House Update

Who knew that purchasing a house was such a lengthy process?! I was not prepared for all the hoops you have to get through to sign the papers that finally say "this is your house". Unfortunately, we still have some more hoops to jump through and those "this is your house" papers are no where in sight yet.

Just yesterday, we finally got the last inspection report. We have had to wait on a total of 5 different inspections over the past 2 weeks! We started off with a very general inspection that flagged an issue with the plumbing and a potential issue with the roof.

We had a plumber come in and look at the plumbing issue. The general inspector discovered that there was low water pressure in the showers (both are upstairs) when water was being run elsewhere in the house. The plumber discovered that some of the original galvanized pipes had been changed over to PVC in the basement. He believes that some of the galvanized pipes leading upstairs may have some corrosion inside the pipes; however, he also found some leaks which may also account for the low pressure. He gave us an estimate of $800 to replace all exposed piping in the basement, which he believes will help out the pressure.

The roof on the house is the original slate roof that was put on when it was built in 1935. If a slate roof is maintained and remains in good condition, it can last up to 150 years. Because it is very durable, it is also very costly to replace. To redo an entire slate roof, easily costs $50,000. To replace just one shingle costs about $750 due to the tools (ie -- a lift instead of a ladder) and skills (the shingles break easily if you don't know what you're doing) needed in the process. The roof inspector graded the roof at 99% !! He found a couple of broken/missing tiles; however, they are not crucial pieces. He advised to just watch those areas and when more repairs are needed, have it all done at once.

We had a termite inspection done by the same guy who did the general inspection. He noted on the inspection some possible areas (cracks around doors) where bugs may enter the house. He didn't see any bugs other than some dead carpenter ants (which can be worse than termites!). He found them in the sunroom, but none of them were living. He recommended that we have the house sprayed for the carpenter ants to prevent any further issues.

Lastly, we had a Radon inspection done. This inspection has taken the longest and we finally got the test results yesterday. Per EPA laws, it is recommended that a house not switch possession with a Radon level above 4. The house tested at 6.9 (very high). To have the Radon mitigated, the inspector proposed a Radon dispersal unit (which displaces the Radon out of the house through a filter to outside) costing $1400 (labor included).

This afternoon, we wrote up a proposal asking for the sellers to take care of the Radon, ants, and for $400 to go towards plumbing & various maintenance flagged during the general inspection. We haven't heard anything back yet. Our closing date is set for the 16th, so I'm guessing we should know within the next couple days whether or not the sellers agree to our proposal. Ugh, one more thing to wait for until those "this is your house" papers. Apparently God is still wanting us to work on this patience thing ;-).