Possibly dumb home study questions: outbuildings, renovations, and pool
sarahtoledo
member
After nearly two years of research and deciding, we are finally getting started on our home study. 
So now I have some dumb questions...
I know it's different for everyone, but did anyone worry about cleaning up outbuildings? We have a shed, a garage, and a greenhouse that are not attached to the house, and they're used for storage.
Does everything in the house need to be "finished"? We live in an old house that is always going to be in a state of renovation. Obviously, we can't have holes in the walls, but there's a room that still needs a threshold and some trim... I wonder if we should make this a priority?
Anyone know about guidelines for a pool and hot tub? The pool is in our fenced back yard (which you can access from the house), but it's always covered with a safety cover, so I assume that's fine. The hot tub is covered, but I imagine it should be further baby-proofed at some point.
And lastly, we have a utility room that looks pretty rough. It houses our washing machine/dryer, all sorts of paint and reno materials, the furnace, water heater, etc... can we just put a lock on the door and call it good, or does this room need to be baby-safe?
TIA!
15 treatment cycles: four early m/c
Moving forward with domestic infant adoption!
Home study approved 5/13, now just waiting...
Re: Possibly dumb home study questions: outbuildings, renovations, and pool
I would ask whomever is doing the homestudy. They should be more than happy to tell you if things you think are an issue really are. Or other things that you might not think about. And even if they come in and say, "Oh, you need a lock on that door and a safer cover on that hot tub," it doesn't mean they'll fail your HS. They'll just need documentation that you actually did it.
I personally wouldn't worry about the outbuildings or the trim/threshold. I'd put a lock on the utility room door and call it a day.
GL!
I think it's great you're getting the process started! I know the HS can be so intimidating & stressful. Try to contact the SW or your agency/consultant/lawyer and ask for info before your formal meeting. Sounds like you have a lot covered and have thought of any trouble spots.
GL - and keep us posted!!!
ETA: There are no dumb questions!
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I think a lot depends on state and county regulations. We have a pool and hot tub in our fenced in back yard. They only required us to have locks on all gates and a lock out of reach of children to access the pool area. We have an unfinished basement that has wires and chemicals. We just needed to have the door locked so that a kid can't get access to it. For everything else we just made sure that all chemicals and medications were either locked up or high enough that they were out of reach. The homestudy really isn't bad. We had to do a few things after the inspection in order to pass but it was no big deal. They just checked that we did what they asked after the next visit. Good Luck!
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OP, thanks for sharing your questions.
DH and I have an older home(1897) as well, which is and always will be under renovation. We're in the very beginning stages, still trying to decide on an agency. Please update after your home study, I would love to hear more about experience as I have some of the same concerns.