[elky] House was Swapmeet....
- From: Robert Adams <elcam84@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 09:11:32 -0500
On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 12:31 PM, Mary McCarthy <printces@xxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>
> Problem is the soil at the house is sand and will eat chains
> and bars. I'll probably be able to dig up most of the stumps and cut/pull
> them out. It's way down on the list of things to do. Probably a winter
> project when it's cooler outside. I have used a stump grinder a few times
> but never the hydraulic one. And the manual one takes two big guys and it
> still wears you out after a few minutes. And the other prob with rental ones
> is that the cutters are always dull. But I can take a diamond sharpening
> stone and touch them up a little.
>
>
> *We just cut them off an bury them. Not sure we could get them out and it
> works. Never used a stump grinder. I've seem them in action and -hopefully
> - know my limits. I consider large stumps and rocks 'features' and work
> around them. Build a raised garden bed and bury the rocks, make a hole in
> the stump and put a plant in it. Voila! feature!
> *
>
Well with the sandy soil here I'll dig down and get as much
out as I can out cause I don't like stumps left behind. This area has
uncommonly good for the metroplex good soil. Nice and sandy instead of a
little really hard clay and rock.
If you ever decide to use a stump grinder get a hydraulic one. The
other is just way too much work. Actually after using the manual stump
grinder I'd rather hack the stump out with a shovel and axe.
> * *
>
>
> Yeah. One thing that Makes me mad is that there was a
> well on the property. But the far left side of the shop is on top of it now.
> If I knew where that hole in the ground was I'd cut a hole in that concrete
> floor and put a new pump in that well. Water is expensive here. ALready
> planning on putting rain barrels on the shop and prob the house for watering
> usage. And probably use it for the pressure washer too. And the tap water
> here has a funny flavor. Unfortunatly they have their own water plant
> instead of buying from Fort Worth which has some of the best tap water in
> the country according to a recent test/survey.
>
>
> *yeah, wells are nice, even if you just use it to water the lawn. How
> deep do you have to go? Did you get a water test as part of the house
> inspection? There should be a record somewhere (health dept?) of where the
> well is located. It may even be on the survey, marked as 'abandoned'. At
> some point, it was dug and recorded.*
>
Recorded... Where... No records of that stuff here.
It was drilled in about 1950 when the house was built. However it is
located under the west end of the shop. If I knew exactly where it was I'd
cut the floor of the shop and get to the pipe and put a new pipe in. I'd
love a well for watering the yard and I'd feed the house with it too. Not
sure what the well depths are in this neighborhood. It shouldn't be too deep
because of the proximity to the lake. Now in surrounding areas wells are
typically in the 500' range. And it costs about $5500 to drill a well here.
> *
> *
>
>
> There was one down the road like that. Nice place but in a
> really bad spot. Virtually the same prices too. They even tried to sell as
> commercial but it's on the inside of a curve on a heavily traveled 4 lane
> road. No one wants it...
>
> *
> the one across the road is in a nice location, on 20 acres. Just no
> buyers. Although the view is looking down on Hooterville and those little
> ranch houses that popped up like mushrooms in the 60's until the mill
> closed. *
>
>
> Mainly condition over time. It requires no maintenance and
> houses built here in the 20s with brick still look like they did when they
> were built. Also Acme brick and it's lobbiests had allot to do with it...
> Used to be a number of brick factories here. One big one in Thurber which
> was also a coal mine. Interesting little self sustaining profit making
> company town that dissapeared all but a building or two and the big chimney.
>
> *
> Now I get it. probably very cheap to use brick at the time, too. *
>
Well it keeps the brick companies and bricklayers in business.
Course most of that is all from Mexico now and it's pretty common to have
bad batches of Mexican brick. Vinyl or wood siding are signs of a cheap
house here.
> * Always seems to take forever when you are waiting. It's always better
> to get the appliances delivered. that way if something gets dropped or a
> door gets damaged, it's not your problem. Try for a 'contractors package'.
> It's usually a good deal on a group of appliances, not top of the line but
> median quality. I avoid clearance and out-of-box items. You might get the
> one that didn't work, was returned and some kid in the warehouse tried to
> fix it. Or it's the one that fell off the truck - literally. Or it might be
> perfect and you just have to call the mfg for the booklet. Not that much of
> a gambler, I spoze. I'd check on the warranty before picking up a
> clearance. Nice to have someone else hook up the washer and dryer when
> you're in the middle of moving, too. *
>
Well the only thing I don't like to transport is
refrigerators... Since they are top heavy and have to be moved upright. The
others I do all the time. And I don't trust some one else hooking the stuff
up. I'm one of the few people left that can and does everything myself. Only
a few things I don't like doing. That's roofing,tape/bed/texture drywall and
concrete. I can do them but really don't like to.
>
> Thanks will tell Geri she is on her way back from the airport doing a
> turn to Florida (KMCO). Just want it over and signed for so we can get
> started on it. Getting ancy cause it's taking so long.... So far it's taken
> about 4 months.
> Once signed we go order washer and dryer and get the
> fridge at sears. There is one of those hometown stores here which is nice
> and they have a 26cf nice fridge on clearance for 700. I hate moving
> fridges.
>
>
> *fingers crossed, good thoughts for a quick and easy transfer.
>
> Mary
> *
>
Well Closing was yesterday.... The loan guy called first
thing in the morning cause USDA all the sudden had a problem with her 2K
401K loan (which will be paid off by december). So they decided yesterday
morning that they wouldn't roll the closing costs into the loan as it's
supposed to be. They started off wanting almost 4K and in the end got it to
2500 and the loan guy even paid for $500 of that because of the situation
and not only did Geri get screwed by USDA but so did the loan company.
If we had known she would have paid off the 401K loan (which
shouldn't even be counted against her) she wouldn't have had to pay anything
at closing. And if she wanted she could have taken out another loan against
her 401K after closing....
It's amazing the stupidity of bankers... If you look at their method
of operation they have it set up to do everything they can to cause hardship
and increase the number of foreclosures. Makes no sense and the loan guy and
I were talking about this too...
So anyway all is signed just waiting to hear from the selling
bank to release the property as signing was at 4 and Wells Fargo shuts down
at 3. (typical bank) So should be able to pick the keys up from the realtor
in a little bit and start doing what we can.. We were going to use the cash
on hand for the appliances and I was looking at riding mowers cause It's too
much for a push mower... So now I'll get what I can using the cash from my
savings and go from there. Once We end up getting married and I move in for
good I'll have more fundage to spend but that'll be when it happens. Still
looking for better pay somewhere too.. You know it's bad when most places
have signs up front that say "not hiring" in 3 languages.
Oh the title company did comment on how simple and
straightforward it was... And the mineral and water rights were not excluded
so there is a slim possibility that they are included. I'm pretty confident
the water is but not sure on mineral. Though it doesn't matter. The drilling
companies will do all the research and find out if they decide to drill
there. Researching mineral rights ownership is not easy.
Robert Adams
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