NBR - House Vent

MrMrsandBaby · June 2014

DH and I bought a new house in February. Since we moved in it has been one thing after another. It was a bank owned property and the prior owners really did a number on a lot of things, the yard is crap (mostly clovers and weeds), the deck is in serious need of help, they removed all the nice trim and put in crappy plastic "wood" trim, the list goes on and on.

We knew a lot of this going in (not the yard/deck because it was covered in snow) but what we didn't know because it was winter when we purchased and couldn't really test it - the AC doesn't work. AT ALL. The whole house fan is cooler than the AC. Fantastic. There is $6,000 we don't have to fix something we didn't know about. I'm praying for a mild summer because we are going to try to put it off until next year if at all possible and do the AC and furnace at the same time.

Owning a home sucks sometimes.

pnwlover12 · June 2014

Ouch that really sucks. We bought a B.O. property as well, so we are right there with you on all the repairs and crap needing to be done. I am surprised your inspector didn't test the AC at all. I would be pissed!

ohioloveyou · June 2014

I can't imagine being pregnant in the summer without AC. You are a far better woman than I.

Jennifer18131 · June 2014

Oh, freaking tell me about it! We bought last August. The inspector told us we needed the AC unit at the very least cleaned. Sellers sent someone out who provided a receipt for cleaning and adding Freon. We had a guy come out last Friday bc the emergency drain pan kept filling and shutting off the unit. He checked the outside part and said there's no way anyone cleaned this thing within the last few years. So we, too, are going to have to replace the whole thing. So frustrating.

MrMrsandBaby · June 2014

@pnwlover12 - they tested it to make sure it turned on but not long enough to make sure it cooled anything off (to be fair, it was like -10 the day of the inspection!)

@Jennifer18131 - that would totally piss me off too! WTF sellers?!

I mean, I love my house, I just wish it didn't need all the expensive work right up front. And there is still the issue of the ugly white walls - my place needs some personality!

MrsTinMKE · June 2014

That blows! We bought our home last Feb. and ran into an issue like this with our yard. there is a huge retaining wall in the back yard and was built up with railroad ties. We knew that some of them would need to be replaced. Well once summer rolled around and the snow melted, turns out the entire thing needed to be replaced.... the Price tag, $6,300!! We had to get creative and did a lot of the work ourselves but with a baby on the way and may other expenses, this is not what we needed!

I know there is no way to get creative with an AC unit. Although ours did break down last summer as well, and turns out there was a hole somewhere in a line. It took a few hours of work but we were able to get it fixed without having to replace the entire unit. Sorry to hear about your troubles, I know it is no fun!!

MrsL2B · June 2014

Oh no! Have you looked into portable or window units to help you manage until you can afford to replace the whole system? Mini splits are nice, but may be more than you want to spend when you already have all the ductwork in place.

MrMrsandBaby · June 2014

We may need to look into a window unit for DD's room...that room gets no air flow for some reason!

griffers · June 2014

I totally feel you on this, home owning is very difficult but so rewarding in the end! At least that's been my experience. Our first house was a government owned foreclosure and the list of problems just went on and on. I think the worst was we constantly had bathroom issues and there was only one bathroom. I remember once we just had a new light and drywall done on the kitchen ceiling and the next day someone flushed the toilet and all the water rained down through the new drywall in the kitchen. Ugh! Don't worry there will be a light at the end of the tunnel! Pick up some window units for your bedroom and living room until you can get the AC fixed. I've actually had luck finding them at garage sales in the past.

[Deleted User] · June 2014

So sorry to hear this! I don't have much to add, but I'll be thinking of you. Hopefully it is cool summer for you.

MrMrsandBaby · June 2014

Thanks ladies! There are days that I really wish we had stayed in the townhouse...who needs a single family home!

BreandMikewedding · June 2014

I totally understand this!!! We bought our house two years ago in may. We paid extra for a thermal inspection that would show hot and cold areas and any covered leaks. The inspector told us we should have the a/c serviced but everything else in the house looked great. 6 weeks later out a/c went out and has 4 times since. We keep doing little fixes to buy time until we have to replace it. We really can't afford it. Especially with all the other constant issues we have to fix. We had a leak in an upstairs bathroom, a drain pipe wasn't connected in our garage and caused flooding out there, our flooring is cracking and other pieces have broken all together, we found out over half our house has little to no isulation( which should have been seen in the thermal inspection). Our most recent issue is a sprinkler line apparently broke under our driveway so we are going to have to jack hammer up the driveway to fix it. I'm so done with this house! My h and I are seriously considering selling and renting a house instead!

MrMrsandBaby · June 2014

@Breandmikewedding...oh.my.god. I can't even imagine all of that happening. The problem is if you sell it you have to disclose all that stuff don't you?

I'm so sorry!

JJsMum · June 2014

Ugh, sorry to hear that about your A/C. We finally got A/C installed about a month ago. We're in the PNW, so it's not really a necessity, but it sure is a blessing to have! I don't know if you've gotten repair quotes or not, but our A/C was only 6500$ for a complete install (house wasn't wired for it) and a new unit. Here's hoping it's less than 6000$ for you!

Our house was a short sale, and we've encountered tons of problems too. Nothing quite so dramatic as @BreandMikeWedding, but still totally sucky. We are looking at having to resod our lawn front an back, because after 2 years of trying, we still can't get rid of the weeds and moss. Our gardens are finally presentable, but I think the lawn is a lost cause. We also had to have someone come in and clean out all of our plumbing. Apparently the people before us were putting animal bedding (wood chip type stuff) down the sink and tub drains. People just suck.

It is nice though because we have a house and yard for the same money as what we would have paid for a conventional sale townhouse. The boys love the back yard, and I love not having to share walls anymore. No more listening to someone else's music or arguments FTW!

white714 · June 2014

I have the opposite problem-kinda! We sold our house last week. We've been looking for a new place for a while now so we thought if it sells it will push us to buy something. It sold in 3 days and now we have to get something and be out by august 29. There is nothing in our price range and we don't want to buy a major fixer upper. It is so frustrating and DH is very stubborn about what we buy!

BreandMikewedding · June 2014

@MrMrsandBaby‌ we have fixed a lot of the problems but there are constantly new ones. I don't know what we would and wouldn't have to disclose. None of it was disclosed to us.

@JJsMum‌ , do you want some help with your sod? I did our front yard because it had a mix of grass types and had big dips in some areas. It turned out they planted sod over existing rock yard. I had to tear up the existing grass, dig out the rock, level everything and then plant sod. Planting sod IMO is super easy. We are planning on planting sod in our backyard sometime soon. Our backyard was infested with spiders and crickets. It was so bad our dog refused to go in it so we had to take everything out and now we are going to start over. To make matters worse this house was a traditional sale and at the top of our budget.

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