On 7/15/2017 1:50 PM, Janet wrote:

> In article >, says...

>> Sadly to say, the US loves to involve attorneys, real estate agents
>> (buyers and sellers agents) and all sorts of paperwork. That's before
>> the actual deal.
>
> Exactly the same in the UK. It's the biggest investment most people
> will ever make.
>
>> Your method sounds so much cleaner and easier.

Until you don't involve a lawyer or a title company and someone comes
home from vacation one day and asks why the hell you're living in their
house.

If you don't need a mortgage, you don't need to involve a lot of
professionals, you'd better know what you're getting into, though.

The seller doesn't have to have a real estate agent, especially if
the market is hot you can find a buyer yourself. If you do involve
realtors, the 6% average is divided between 4 entities, so it's not
as much to the realtor as you'd expect.

nancy

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 09:36:47 +1000, Bruce >
wrote:

>On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:33:33 -0400, jmcquown >
>wrote:
>
>>On 7/15/2017 7:16 PM, wrote:
>>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 17:56:26 -0400, jmcquown >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 7/15/2017 5:34 PM, wrote:
>>>>> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:05:19 +1000, Bruce >
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> You're a total city type. I bet there are more wells in the
>>>>>> countryside.
>>>>>
>>>> Bruce, please tell me exactly what you know about the areas where I've
>>>> lived all my life. I'd love to hear it.
>>>>
>>>>> Of course there are - on a continent with vast distances you're never
>>>>> going to find water in pipes across the whole of it!!
>>>>
>>>> Don't be silly. I never said there were water pipes all across the
>>>> country. Just that I've never lived in a house that had a well. Sheesh.
>>>>
>>>> Jill
>>>>
>>>>> Our house in Shad Bay, only 20 minutes from Halifax was on a well. Ours was great,
>>>>> a drilled well, 375 ft deep but full of iron so we had a water
>>>>> conditioner through which the water passed first, used to have to
>>>>> remember to add a bag of salt to it every so often.
>>>>>
>>> "Most houses in the US don't have wells."
>>>
>>> I suspect that is far from correct in the USA, as it would be in
>>> Canada. Ten minutes from the city and it's a well and septic tank
>>> more often than not.
>>>
>>Believe what you want. I'm going by personal experience. I've never
>>had a well for water or a septic tank.
>
>I've never had a coconut fall on my head, but I believe that it
>happens.

Every house I've ever owned has been on a private well and a septic
system. I've never found anything negative about it... costs a whole
lot less than city water/sewer.

On 7/15/2017 5:30 PM, wrote:

>> We just had a lawyer and a surveyor.
>> In the US, we had an estate agent, a lawyer, a surveyor, and one or two
>> others which I can't remember at the moment - it was a long time ago. (I
>> think I remember a termite inspection.)
>
> Lol I'd definitely want a termite inspection if I lived in an area
> where they didn't have to try and weather one of our winters
>

Mortgage company usually requires the termite inspection.

I'm not sure what your surveyor does. Never had one, just the plot plan
from the original survey but you may be talking a different thing.

On 7/15/2017 5:55 PM, graham wrote:

>>
> Realtors here charge 7% on the first $100k and 3.5% after that. Scum of
> the earth!!!!!

A really good agent will earn every penny of that and get you the
highest price possible. You don't have to have one, of course, you can DIY

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
news
> On 7/15/2017 11:54 AM, wrote:
>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 10:29:55 -0400, jmcquown >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 7/15/2017 5:45 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>>>> "Bruce" wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, 14 Jul 2017 23:03:55 -0700 (PDT), John Kuthe
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Friday, July 14, 2017 at 5:22:26 PM UTC-5, Jill McQuown wrote:
>>>>>> On 7/13/2017 8:25 AM, Gary wrote:
>>>>>>> Janet wrote:
>>>>>>>> says...
>>>>>>>>> And my housemates love me so much as their landlord they gave ME
>>>>>>>> their July 2017 rent checks rather than our cheap Chinese
>>>>>> landlord! (I
>>>>>>>> just deposited those checks too, today!)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Just wait till the Chinese OWNER of the property finds out
>>>>>>>> HIS
>>>>>>>> tenants didn't pay HIM their rent this month.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I was thinking the same thing. John is not the owner yet and the
>>>>>>> chinese
>>>>>>> owner gets the rent until then.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> John is delusional if he thinks he's already their landlord. He's
>>>>>> not;
>>>>>> they aren't John's tenants. What part of [he] doesn't own the house
>>>>>> is
>>>>>> so hard for John to grasp?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> This really does sound like a fail-fail situation. Maybe John should
>>>>>>> stop right now, swallow his losses and go look for a better house to
>>>>>>> buy. This entire deal with all the future repairs sounds so not
>>>>>>> right
>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>> me.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> No sane person would ever fix up a house until after closing and
>>>>>>> they
>>>>>>> own it. The chinese landlord is probably loving all this insane
>>>>>>> nonsense.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> John...he could even cancel the sale after you spend half your
>>>>>>> fortune
>>>>>>> fixing up HIS house. Wake up.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> He sure could. You can bet he's keeping an eye on everything that's
>>>>>> going on in that house. In fact, as the legal landlord, he has every
>>>>>> right to enter and look around the property. He could take one look
>>>>>> at
>>>>>> these improvements and decide he doesn't want to sell. Until
>>>>>> closing,
>>>>>> he can back out at any time.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Jill
>>>>>
>>>>> Oh and he does whenever he wants. But he;s out of town right now.
>>>>>
>>>>> WE have to do these things to close the sale and then he and his
>>>>> partner
>>>>> get $108,000 cash. If the sellers back out after I've paid to have
>>>>> all
>>>>> this occupancy permit inspection stuff brought up to code I'm sure I'd
>>>>> have
>>>>> a very good case for a civil lawsuit against them. They signed the
>>>>> sale
>>>>> contract too after all!
>>>>
>>>> But isn't it strange to collect rent for a property you don't own yet?
>>>>
>>>> ==
>>>>
>>>> If they have signed the sale contract, does that not indicated they
>>>> have
>>>> sold it to him? Not sure how it works there.
>>>>
>>> Until actual money changes hands and the deed is handed over ("closing
>>> the deal"), it's nothing more than a handshake even though it's on
>>> paper. Either party can back out at any time up to that point.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>
>> How many houses have you bought? Once you have signed an offer to buy
>> there are only very specific things which allow you to back out
>> without penalty.
>
> Maybe in Canada. In the US, until the actual "closing", anyone can back
> out.
>
>> One would be inability to raise a mortgage,
>
> Of course.
>
>> another
>> would be a failing house inspection, such as the well not delivering x
>> number of gallons per minute etc.
>>
> Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US don't have wells.
>
> He's already said the house didn't pass inspection. That's why he's
> pouring money into a house he does not yet own. And that makes no sense
> at all.

Yep.

"Bruce" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:21:27 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>>On 7/15/2017 11:54 AM, wrote:
>
>>> How many houses have you bought? Once you have signed an offer to buy
>>> there are only very specific things which allow you to back out
>>> without penalty.
>>
>>Maybe in Canada. In the US, until the actual "closing", anyone can back
>>out.
>
> Without penalty, really? What's the meaning of the sale contract they
> signed then?

They can come up with a reason. Reason people kept backing out on this house
was the siding. Or so they claimed. This kind of siding had a recall. We
were told that ours was fine and the recall didn't apply. But after buying
the house, I think the real reason was that it is flat out not up to code
and getting it up to code would cost a fortune. We had a guy who said he
would do it for $2,000 so we hired him only to have him walk away saying
that he'd been wrong and couldn't do the job for any price. We based what we
paid for the house on that. Now we are stuck with a house that likely will
never be up to code.

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
news
> On 7/15/2017 4:26 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>> On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 12:21:41 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
>>
>>> Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US don't have wells.
>>
>> About 15 million households in the U.S. depend on a private well
>> for their water. That's not chump change.
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>>
> I'll have to take your word for it. Never had a private well to supply
> water in any house I've ever lived in. That's stretching from CA to NJ to
> OH and on down to a few southern states. <shrug>

Wells are not common here at all. I know of some houses in PA with wells
though. And I think every military housing that I lived in got water from a
well. There wasn't a well for each residence though. It was for the whole
base or all of the housing.

John Kuthe wrote:
> On Friday, July 14, 2017 at 5:22:26 PM UTC-5, Jill McQuown wrote:
>> On 7/13/2017 8:25 AM, Gary wrote:
>>> Janet wrote:
>>>> says...
>>>>> And my housemates love me so much as their landlord they gave ME
>>>> their July 2017 rent checks rather than our cheap Chinese landlord! (I
>>>> just deposited those checks too, today!)
>>>>
>>>> Just wait till the Chinese OWNER of the property finds out HIS
>>>> tenants didn't pay HIM their rent this month.
>>> I was thinking the same thing. John is not the owner yet and the chinese
>>> owner gets the rent until then.
>>>
>> John is delusional if he thinks he's already their landlord. He's not;
>> they aren't John's tenants. What part of [he] doesn't own the house is
>> so hard for John to grasp?
>>
>>> This really does sound like a fail-fail situation. Maybe John should
>>> stop right now, swallow his losses and go look for a better house to
>>> buy. This entire deal with all the future repairs sounds so not right to
>>> me.
>>>
>>> No sane person would ever fix up a house until after closing and they
>>> own it. The chinese landlord is probably loving all this insane nonsense.
>>>
>>> John...he could even cancel the sale after you spend half your fortune
>>> fixing up HIS house. Wake up.
>>>
>> He sure could. You can bet he's keeping an eye on everything that's
>> going on in that house. In fact, as the legal landlord, he has every
>> right to enter and look around the property. He could take one look at
>> these improvements and decide he doesn't want to sell. Until closing,
>> he can back out at any time.
>>
>> Jill
> Oh and he does whenever he wants. But he;s out of town right now.
>
> WE have to do these things to close the sale and then he and his partner get $108,000 cash. If the sellers back out after I've paid to have all this occupancy permit inspection stuff brought up to code I'm sure I'd have a very good case for a civil lawsuit against them. They signed the sale contract too after all!
>
> John Kuthe...


Good luck with that. Do you have that in the purchase agreement?

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
news
> On 7/15/2017 7:16 PM, wrote:
>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 17:56:26 -0400, jmcquown >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 7/15/2017 5:34 PM, wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:05:19 +1000, Bruce >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 16:52:36 -0400, jmcquown >
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 7/15/2017 4:26 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>>> On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 12:21:41 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US don't have
>>>>>>>> wells.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> About 15 million households in the U.S. depend on a private well
>>>>>>> for their water. That's not chump change.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'll have to take your word for it. Never had a private well to
>>>>>> supply
>>>>>> water in any house I've ever lived in. That's stretching from CA to
>>>>>> NJ
>>>>>> to OH and on down to a few southern states. <shrug>
>>>>>
>>>>> You're a total city type. I bet there are more wells in the
>>>>> countryside.
>>>>
>>> Bruce, please tell me exactly what you know about the areas where I've
>>> lived all my life. I'd love to hear it.
>>>
>>>> Of course there are - on a continent with vast distances you're never
>>>> going to find water in pipes across the whole of it!!
>>>
>>> Don't be silly. I never said there were water pipes all across the
>>> country. Just that I've never lived in a house that had a well.
>>> Sheesh.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>>
>>>> Our house in Shad Bay, only 20 minutes from Halifax was on a well.
>>>> Ours was great,
>>>> a drilled well, 375 ft deep but full of iron so we had a water
>>>> conditioner through which the water passed first, used to have to
>>>> remember to add a bag of salt to it every so often.
>>>>
>> "Most houses in the US don't have wells."
>>
>> I suspect that is far from correct in the USA, as it would be in
>> Canada. Ten minutes from the city and it's a well and septic tank
>> more often than not.
>>
> Believe what you want. I'm going by personal experience. I've never had
> a well for water or a septic tank.

Our house in Wichita was on a septic tank but it changed to sewer before we
sold it. The house that I grew up in here was on septic but changed to sewer
many years ago. My MIL's house in PA was septic but now sewer. Most here are
sewer but there are a few still on septic. Don't know of any wells around
here but... I was looking up Bothell statistics and we have 58 residences
that use coal or coke for heating. I do find that hard to believe.

jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On 7/15/2017 7:16 PM, wrote:
> > On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 17:56:26 -0400, jmcquown >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > On 7/15/2017 5:34 PM, wrote:
> > > > On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:05:19 +1000, Bruce
> > > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 16:52:36 -0400, jmcquown
> > > > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > On 7/15/2017 4:26 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> > > > > > > On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 12:21:41 PM UTC-4, Jill
> > > > > > > McQuown wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US
> > > > > > > > don't have wells.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > About 15 million households in the U.S. depend on a
> > > > > > > private well for their water. That's not chump change.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Cindy Hamilton
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > I'll have to take your word for it. Never had a private
> > > > > > well to supply water in any house I've ever lived in.
> > > > > > That's stretching from CA to NJ to OH and on down to a few
> > > > > > southern states. <shrug>
> > > > >
> > > > > You're a total city type. I bet there are more wells in the
> > > > > countryside.
> > > >
> > > Bruce, please tell me exactly what you know about the areas where
> > > I've lived all my life. I'd love to hear it.
> > >
> > > > Of course there are - on a continent with vast distances you're
> > > > never going to find water in pipes across the whole of it!!
> > >
> > > Don't be silly. I never said there were water pipes all across
> > > the country. Just that I've never lived in a house that had a
> > > well. Sheesh.
> > >
> > > Jill
> > >
> > > > Our house in Shad Bay, only 20 minutes from Halifax was on a
> > > > well. Ours was great, a drilled well, 375 ft deep but full of
> > > > iron so we had a water conditioner through which the water
> > > > passed first, used to have to remember to add a bag of salt to
> > > > it every so often.
> > > >
> > "Most houses in the US don't have wells."
> >
> > I suspect that is far from correct in the USA, as it would be in
> > Canada. Ten minutes from the city and it's a well and septic tank
> > more often than not.
> >
> Believe what you want. I'm going by personal experience. I've never
> had a well for water or a septic tank.
>
> Jill

Hi Jill, depends on the area I am sure. Septic systems are pretty
common within 10 miles from the main city limits. We had one in
Charlottesville VA and Clemson SC.

Oddly, my house in VB has a well (never used it). The well is for
watering the grass and stuff, not hooked to the house plumbing. I
recall we had a well in Miami as well (same thing, not hooked to the
house but for watering grass).


--

> wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 09:36:47 +1000, Bruce >
> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:33:33 -0400, jmcquown >
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On 7/15/2017 7:16 PM, wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 17:56:26 -0400, jmcquown >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 7/15/2017 5:34 PM, wrote:
>>>>>> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:05:19 +1000, Bruce >
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You're a total city type. I bet there are more wells in the
>>>>>>> countryside.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Bruce, please tell me exactly what you know about the areas where I've
>>>>> lived all my life. I'd love to hear it.
>>>>>
>>>>>> Of course there are - on a continent with vast distances you're never
>>>>>> going to find water in pipes across the whole of it!!
>>>>>
>>>>> Don't be silly. I never said there were water pipes all across the
>>>>> country. Just that I've never lived in a house that had a well.
>>>>> Sheesh.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jill
>>>>>
>>>>>> Our house in Shad Bay, only 20 minutes from Halifax was on a well.
>>>>>> Ours was great,
>>>>>> a drilled well, 375 ft deep but full of iron so we had a water
>>>>>> conditioner through which the water passed first, used to have to
>>>>>> remember to add a bag of salt to it every so often.
>>>>>>
>>>> "Most houses in the US don't have wells."
>>>>
>>>> I suspect that is far from correct in the USA, as it would be in
>>>> Canada. Ten minutes from the city and it's a well and septic tank
>>>> more often than not.
>>>>
>>>Believe what you want. I'm going by personal experience. I've never
>>>had a well for water or a septic tank.
>>
>>I've never had a coconut fall on my head, but I believe that it
>>happens.
>
> Every house I've ever owned has been on a private well and a septic
> system. I've never found anything negative about it... costs a whole
> lot less than city water/sewer.

How would you know if you never had those?

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
news
> On 7/15/2017 2:46 PM, Janet wrote:
>> In article >, says...
>>>> Sadly to say, the US loves to involve attorneys, real estate agents
>>>> (buyers and sellers agents) and all sorts of paperwork. That's before
>>>> the actual deal. Your method sounds so much cleaner and easier.
>>>>
>>>> Jill
>>>>
>>>> ==
>>>>
>>>> I would bet yours is much more expensive too(
>>>>
>>> Of course! Real estates and attorneys get commission for brokering the
>>> deal.
>>
>> Estate agents here charge the seller to market their property. The
>> buyer and seller both employ lawyers and pay fees for their services.
>> The buyer also pays a professional surveyor to examine the building
>> structure (mortgage lenders insist on this). In Scotland, the seller
>> also has to pay a surveyor to prepare an initial property report.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since neither of you know what the comparative charges are in the
>> other country it's pointless claiming which is more expensive.
>>
>> Janet UK
>>
> I don't actually care about how it's done in other countries. Was merely
> trying to explain how things work in the US. I know [real]estate agents -
> both buyer and seller - get approximately 6% of the selling price in the
> US. That's how they make a living. Brokering the sale between two
> parties.
>
> If an attorney is involved, which is usually the case because of
> deed/title searches, etc., they also take a cut. The fact of the matter
> is it can be quite expensive to buy (or sell) a house.
>
> There is such a thing as FSBO (For Sale By Owner) in which there might not
> be agents involved. But there are still codes which have to be met before
> someone can buy a dwelling to live in. That's when the county gets
> involved. And the lawyers.
>
> Getting back to the point, it's usually the seller who fixes things up
> before putting the house on the market. John is putting the cart before
> the horse.

You can certainly buy a fixer upper as is but you wouldn't spend money on it
until you owned it. You can also rent to own or make arrangements with the
owner to do work or have work done and take the money off your rent. But
none of these things apply here.

jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On 7/15/2017 6:33 PM, cshenk wrote:

> >
> > Jill, it's a rural thing, outside city zones.
> >
> Yes, I understand that. I've always made a point of living outside
> the "city" limits so I don't have to pay both city and county taxes.
> I do know a bit about moving around. I've still never had to rely
> on a well for water. Anywhere.
>
> Jill

Nor have I had to reply on one. I've seen it, but never lived that far
away from a bigger city area to have it be the water used in the house.

I somewhat suspect from where I've lived, that septic systems are more
common than wells used for the house's water, on average until you get
to truely rural.

I'd also say in the long run, both are cheaper. Here, they tack
everything they can to the water/sewer bills. Highest prices I've seen
anyplace for that. People are getting angry about it now that it's
over 150$ a month in fees, not related to the actual water use. Storm
drain fees are the worst part. Yes, when it rains a lot, they go up.
They say it's to pay for maintaining them, but there's little sign of
anything being done to improve them.

--

On 7/15/2017 7:24 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 7/15/2017 5:55 PM, graham wrote:
>
>>>
>> Realtors here charge 7% on the first $100k and 3.5% after that. Scum of
>> the earth!!!!!
>
> A really good agent will earn every penny of that and get you the
> highest price possible. You don't have to have one, of course, you can DIY
>


but how many agents are actually "really good"?

On 2017-07-15 8:24 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 7/15/2017 5:55 PM, graham wrote:
>
>>>
>> Realtors here charge 7% on the first $100k and 3.5% after that. Scum
>> of the earth!!!!!
>
> A really good agent will earn every penny of that and get you the
> highest price possible. You don't have to have one, of course, you can DIY

Here, they are supposed to be competitive regarding commissions but they
are effectively a cartel. I've seen too many underhand deals by supposed
"top" realtors to trust them.

On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:34:29 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>
>"Bruce" > wrote in message
.. .
>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:21:27 -0400, jmcquown >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Maybe in Canada. In the US, until the actual "closing", anyone can back
>>>out.
>>
>> Without penalty, really? What's the meaning of the sale contract they
>> signed then?
>
>They can come up with a reason. Reason people kept backing out on this house
>was the siding. Or so they claimed. This kind of siding had a recall. We
>were told that ours was fine and the recall didn't apply. But after buying
>the house, I think the real reason was that it is flat out not up to code
>and getting it up to code would cost a fortune. We had a guy who said he
>would do it for $2,000 so we hired him only to have him walk away saying
>that he'd been wrong and couldn't do the job for any price. We based what we
>paid for the house on that. Now we are stuck with a house that likely will
>never be up to code.

Can't you get a new quote? Or else, never move.

On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 3:37:40 PM UTC-5, S Viemeister wrote:
> On 7/15/2017 7:48 PM, Janet wrote:
> > In article >,
> > says...
> >> Scottish house-buying is (or was, when we bought ours) much more
> >> straight-forward than English or US house-buying.
> >
> > But we still employ surveyors, lawyers and estate agents.
> >
> We just had a lawyer and a surveyor.
> In the US, we had an estate agent, a lawyer, a surveyor, and one or two
> others which I can't remember at the moment - it was a long time ago. (I
> think I remember a termite inspection.)

I had a comprehensive $750 building inspection down before we agreed on a price. But my landlord did not appear to be very flexible about his initial offer of $110,000 and I only got him down to $108,000 cash, basically as is.. So I KNOW ann the stuff that needs work. I knew most of what my inspector found too! I have no delusions about this place and the work it needs. But I'm into it too far to quit now! And it's gonna be VERY cool and when I get it all done could be worth as much as maybe $200,000 after restoration!

John Kuthe...

"Bruce" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:34:29 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>"Bruce" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:21:27 -0400, jmcquown >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Maybe in Canada. In the US, until the actual "closing", anyone can back
>>>>out.
>>>
>>> Without penalty, really? What's the meaning of the sale contract they
>>> signed then?
>>
>>They can come up with a reason. Reason people kept backing out on this
>>house
>>was the siding. Or so they claimed. This kind of siding had a recall. We
>>were told that ours was fine and the recall didn't apply. But after buying
>>the house, I think the real reason was that it is flat out not up to code
>>and getting it up to code would cost a fortune. We had a guy who said he
>>would do it for $2,000 so we hired him only to have him walk away saying
>>that he'd been wrong and couldn't do the job for any price. We based what
>>we
>>paid for the house on that. Now we are stuck with a house that likely will
>>never be up to code.
>
> Can't you get a new quote? Or else, never move.

A quote means nothing. I haven't got the money for anything like this. That
$2,000 that we once had is long gone. House has been riddled with plumbing
and electrical problems. Got those fixed. New roof. Had the exterior
painted. Replaced toilets and appliances.

I have had many a handyman type person over here to do various things. When
I mentioned what the specific problem was, they'd look around, shake their
heads and admit that it would take a whole lot of work. Or weren't even sure
they could do it. In a nutshell, every part of the garage (and I use that
term loosely as it isn't big enough to park a car in) needs to be fully
unclosed with drywall. And because of the stupid way the remodeling of this
house was done, this would mean cutting many small and tiny pieces of the
stuff and fitting it around pipes, vents and other stuff. But some other
things would have to be done in case something went wrong and whatever was
enclosed in there needed to be accessed. Like a hatch or hatches or
something.

As for the "never moving", it's easy to say but reality can hit hard. Most
of the seniors I know simply get to the point where they flat out have to
move. The good thing for me is that I put my foot down when we bought this
place and insisted on no stairs. Houses without stairs are hard to come by
in this area. Because it is hilly, we have a lot of older split levels and
the new construction features little to no yard and 3 or more stories. So if
I do have to move, stairs won't be the reason for it. That was the main
reason for my dad. We could not get him in or out of the house and that last
night he was there, the EMTs even had trouble getting him out to get to the
hospital.

I have thought about perhaps... What if it is just me in this house? It's
not big as houses go but I certainly wouldn't need this much space all to
myself. Could easily do with just half of it or less. But... The price of
rentals or senior living or nursing homes is so high, it would be cheaper to
stay here.

I also wonder what will happen with senior living as I age. I would hate to
have to live where my mom does. Her studio apartment is just fine except
that getting to it involves an elevator and more walking than is easy for me
to do. And while she has a kitchenette, her rent includes two meals a day.
But... The food they serve is made by a gourmet chef and that sort of stuff
just doesn't appeal. There is no way to ever get something simple like a
grilled cheese sandwich, a dish of cottage cheese, or even tacos. They do
have nachos on the menu but they have BBQed pulled pork on them and weird
cheese. Actually the menu sort of looks like something Jill might post from
"The Club". But that menu just never changes. Once you've eaten your way
through the limited menu, then what? Diabetics have moved out of there
because they simply can not supply them with suitable food on an on going
basis. Yes, there is a small salad bar but beyond that, everything is pretty
much carb city with a side of weird sauce or truffle oil or things that I
don't even know what they are.

I guess they are operating on the assumption that most of the
inmates...er...residents have at least the beginnings of dementia or
something similar and will forget what they ate yesterday or better still
what foods they even like or dislike. I have seen that happen as well.
Forgetful seniors will seem to take no enjoyment in food whatever beyond
perhaps dessert and will begin eating things they've always disliked. They
may not eat much of it. They'll lose weight and people will wonder why.
Kitchen staff will dispose of the uneaten food, assuming that the diners
haven't much appetite. Nobody will ever question the menu and so will begin
another day. Not for me. But maybe I won't have a choice. I just hope it
never gets to that.

"Ophelia" wrote in message ...

"S Viemeister" wrote in message ...

On 7/15/2017 7:48 PM, Janet wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>> Scottish house-buying is (or was, when we bought ours) much more
>> straight-forward than English or US house-buying.
>
> But we still employ surveyors, lawyers and estate agents.
>
We just had a lawyer and a surveyor.
In the US, we had an estate agent, a lawyer, a surveyor, and one or two
others which I can't remember at the moment - it was a long time ago. (I
think I remember a termite inspection.)

==

Ahh yes, I had forgotten the surveyor.

==

It occurs to me too, that we haven't had a mortgage for the last 4 houses.
Perhaps that simplifies matters.


--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"Bruce" wrote in message news
On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 17:56:26 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 7/15/2017 5:34 PM, wrote:
>> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:05:19 +1000, Bruce >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 16:52:36 -0400, jmcquown >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 7/15/2017 4:26 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>> On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 12:21:41 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US don't have wells.
>>>>>
>>>>> About 15 million households in the U.S. depend on a private well
>>>>> for their water. That's not chump change.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>>>
>>>> I'll have to take your word for it. Never had a private well to supply
>>>> water in any house I've ever lived in. That's stretching from CA to NJ
>>>> to OH and on down to a few southern states. <shrug>
>>>
>>> You're a total city type. I bet there are more wells in the
>>> countryside.
>>
>Bruce, please tell me exactly what you know about the areas where I've
>lived all my life. I'd love to hear it.

Regardless of where you've lived, you strike me as a city type. I
don't mean that in a negative way. I was a city type for 45 years. I
still can't milk a cow or wrangle a snake with my bare hands. Not a
venomous one, anyway.

==

Pity! You could have been very useful here.



--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk

In article >,
says...
> Subject: to John Kuthe
> From: Wayne Boatwright >
> Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
>
> On Sat 15 Jul 2017 04:36:32p, jmcquown told us...
>
> > [quoted text muted]
> >>
> > Enjoy your kiss fest. Where I've lived has nothing to do with
> > John Kuthe wasting money on a house he doesn't own.
> >
> > Jill
>
> Who really cares what John wastes his money on? If he's stupid
> enough to do so, then he deserves what he gets. It doesn't affect
> anyone else's life here.

Yeah right. You're very smug and insular Wayne.

This group has had years of watching John's mental illness spiralling
down. The decline and fall of Kili,Blake, Janet W, and others didn't
affect mine or the life of anyone else here; but many of us distant,
helpless bystanders were concerned to witness the inevitable.

Janet UK.

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 09:58:50 +0100, "Ophelia" >
wrote:

>"Bruce" wrote in message news >
>On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 17:56:26 -0400, jmcquown >
>wrote:
>
>>On 7/15/2017 5:34 PM, wrote:
>>> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:05:19 +1000, Bruce >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 16:52:36 -0400, jmcquown >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 7/15/2017 4:26 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>> On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 12:21:41 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US don't have wells.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> About 15 million households in the U.S. depend on a private well
>>>>>> for their water. That's not chump change.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>>>>
>>>>> I'll have to take your word for it. Never had a private well to supply
>>>>> water in any house I've ever lived in. That's stretching from CA to NJ
>>>>> to OH and on down to a few southern states. <shrug>
>>>>
>>>> You're a total city type. I bet there are more wells in the
>>>> countryside.
>>>
>>Bruce, please tell me exactly what you know about the areas where I've
>>lived all my life. I'd love to hear it.
>
>Regardless of where you've lived, you strike me as a city type. I
>don't mean that in a negative way. I was a city type for 45 years. I
>still can't milk a cow or wrangle a snake with my bare hands. Not a
>venomous one, anyway.
>
>==
>
>Pity! You could have been very useful here.

Do you have a big snake problem?

In article >,
lid says...
>
> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:33:33 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
> >On 7/15/2017 7:16 PM, wrote:
> >> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 17:56:26 -0400, jmcquown >
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 7/15/2017 5:34 PM, wrote:
> >>>> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:05:19 +1000, Bruce >
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> You're a total city type. I bet there are more wells in the
> >>>>> countryside.
> >>>>
> >>> Bruce, please tell me exactly what you know about the areas where I've
> >>> lived all my life. I'd love to hear it.
> >>>
> >>>> Of course there are - on a continent with vast distances you're never
> >>>> going to find water in pipes across the whole of it!!
> >>>
> >>> Don't be silly. I never said there were water pipes all across the
> >>> country. Just that I've never lived in a house that had a well. Sheesh.
> >>>
> >>> Jill
> >>>
> >>>> Our house in Shad Bay, only 20 minutes from Halifax was on a well. Ours was great,
> >>>> a drilled well, 375 ft deep but full of iron so we had a water
> >>>> conditioner through which the water passed first, used to have to
> >>>> remember to add a bag of salt to it every so often.
> >>>>
> >> "Most houses in the US don't have wells."
> >>
> >> I suspect that is far from correct in the USA, as it would be in
> >> Canada. Ten minutes from the city and it's a well and septic tank
> >> more often than not.
> >>
> >Believe what you want. I'm going by personal experience. I've never
> >had a well for water or a septic tank.

I've lived with one well, one private water supply (from a stream)
supplemented by rainwater tanks, and two septic tanks. I've got a
septic tank right now.

> I've never had a coconut fall on my head, but I believe that it
> happens.

I reckon it has happened to you, causing amnesia.

Janet UK

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 00:50:59 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>
>"Bruce" > wrote in message
.. .
>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:34:29 -0700, "Julie Bove"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"Bruce" > wrote in message
...
>>>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:21:27 -0400, jmcquown >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Maybe in Canada. In the US, until the actual "closing", anyone can back
>>>>>out.
>>>>
>>>> Without penalty, really? What's the meaning of the sale contract they
>>>> signed then?
>>>
>>>They can come up with a reason. Reason people kept backing out on this
>>>house
>>>was the siding. Or so they claimed. This kind of siding had a recall. We
>>>were told that ours was fine and the recall didn't apply. But after buying
>>>the house, I think the real reason was that it is flat out not up to code
>>>and getting it up to code would cost a fortune. We had a guy who said he
>>>would do it for $2,000 so we hired him only to have him walk away saying
>>>that he'd been wrong and couldn't do the job for any price. We based what
>>>we
>>>paid for the house on that. Now we are stuck with a house that likely will
>>>never be up to code.
>>
>> Can't you get a new quote? Or else, never move.
>
>A quote means nothing. I haven't got the money for anything like this. That
>$2,000 that we once had is long gone. House has been riddled with plumbing
>and electrical problems. Got those fixed. New roof. Had the exterior
>painted. Replaced toilets and appliances.
>
>I have had many a handyman type person over here to do various things. When
>I mentioned what the specific problem was, they'd look around, shake their
>heads and admit that it would take a whole lot of work. Or weren't even sure
>they could do it. In a nutshell, every part of the garage (and I use that
>term loosely as it isn't big enough to park a car in) needs to be fully
>unclosed with drywall. And because of the stupid way the remodeling of this
>house was done, this would mean cutting many small and tiny pieces of the
>stuff and fitting it around pipes, vents and other stuff. But some other
>things would have to be done in case something went wrong and whatever was
>enclosed in there needed to be accessed. Like a hatch or hatches or
>something.

I'm not sure if I understand, but if it's a repair that needs to be
done before you can sell the house, I'd like to know how much that
would cost. Hopefully only a fraction of the selling price.

>As for the "never moving", it's easy to say but reality can hit hard. Most
>of the seniors I know simply get to the point where they flat out have to
>move.

I know. Most people need to move at least once more as they get old.

(...)

>I also wonder what will happen with senior living as I age. I would hate to
>have to live where my mom does. Her studio apartment is just fine except
>that getting to it involves an elevator and more walking than is easy for me
>to do. And while she has a kitchenette, her rent includes two meals a day.
>But... The food they serve is made by a gourmet chef and that sort of stuff
>just doesn't appeal. There is no way to ever get something simple like a
>grilled cheese sandwich, a dish of cottage cheese, or even tacos. They do
>have nachos on the menu but they have BBQed pulled pork on them and weird
>cheese. Actually the menu sort of looks like something Jill might post from
>"The Club". But that menu just never changes. Once you've eaten your way
>through the limited menu, then what?

Start over again. I don't mind eating something I like again. I always
order fish, chips and salad at our favourite lunch place.

>Diabetics have moved out of there
>because they simply can not supply them with suitable food on an on going
>basis. Yes, there is a small salad bar but beyond that, everything is pretty
>much carb city with a side of weird sauce or truffle oil or things that I
>don't even know what they are.

I believe that truffle oil is a side product of the petrochemical
industry and has nothing to do with the mushroom, so I'd stay away
from that too.

On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 4:52:49 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
> On 7/15/2017 4:26 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> > On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 12:21:41 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
> >
> >> Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US don't have wells.
> >
> > About 15 million households in the U.S. depend on a private well
> > for their water. That's not chump change.
> >
> > Cindy Hamilton
> >
> I'll have to take your word for it. Never had a private well to supply
> water in any house I've ever lived in. That's stretching from CA to NJ
> to OH and on down to a few southern states. <shrug>
>
> Jill

The house that I own now had a well when we moved in. One of the very
few government requirements on the sale was a test of the well.

Cindy Hamilton

On 7/16/2017 2:55 AM, Janet wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>> Subject: to John Kuthe
>> From: Wayne Boatwright >
>> Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
>>
>> On Sat 15 Jul 2017 04:36:32p, jmcquown told us...
>>
>>> [quoted text muted]
>>>>
>>> Enjoy your kiss fest. Where I've lived has nothing to do with
>>> John Kuthe wasting money on a house he doesn't own.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>
>> Who really cares what John wastes his money on? If he's stupid
>> enough to do so, then he deserves what he gets. It doesn't affect
>> anyone else's life here.
>
> Yeah right. You're very smug and insular Wayne.
>
> This group has had years of watching John's mental illness spiralling
> down. The decline and fall of Kili,Blake, Janet W, and others didn't
> affect mine or the life of anyone else here; but many of us distant,
> helpless bystanders were concerned to witness the inevitable.
>
> Janet UK.
>


I wonder if all on this group are similarly doomed. Is the group the cause?

On 7/15/2017 7:24 PM, Bruce wrote:
> Lol. I'm getting better with the pythons. They're easy to identify and
> not venomous, although they can bite. Anything else I won't touch,
> because some common types are potentially lethal.

Any chance that was an "Australian Python?" My daughter bought a baby
one once (without my permission). It was the size of a pencil. They only
grow to about 3 feet long.

I was taking care of it once when she was off for a few days. I reached
my hand into the cage to change the water bowl and it bit me. Very quick
bite and retreat. I've caught many wild snakes before but this one was
the only snake bite. I knew it wasn't poisonous so I just cleaned the
wound and treated it.

Luckily for "Willy," I didn't go back and kill the evil *******. hehehe

On 7/15/2017 10:42 PM, cshenk wrote:
> Oddly, my house in VB has a well (never used it). The well is for
> watering the grass and stuff, not hooked to the house plumbing. I
> recall we had a well in Miami as well (same thing, not hooked to the
> house but for watering grass).

I lived on laskin road for several years in the 1970's. Old house with
almost an acre of yard. It was so ideal. All the years I lived there
too, the rent never increased...$130 per month.

It used well water for drinking and showering, filtered though a
Culligan tank. My gas stove was a tank of propane.

They sold the property a few years after I moved and the developer built
about 20 townhouse looking condos on that spit of land. Talk about
overkill and cramming too much in the land. There is no nice yard now,
just 2 rows of buildings with a parking lot in between.

So many homeowners here at the Beach do have shallow wells for watering
the lawn only. It's very common here.

On 7/16/2017 5:55 AM, Janet wrote:
> This group has had years of watching John's mental illness spiralling
> down. The decline and fall of Kili,Blake, Janet W, and others didn't
> affect mine or the life of anyone else here; but many of us distant,
> helpless bystanders were concerned to witness the inevitable.

And there, all yee non-believers is the nice Janet UK. We are all some
sort of family here. We often "try to help" buy offering advice even if
it's not asked for. The good intentions are there though.

I don't want to see John fail and lose all his money. He's had a
difficult life...time to let him have some security.

In article >,
says...
>
> On 7/15/2017 7:48 PM, Janet wrote:
> > In article >,
> > says...
> >> Scottish house-buying is (or was, when we bought ours) much more
> >> straight-forward than English or US house-buying.
> >
> > But we still employ surveyors, lawyers and estate agents.
> >
> We just had a lawyer and a surveyor.

Because you were buying?

In the UK, buyers pay nothing for the services of estate agents; but
many certainly use their services when searching for a property to
buy. Estate agents will send out lists of suitable property, brochures,
answer questions about the property, arrange viewings and even take the
viewers to the property to show it to them. The agent who introduces the
eventual buyer, gets paid by the seller.

( All free to the prospective buyers who may be using the free services
of several estate agents.)

Most sellers in UK, but not all, pay an estate agent to draw up a
schedule, advise them on preparing it for sale, advertise it, arrange
and accompany viewings etc. A good agent can often reach a much wider
audience of active house hunters. Vendors with an attractive house in a
good location can certainly bypass an agent and find their own buyer;
but IME, most would have made a lot more money than an agent would have
charged, had they used an agent who cast the net wider.

> In the US, we had an estate agent, a lawyer, a surveyor, and one or two
> others which I can't remember at the moment - it was a long time ago. (I
> think I remember a termite inspection.)

When buying I've always used a surveyor. Sometimes the surveyor will
recommend an additional specialist inspection (on a private water supply
or woodworm and dry rot infestations for example).

in my experience (at both ends), if some unknown problem comes to
light during survey, either the vendor pays to put it right before
completion ; or the sale price is reduced accordingly, or, the buyer
walks away.

What doesn't happen, is the buyer paying to rectify survey problems
before the sale goes through.

Janet

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 03:41:45 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 4:52:49 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
>> On 7/15/2017 4:26 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>> > On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 12:21:41 PM UTC-4, Jill McQuown wrote:
>> >
>> >> Wells? Gallons per minute? Most houses in the US don't have wells.
>> >
>> > About 15 million households in the U.S. depend on a private well
>> > for their water. That's not chump change.
>> >
>> > Cindy Hamilton
>> >
>> I'll have to take your word for it. Never had a private well to supply
>> water in any house I've ever lived in. That's stretching from CA to NJ
>> to OH and on down to a few southern states. <shrug>
>>
>> Jill
>
>The house that I own now had a well when we moved in. One of the very
>few government requirements on the sale was a test of the well.

Well?

On Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 2:18:30 AM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:34:29 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
> >
> >"Bruce" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:21:27 -0400, jmcquown >
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>>Maybe in Canada. In the US, until the actual "closing", anyone can back
> >>>out.
> >>
> >> Without penalty, really? What's the meaning of the sale contract they
> >> signed then?
> >
> >They can come up with a reason. Reason people kept backing out on this house
> >was the siding. Or so they claimed. This kind of siding had a recall. We
> >were told that ours was fine and the recall didn't apply. But after buying
> >the house, I think the real reason was that it is flat out not up to code
> >and getting it up to code would cost a fortune. We had a guy who said he
> >would do it for $2,000 so we hired him only to have him walk away saying
> >that he'd been wrong and couldn't do the job for any price. We based what we
> >paid for the house on that. Now we are stuck with a house that likely will
> >never be up to code.
>
> Can't you get a new quote? Or else, never move.

I'm a little curious myself. Clearly, the controlling legal authority
allowed the sale of a non-compliant house. That suggests that, although
not up to current code (and few older houses are--mine certainly isn't),
the house is both livable and salable. I don't see a problem. It'd be
interesting to know what caused the contractor to say he couldn't do
the job for any price.

Cindy Hamilton

On Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 3:51:14 AM UTC-4, Julie Bove wrote:
> "Bruce" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:34:29 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > > wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>"Bruce" > wrote in message
> . ..
> >>> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:21:27 -0400, jmcquown >
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>Maybe in Canada. In the US, until the actual "closing", anyone can back
> >>>>out.
> >>>
> >>> Without penalty, really? What's the meaning of the sale contract they
> >>> signed then?
> >>
> >>They can come up with a reason. Reason people kept backing out on this
> >>house
> >>was the siding. Or so they claimed. This kind of siding had a recall. We
> >>were told that ours was fine and the recall didn't apply. But after buying
> >>the house, I think the real reason was that it is flat out not up to code
> >>and getting it up to code would cost a fortune. We had a guy who said he
> >>would do it for $2,000 so we hired him only to have him walk away saying
> >>that he'd been wrong and couldn't do the job for any price. We based what
> >>we
> >>paid for the house on that. Now we are stuck with a house that likely will
> >>never be up to code.
> >
> > Can't you get a new quote? Or else, never move.
>
> A quote means nothing. I haven't got the money for anything like this. That
> $2,000 that we once had is long gone. House has been riddled with plumbing
> and electrical problems. Got those fixed. New roof. Had the exterior
> painted. Replaced toilets and appliances.
>
> I have had many a handyman type person over here to do various things. When
> I mentioned what the specific problem was, they'd look around, shake their
> heads and admit that it would take a whole lot of work. Or weren't even sure
> they could do it. In a nutshell, every part of the garage (and I use that
> term loosely as it isn't big enough to park a car in) needs to be fully
> unclosed with drywall. And because of the stupid way the remodeling of this
> house was done, this would mean cutting many small and tiny pieces of the
> stuff and fitting it around pipes, vents and other stuff. But some other
> things would have to be done in case something went wrong and whatever was
> enclosed in there needed to be accessed. Like a hatch or hatches or
> something.

That doesn't mean it couldn't be done "for any price". I conjecture that
the contractor simply didn't want to deal with it. Drywall is not difficult.
It might be expensive to have a professional fiddle with this job, but
it doesn't sound like it cannot be done.

Cindy Hamilton

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 07:53:05 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>On 7/15/2017 7:24 PM, Bruce wrote:
>> Lol. I'm getting better with the pythons. They're easy to identify and
>> not venomous, although they can bite. Anything else I won't touch,
>> because some common types are potentially lethal.
>
>Any chance that was an "Australian Python?" My daughter bought a baby
>one once (without my permission). It was the size of a pencil. They only
>grow to about 3 feet long.
>
>I was taking care of it once when she was off for a few days. I reached
>my hand into the cage to change the water bowl and it bit me. Very quick
>bite and retreat. I've caught many wild snakes before but this one was
>the only snake bite. I knew it wasn't poisonous so I just cleaned the
>wound and treated it.
>
>Luckily for "Willy," I didn't go back and kill the evil *******. hehehe

It was a coastal python or diamond python. They get up to 1.5 metres
long, but this one was young and under a metre. A good practice snake
for me.

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 08:05:23 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>On 7/16/2017 5:55 AM, Janet wrote:
>> This group has had years of watching John's mental illness spiralling
>> down. The decline and fall of Kili,Blake, Janet W, and others didn't
>> affect mine or the life of anyone else here; but many of us distant,
>> helpless bystanders were concerned to witness the inevitable.
>
>And there, all yee non-believers is the nice Janet UK. We are all some
>sort of family here. We often "try to help" buy offering advice even if
>it's not asked for. The good intentions are there though.
>
>I don't want to see John fail and lose all his money. He's had a
>difficult life...time to let him have some security.

Not talking about you or me, but I think that some of the people who
give him advice, would love to see him fail.

In article >,
says...
>
> On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 21:37:39 +0100, S Viemeister
> > wrote:
>
> >On 7/15/2017 7:48 PM, Janet wrote:
> >> In article >,
> >> says...
> >>> Scottish house-buying is (or was, when we bought ours) much more
> >>> straight-forward than English or US house-buying.
> >>
> >> But we still employ surveyors, lawyers and estate agents.
> >>
> >We just had a lawyer and a surveyor.
> >In the US, we had an estate agent, a lawyer, a surveyor, and one or two
> >others which I can't remember at the moment - it was a long time ago. (I
> >think I remember a termite inspection.)
>
> Lol I'd definitely want a termite inspection if I lived in an area
> where they didn't have to try and weather one of our winters

In UK there are no termites, but other insects and fungal attacks that
can seriously weaken old house timbers. Buyers would expect a surveyor
to find any signs. Sometimes a previous infestation has been
professionally treated and the property carries an indemnity guarantee
against further damage.

Janet UK

In article >,
says...
>
> On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 3:37:40 PM UTC-5, S Viemeister wrote:
> > On 7/15/2017 7:48 PM, Janet wrote:
> > > In article >,
> > > says...
> > >> Scottish house-buying is (or was, when we bought ours) much more
> > >> straight-forward than English or US house-buying.
> > >
> > > But we still employ surveyors, lawyers and estate agents.
> > >
> > We just had a lawyer and a surveyor.
> > In the US, we had an estate agent, a lawyer, a surveyor, and one or two
> > others which I can't remember at the moment - it was a long time ago. (I
> > think I remember a termite inspection.)
>
> I had a comprehensive $750 building inspection down before we agreed on a price.
But my landlord did not appear to be very flexible about his initial
offer of $110,000 and I only got him down to $108,000 cash, basically as
is. So I KNOW ann the stuff that needs work. I knew most of what my
inspector found too! I have no delusions about this place and the work
it needs. But I'm into it too far to quit now! And it's gonna be VERY
cool and when I get it all done could be worth as much as maybe $200,000
after restoration!

So, if you do all thre restoration before purchase, making it
worth 200,000, do you seriously think the owner is still going to sell
it for 108,000?

He's taking you for a ride.

Janet UK

On 7/16/2017 9:58 AM, Ophelia wrote:
> It occurs to me too, that we haven't had a mortgage for the last 4
> houses. Perhaps that simplifies matters.
>
Indeed. This house was a cash purchase. I had heard about it from
family, called the seller, asked the name of her solicitor, and had my
solicitor take care of the paperwork.

On 7/16/2017 1:06 PM, Janet wrote:
> When buying I've always used a surveyor. Sometimes the surveyor will
> recommend an additional specialist inspection (on a private water supply
> or woodworm and dry rot infestations for example).
>
On a property that we had considered buying (in Sutherland), we had a
couple of specialist inspections.

> in my experience (at both ends), if some unknown problem comes to
> light during survey, either the vendor pays to put it right before
> completion ; or the sale price is reduced accordingly, or, the buyer
> walks away.
>
We walked away. In addition to structural problems, the house had not
been decrofted, and the septic system was on someone else's land.

> What doesn't happen, is the buyer paying to rectify survey problems
> before the sale goes through.
>
Indeed.

"S Viemeister" wrote in message ...

On 7/16/2017 9:58 AM, Ophelia wrote:
> It occurs to me too, that we haven't had a mortgage for the last 4
> houses. Perhaps that simplifies matters.
>
Indeed. This house was a cash purchase. I had heard about it from
family, called the seller, asked the name of her solicitor, and had my
solicitor take care of the paperwork.

==

Pretty much the same with ours.

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