Tuesday, December 1, 2009
We have a sales contract
I am happy to report that we have a signed sales agreement for the cottage we put an offer on at the end of last month. Details to follow, soon, but it looks like we will soon close on a cottage on Lake Huron.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
22 November, 1985
Hard to believe, but it was 24 years ago today I was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy. At the time, I thought that I would serve for 4 or 5 years and then get a "real job." Well, that truth sort of changed and 17 PCS moves, 6 ships and 22 years later I retired from the Navy. I was reflecting on the passing of time since my "retirement" from the Navy as it has been two years this month. It is finally sinking the Navy part of my life is over and my second career with General Electric is well underway.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Cottage Redux
Yesterday, Deirdre and I dropped Samson off at Whiskers for a few days of R&R while we headed to Oscoda to look at another cottage. We saw the cottage at 3PM on Thursday afternoon, and we asked Missy to schedule another viewing for us today at 1oAM. The viewing today was to confirm whether or not we wanted to make an offer on the property. We spent about 30 minutes at the property and we decided to make an offer. We went back to Heritage House Realty and with Missy's help we made a formal offer to the sellers. Now, all we can do is wait for their response. Updates to follow as this develops.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
GOTCHA DAY
Today is what we call "Gotcha Day." Two years ago today, we
brought home a frightened and skittish dog named Danson. He was a German Shepherd Dog, who had been abandoned by his first family, and found living in a park just south of Grand Rapids. We brought him home and the first few days were quite a challenge. He was fearful, food aggressive and afraid of pretty much anything we did. Deirdre and I did not like his name, so we started to call him Samson and within a few weeks he was responding to that name. Thankfully, I was taking some time off between my Navy career and my next career with GE Aviation, so I had time to work with and train Samson. After about 4 months, something clicked with Samson and he became a sweet and lovable companion dog who is nothing but 95lbs of fur and love. Samson likes nothing more than to curl up on the couch for a canoodle with whomever will rub his belly for a while.
Our sweet and gentle Allie, who left us soon after I got home from the Navy, allowed us to be able to adopt Samson and work with him to bring out the good dog that was hidden inside. As I type this, Samson is chewing on a Nyl-a-bone at my side on the sofa. Yes, Samson is a good dog.
brought home a frightened and skittish dog named Danson. He was a German Shepherd Dog, who had been abandoned by his first family, and found living in a park just south of Grand Rapids. We brought him home and the first few days were quite a challenge. He was fearful, food aggressive and afraid of pretty much anything we did. Deirdre and I did not like his name, so we started to call him Samson and within a few weeks he was responding to that name. Thankfully, I was taking some time off between my Navy career and my next career with GE Aviation, so I had time to work with and train Samson. After about 4 months, something clicked with Samson and he became a sweet and lovable companion dog who is nothing but 95lbs of fur and love. Samson likes nothing more than to curl up on the couch for a canoodle with whomever will rub his belly for a while.Our sweet and gentle Allie, who left us soon after I got home from the Navy, allowed us to be able to adopt Samson and work with him to bring out the good dog that was hidden inside. As I type this, Samson is chewing on a Nyl-a-bone at my side on the sofa. Yes, Samson is a good dog.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Veterans Day
Today marks my third Veterans Day since I became one. I am amazed at how many thoughtful notes I received from civilian friends thanking me for my service. As the days have gone by since I retired from the Navy, the sacrifices I made fade from my memory, but I do know I made a lot of them in my career. Looking back, I would not have done it any other way. I appreciate all the kind thoughts and words to me this Veterans Day.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS ABOUT THE COTTAGE
As previously mentioned, we had the cottage inspected by a licensed home inspector last Friday. He found a few minor problems, as well as two major ones. The two major ones were that the electrical system was not properly grounded and that there was an issue with the water pressure from the well. We told the listing agent that all items discovered in the course of the home inspection needed to be addressed and corrected before closing. We communicated the results of the inspection to the listing agent on Monday morning.
Apparently, the listing agent did not understand what I meant when I told him last Friday, twice, "All items identified during the inspection must be addressed and corrected before closing." On Tuesday, the listing agent gave us a counter offer, that we would amend the purchase contract such that we would accept the property "as is" and the sellers would take $2,000 off the price. We communicated, again, that was unacceptable as we could not secure financing unless everything in the inspection report was fixed before closing. The sellers seemed to understand that this was non-negotiable, and on Friday they had an electrical contractor and a well digging company come out and give them estimates to fix the electrical system and the well. The electrical contractor gave the sellers and estimate of $1,200 to bring the electrical system up to code. A little pricey, I thought, but still not outrageous. The real issue became the well. Tait's Well Service inspected the well and on Friday afternoon I received a phone call from Mr. Tait himself and he told me the following:
1) The well is a 1 1/4" hand dug well and it is only 20 feet deep.
2) The current well is not deep enough to be up to code and cannot be brought up to code because of the geology of the property.
3) Drilling a new well would require someone from the county health department to locate a suitable place to drill because at best the water would be labeled as non-potable (not drinkable).
Mr. Tait told me that because of the geology of that area, all wells would be between 11-20 feet deep, which is too shallow for code and tends to have a lot of mineral and ferrous salts. Wells cannot be dug deeper because the water at the required code depth is brackish and not fit for drinking.
Bottom line: The well is not up to code and cannot be brought up to code. Because of this finding, we have rescinded our offer to purchase this property as allowed under the "Home Inspection" paragraph of the sales contract.
During the inspection, I wondered why there was so much iron staining in the tub in the bathroom and the kitchen sink and now I know. The water coming up from their well had ferrous salts in it because the water from the well was so close to the surface. Also, their shallow well explains why they had a reverse osmosis unit under their kitchen sink. They most likely did not drink the water out of the tap, rather they used the water that had been put through the reverse osmosis unit to purify it. When I was in the Navy, one of my ships used a large scale reserve osmosis (RO) unit to turn salt water into fresh water. It never occurred to me that the RO unit the sellers had installed was needed to purify the water from their well.
While we are disappointed that this deal did not happen, but there is another place out there for us. We just have to find it.
Apparently, the listing agent did not understand what I meant when I told him last Friday, twice, "All items identified during the inspection must be addressed and corrected before closing." On Tuesday, the listing agent gave us a counter offer, that we would amend the purchase contract such that we would accept the property "as is" and the sellers would take $2,000 off the price. We communicated, again, that was unacceptable as we could not secure financing unless everything in the inspection report was fixed before closing. The sellers seemed to understand that this was non-negotiable, and on Friday they had an electrical contractor and a well digging company come out and give them estimates to fix the electrical system and the well. The electrical contractor gave the sellers and estimate of $1,200 to bring the electrical system up to code. A little pricey, I thought, but still not outrageous. The real issue became the well. Tait's Well Service inspected the well and on Friday afternoon I received a phone call from Mr. Tait himself and he told me the following:
1) The well is a 1 1/4" hand dug well and it is only 20 feet deep.
2) The current well is not deep enough to be up to code and cannot be brought up to code because of the geology of the property.
3) Drilling a new well would require someone from the county health department to locate a suitable place to drill because at best the water would be labeled as non-potable (not drinkable).
Mr. Tait told me that because of the geology of that area, all wells would be between 11-20 feet deep, which is too shallow for code and tends to have a lot of mineral and ferrous salts. Wells cannot be dug deeper because the water at the required code depth is brackish and not fit for drinking.
Bottom line: The well is not up to code and cannot be brought up to code. Because of this finding, we have rescinded our offer to purchase this property as allowed under the "Home Inspection" paragraph of the sales contract.
During the inspection, I wondered why there was so much iron staining in the tub in the bathroom and the kitchen sink and now I know. The water coming up from their well had ferrous salts in it because the water from the well was so close to the surface. Also, their shallow well explains why they had a reverse osmosis unit under their kitchen sink. They most likely did not drink the water out of the tap, rather they used the water that had been put through the reverse osmosis unit to purify it. When I was in the Navy, one of my ships used a large scale reserve osmosis (RO) unit to turn salt water into fresh water. It never occurred to me that the RO unit the sellers had installed was needed to purify the water from their well.
While we are disappointed that this deal did not happen, but there is another place out there for us. We just have to find it.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Cottage Update
In the course of the inspection on Friday last, there were a few issues identified by our home inspector. There are about 10 items that need to be addressed and corrected before we can close on the property, per our lender's requirements.
When we were at the cottage, the listing agent (call him "Ed" to protect the innocent and the guilty) was present and to be frank, he was depriving a village of an idiot. He argued with our inspector, until he hit the last nerve of the inspector who told him, "Ed, back off. Let me do my job and stay out of my way." After that comment from our inspector, Ed then started talking to us. He said to me, "So, what will need to be repaired after the inspection? This cottage is in perfect shape!" I said to him, "Ed, everything identified in the inspection will need to be addressed and corrected. My mortgage company will not fund the loan unless all items identified in this inspection are addressed and corrected." Ed bantered on for a while about the fishing in Lake Huron, asking me, "So, are you a fisherman?" I said "No, Ed I am not." He responded, "Well, the fish were down for a while, but they are coming back!" After that, I pretty much I ignored him for a while, but after 15 minutes or so he asked me again "What will need to be fixed?" I stated again, "Everything identified in the inspection, Ed."
Well, after we received the inspection report, on Monday we provided it to the sellers, along with our requirement that everything listed in the report had to be addressed and corrected. On Tuesday afternoon, the sellers countered with a reduction in the price of the cottage and to amend the purchase contract to "As is Condition." This clearly does not work for us. We communicated our lender's requirements, again, to Ed who clearly did not understand what I meant when I said that every discrepancy called out in the inspection report needed to be fixed before we could close on the property. We just heard rom our agent that the sellers are bringing in contractors to give them estimates to repair the issues identified in the inspection report.
We remain hopeful that this real estate transaction happens. I just hope that the sellers are not depending on Ed for sound real estate advice.
When we were at the cottage, the listing agent (call him "Ed" to protect the innocent and the guilty) was present and to be frank, he was depriving a village of an idiot. He argued with our inspector, until he hit the last nerve of the inspector who told him, "Ed, back off. Let me do my job and stay out of my way." After that comment from our inspector, Ed then started talking to us. He said to me, "So, what will need to be repaired after the inspection? This cottage is in perfect shape!" I said to him, "Ed, everything identified in the inspection will need to be addressed and corrected. My mortgage company will not fund the loan unless all items identified in this inspection are addressed and corrected." Ed bantered on for a while about the fishing in Lake Huron, asking me, "So, are you a fisherman?" I said "No, Ed I am not." He responded, "Well, the fish were down for a while, but they are coming back!" After that, I pretty much I ignored him for a while, but after 15 minutes or so he asked me again "What will need to be fixed?" I stated again, "Everything identified in the inspection, Ed."
Well, after we received the inspection report, on Monday we provided it to the sellers, along with our requirement that everything listed in the report had to be addressed and corrected. On Tuesday afternoon, the sellers countered with a reduction in the price of the cottage and to amend the purchase contract to "As is Condition." This clearly does not work for us. We communicated our lender's requirements, again, to Ed who clearly did not understand what I meant when I said that every discrepancy called out in the inspection report needed to be fixed before we could close on the property. We just heard rom our agent that the sellers are bringing in contractors to give them estimates to repair the issues identified in the inspection report.
We remain hopeful that this real estate transaction happens. I just hope that the sellers are not depending on Ed for sound real estate advice.
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