Tuesday, August 2, 2005

And the deal is still one

Folks, she closes on August 15th. She'll be moving into her townhouse that last weekend of the month.

Can you believe it? I guess the mortgage people REALLY screwed up when they spoke with her. Gave her a huge figure for her closing costs & her monthly payments. I don't know all the details.

One thing that is amazing is that she wasn't there for the inspection.

SIL: "I was in a meeting."

That's the response I got. I think a buyer's attendance at the inspection is KEY. You see what the inspector is looking at. How the inspector is looking at things. I know that I asked our inspector a bunch of questions as he was doing things.

In the report, it stated that some work needed to be done on the roof.

FIL: "Did the inspector check the ceiling for any damage?"

SIL: "Well, when I walked through there wasn't any kind of discoloration on the ceiling."

I know that if there was something going on with the roof that I'd have the inspector use one of those water meters to check for moisture. There might not be any stains showing because the seller could have painted.

The balcony off the master bedroom needs a new handrail all around it. There are chunks of stucco missing from around the exterior water spigot (I'm sure the bugs have found there way into the walls). The bathroom window has condensation built up inside it. Apparently, the vent fan is broken. A couple of the walls are pink.

My SIL was trying to recruit my FIL to do some work. Install a new bathroom vent fan. Put up a couple smoke detectors. Install a carbon monoxide detector. And whatever else she can sneak in there.

SIL: "I just want you to do the simple stuff. I'll get professionals to do anything difficult."

FIL: "Hmmm..."

SIL: "So how are those smoke detectors up there?" [pointing to the ones on my ILs ceiling]

Me: "I think you need to buy the ones that run on batteries."

FIL: "Yeah. Ours are hardwired in. If your place doesn't have the wiring then you need the battery kind."

SIL: "Where can I buy smoke detectors?"

Me: "Home Depot. Lowes. Ace Hardware."

SIL: "Then they should have them in Target, right? Because I've got to get a carbon monoxide detector too."

She did not know where to buy a smoke detector. Hasn't everyone seen them at the store? Even if you're not even going to buy one I'm sure everyone has passed the aisle where these things are located.

I'm happy that she's buying a place. That she'll be able to do whatever she wants to decorate. But I hope she hasn't bitten off more than she can chew. I hope the townhouse makes her happy. AND isn't a money pit for her. AND doesn't make my FIL into a constantly visiting repair person.

No comments: