in when we moved to NJ. We rented instead. I hated it, but stuck it out. 15 mths in I just happened to drive past a new construction…called the builder and hey ho we lived in that house for almost 18 years. Take your time, until the right one comes along. Buy/selling/moving in the US is too expensive to make a mistake. Plus there is a good chance prices will drop due to a recession.

But you know all this…

Good luck.

Steerpike

Currently, building supplies of all sorts are in short supply (the infamous 'supply chain' issues), making many DIY projects a nightmare. I had some 'roller blinds' installed at my home. I placed the order in August 2021; they finally got all the parts in Feb 2022. I needed a new microwave installed in my kitchen; when I called the store to find out what they had in stock, they laughed, suggesting most of them were 'on a boat somewhere in the Pacific' - and when they do arrive, they are back-ordered 6 months. I saw this amusing article a few months ago - https://thehustle.co/03022022-garage-door-shortage/ - Garage doors in short supply. It's one thing to work on a 'fun project' in the garden, but when it's your main living room or bathroom or kitchen, or whatever, it can be a real pain having extended wait times.

Steerpike

I'm sitting tight on the proceeds from my home sale in March. in May/June, places around me in CA were going for 200k over asking. Suddenly, I'm seeing 'Reduced $110,000' indicators on the website. I'm hoping for a housing recession, but not a general recession ... my retirement is all tied up in the stock market . Not that what I want / hope for will have any bearing whatsoever ...