In a bizarre twist of circumstances, Sonja and I have made a difficult but somewhat forced decision to withdraw our offer on "Blue Shutters." :( Its kind of a long story, but the short of it is that we were getting more and more uncomfortable with the builder of "Blue Shutters." There were many problems which seemed to come up with the builder (like a really shady mortgage deal), as well as multiple things that needed to be fixed on the house (the chief of which was the hardwood floors), and the builder didn't seem very inclined to get some of the more important things fixed.
So, this past Thursday afternoon, Sonja, I, and our wonderful realtor and friend (Pat Smith) did a walk-through on the house to re-inspect all the areas we had previously marked to be fixed. Immediately, upon walking in the house, we were met by the builder, and the regional supervisor for Keystone Builders, and before we had even looked at any of the other issues with the house, the supervisor, in a rude manner, informed us that the hardwood floors (which are really bad- you couldn't slide your shoe over any of it with out your foot catching on the edges) are not going to be improved at all, and that we better just get over it, because the floors are "within industry standards" (which means that the edges of the hardwood floors don't stick up further than a credit card width).
While credit cards are pretty thin items, you would definitely notice one, if it was glued to your hardwood floors, so that every time your foot slid over it, it caught on the edge of the shoe, and you tripped. You would notice it even more, if there were 20 or so such places all over your dining room floor, as well as your entry way, and the main hallway, and the downstairs bathroom. It was pretty absurd to be told that "industry standards" allow such poor flooring.
After days, and even weeks of prayer over this house, it seemed like every time we tried to take a step forward with this house, some other annoying thing would prevent us from moving forward. After 5 or so such times, (as well as many increasingly stressful and sleepless nights for Sonja and I), we decided that we weren't very excited about the house. Then after our "run-in" with the builder and the supervisor (where the builder further justified problems with the house, that "didn't need correction" and were "within the bounds of normal human error"), we decided that it just wasn't worth it. If the builder was already giving us grief about fixing problems with the house (and there were quite a few, for a brand new house), and we hadn't yet paid him for the house, then I would hate to think what he would be like once he had our money.
So being convinced that God would have us look elsewhere, we stumbled upon our new house of interest- "Ashley Oaks" (thats the name of the subdivision where our potential "project" is located). This house is beautiful on the outside, has a great backyard, tons of square footage, and is within biking distance (about .4 miles) from the church. It has a screened in back porch, a swing on the front porch, 3 bedrooms, a giant FROG ("finished room over garage"), and wonderful floorplan.
However, the inside of "Ashley Oaks" is in utter disrepair. It hasn't been updated (or possibly even vacuumed/cleaned) in nearly 20 years. Since its in such bad shape, its price would be lower, and our payments would be lower. It would take a ton of work however, (knocking out a few walls and such), but a friend and church-member who is a full-time home-improvement specialist, gave us an estimate to update and repair the house which puts the house very much within our range.
So, Sonja and I put in an offer on the house today, and we are waiting for a response. :) Keep us in your prayers as our house-hunting adventure continues.
Here are some pictures to whet your appetite. Or to make you queasy because of all the dirt, grime, and bad decorating. Fortunately, we won't share the smell with you.
5 comments:
The house is on the market with their carpet as is? (I clicked on the picture with the dogs to see it up close. I can only imagine the smell. Are they asking a reasonable price for all the work that needs to be done, or can you offer a lower bid than what they are asking?
Just to let you know, we talked about you around the lunch table yesterday during "hospitality Sunday". It's fun checking in on your blog so that we can be an authority on your life and goings on... Keep it up! - Michelle
Well, God seems to be placing us in some similar situations. Our offer on a house got rejected so we put a downpayment on an apartment, found out yesterday the guy living there wont be out until the end of August, our lease is up this month. So, we are back to square one with two weeks left in our apartment. Fun fun. Our prayers are with you guys.
Hey Guys,
its been pretty crazy. The house is need of a lot of work, and we just got the inspection report today, showing that even more work needs to be done. So, we are going to wait and see if the current owner's insurance will cover some of the repairs, otherwise we may be house hunting again!
Hey Paul,
Let me know when I can pack up my tools and come down and help you fix things up! Hey by the way, I've been helping out with the Youth Group and having loads of fun. We miss you guys. - John Shatney
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