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 Because of this finding, we have rescinded our offer to purchase this property as allowed under the "Home Inspection" paragraph of the sales contract.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.

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.

Cottage Update

Since my last posting about the cottage, we have accomplished the following:

1) Secured financing
2) Drove to Oscoda/Greenbush for the home inspection
3) Had the cottage inspected by a licensed home inspector
4) Communicated the findings of the inspection to the sellers

Now, Dee and I have to wait and see if the sellers will address the items discovered in the inspection. Updates to follow as things develop.

My mother did not raise a thief...

Today I needed to get a few things at the hardware store for the house. I went to Lowe's, which is closer to our home than Home Depot. I sort of like Home Depot better, but I was all about finishing my errands quickly this afternoon. I needed to get a fitting for our hot water heater and some cleaning supplies. I quickly located what I needed and went to the check-out line. I showed the clerk my retired military ID and received a 10% discount (Home Depot offers the same discount). The clerk put my things into a plastic bag, I took the bag and headed to my car.

I opened the trunk and put the bag therein. I stopped D&W (local grocery store) on the way home to get some stuff for dinner and arrived back home. I pulled my trusty BMW into the garage, popped the trunk, took the bags out of the trunk and placed them on our kitchen counter. I placed the perishable items recently procured from D&W away and then I started to go through the plastic bag from Lowe's. Much to my surprise, there were more things in there than I had purchased. Specifically, there was weather stripping, a trowel, a tape measurer and some sanding blocks. I realized that these items were potentially purchased by somebody else and not taken away. The clerk simply added my items to the bag with these four items and off I went.

I could keep the items and nobody would be the wiser. However, as the subject line of this post states, my mother did not raise a thief. While I could use the weather stripping, sanding block and the tape measurer, I did not pay for these items. They are not mine and I need to return all the items back to the rightful owner. In the next day or two, perhaps when I am driving home from work, I will stop at Lowe's and return these items. Doing the right thing is not always easy, but it is always the best thing to do.

Cottage update

Since my last post, progress has been made on the cottage purchase. I have started the process to secure a mortgage for the property, and we have the home inspection scheduled for next week. We will drop Samson off at Whiskers, and head up for an overnight trip to Greenbush for the inspection. So far, so good. Everything is progressing along smoothly.

Stay tuned to this channel for future updates.

Back in Battery

The subject of this post is a phrase taken from my time in the Navy. Warships carry large caliber guns to shoot at people and things we do not like. These guns are known as a battery, and they have such fancy titles as "Mount 51" or "Mount 32." From time to time, maintenance needs to be done on the guns, and when the gun system is taken off line, it is known as being "out of battery." When the repairs or maintenance is completed, a report is made to the Tactical Action Officer that simply states, "Mount 51, back in battery." That simple report means that the gun is ready for action again.

Well, I am happy to report that I am "back in battery." I last updated this blog almost a month ago. Between work and a few projects, I just did not have the time or the inspiration to write. Well, my motivation is back and a few things have happened my life. Now for the update to the goings on here just east of the equator...

Work has kept me incredibly busy the past few weeks. Despite the tough economy out there right now, the General has kept me incredibly busy. GE Aviation here in Grand Rapids has been chasing new business and I have been busy assisting in the pursuit. I am also now a group manager, so I have additional responsibilities in overseeing the work of seven reliability engineers.

Last weekend, Deirdre and I made a road trip to Oscoda, Michigan, where our friend Steve has a cottage on the shores of Lake Huron. We went there for the specific purpose of searching for a cottage of our own. We visited Steve at the end of August and we got the bug to look in earnest for a cottage. Subsequent to our visit in August, we located a realtor (her name is Missy) and we told her what we were looking for in a cottage. Missy looked at some listings for us and arranged for us to see five different properties. Each one had some different to offer, and all of them were beachfront property.


I am happy to report that we have located a property and made an offer to purchase it. The seller has accepted our offer and now we have to work out a few details of the purchase. We will need to have the property inspected and appraised, and start the process to close on the property. We are expecting to close sometime in late November. The property is a two bedroom, one bath cottage on a lot that is 50' X 175' with a great view of Lake Huron.



The inside of the cottage is pretty typical of most cottages in northern Michigan: varnished knotty pine. The kitchen was recently updated and there is even a garage which blocks the sounds from U.S. 23, a road that snakes around the eastern shores of Lake Huron. This real estate transaction is a "work in progress," and there are a few milestones we will need to meet before we get the keys to the place. Look for updates as evolution this progresses.