Friday, January 29, 2010

Inside The House

It was Home Inspection time this morning at the new house. Everything was pretty much as I expected it to be, except for one potentially major factor.

The crawl space is covered in mold. According to the home inspector, the bad kind. However, there is really no way to determine that simply by looking at mold, so the mold inspector has been called in.

I believe several factors have led to the mold in the crawl space; the previous owners, most likely in an attempt to weatherize their house, covered the vents with styrofoam insulation. There are no gutters on the house so moisture drips right off the house next to the foundation(This is not a huge factor, but combined with the other factors can contribute). And the biggie...The bank did not go in and weatherize the house prior to the major freeze we had back in the first part of December, resulting in some burst pipes and massive amounts of water being dumped under the house. After that, they did not have someone open the crawl space and install a fan to speed the drying factor.

I'm pretty sure the bank is NOT going to want to remediate this, since there are contributing factors, but if this is the bad mold, it is a health hazard and could cost thousands to get rid of. We are slightly unsure of the proceedings at this point. We do not want to be stuck with the entire bill for cleaning the banks mess up. However...I REALLY do NOT want to lose this property. The realtor is a complete dink, so it may boil down to me contacting the bank myself to see if we can negotiate something.

Anyway, there is the inside. Is this a killer kitchen or what? The center island has a small vegetable sink and the storage underneath is unbelievable. The hardwood floor is in excellent condition except for a small strip in front of the stove over toward that door. Most likely there was a water leak in the dishwasher that caused the warp. But it can be repaired without tearing the whole floor up. Some sanding and refinishing and it will be good as new.

The fireplace is gorgeous... It's double-sided. Sooo cool!!

The "living room" reminds me of our ranch house back in SD, with all of the knotty pine... I'm not sure if the LR and the garage were an addition to this house or what, but I'm guessing this was originally the LR... Looking from the start of the hall going into the bedrooms... I'll spare you of mundane photos of the tiny bedrooms, but if this goes through, I have plans that will turn those small bedrooms into two very nice sized rooms and will turn the two small bathrooms into one nice large one.

The "master bedroom" does have a walk-in closet... The master bath isn't too bad, it just feels a lot smaller than the bathroom we have now. I like the size of the shower... The other bathroom isn't bad once you get into it, but the doorway is so narrow that even I have turn my shoulders to walk through. So weird. So if this goes through, my plan is to turn the existing three bedrooms into two(each with walk-in closets) and one very nice sized bathroom. That would actually be a very simple and relatively inexpensive thing to do...have I ever mentioned I know how to frame, sheetrock and plumb? Yep, other than moving the electric around, I could do this whole project myself.

What I want to do is add a master bedroom and bathroom off of the back of these bathrooms. There is a door in the kitchen that looks really out of place, so it would be perfect to turn it into a door way going into a new master bedroom. The cool thing is that a person could put sliding glass doors facing south on that room and they would open out onto the patio.

I hesitate to even bring such a subject up with MH at the moment. He is willing to empty his coiffers so that I might have a beautiful acreage for my ponies. It might be best if I kept the plans for an addition of that magnitude to myself.

Maybe I aught to just be focusing on getting the deal done at the moment-LOL.

16 comments:

cdncowgirl said...

If the mold is the bad kind I'd think very seriously about what you want to do about buying this place.

But after looking at that kitchen and fireplace I can see why you want it so much! They are gorgeous!!
The renos you want to do with the bedrooms/bathrooms sound great too.

Oh, and not sure about the moldy area but I recently watched one of those news-magazine type shows and one possible reason for mold in homes is if they were used as a grow-op. With all the weirdness of the former owner... ???

City girl turned Country Girl said...

Oh I LOVE the knotty pine cabinets!!! I love all of it!! The fireplace is awesome!! I hope the mold isn't the "bad" kind!! Crossing my fingers!!! And your future plans will be awesome if you get it!!

sue said...

Wow.. that is a sweet little house with all sort of wonderful "goodies".. I really hope that the mold thing can be worked out one way or another... keep us posted.. I love "house projects".....

Mrs. Mom said...

Dude... the kitchen....... be still my little heart...

Kick the realtor square in the ass. Contact the bank and work something out. Fingers are crossed down here in swamp land that all works as it is supposed to ;)

Leah Fry said...

I can see why you don't want to let it go. I hope the mold issue is resolvable.

I have that same oven and microwave — Whirlpool Gold, if I'm not mistaken.

Mikey said...

Wow, I love that fireplace! Cute house, but I wonder about the mold too. That's going to be an expensive cleanup. But I think the place is worth it!!

strivingforsavvy said...

It looks like it could be an awesome home! Good luck with getting the mold problem solved.

Anonymous said...

we will not tell MH about all your plans, men need a little surprise in there life every once in a while. great house, so many possibilities with it and a home for your babies.

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Initial assessment from the mold inspector..."This is one of the most extensive mold problems he has EVER seen."

He's bringing in his partner. It's not looking good.

But, I am a stubborn woman! I WANT that land(20 irrigated acres!!!). It's entirely possible that rather than "fix" the mold issue, the bank will take a significantly reduced price on the property. A person could strip the house of it's valuable assests-the kitchen, the knotty pine in the living room, the new furnace/water heater, the fixtures. It's entirely possible the rest of the house would have to be torn or burned down, since the entire crawl space and the floor beams are staturated and covered in mold.

I found out why the realtor is being so pushy too...he is headed to Hawaii and wanted this deal completed before leaving. Too bad, so sad...it's not. Maybe I will be better able to communicate with the gal he left in charge.

Ya know, I always dread all of the charges that accumulate before ever actually buying a property...Home Inspections, Appraisals, Title Fees and the like, but that money is sooo well invested in the long run.

Well as they say...onward and upward. I'm determined to figure something out. I'm pretty sure the bank wants this property off of their sheets before the Feb. deadline, so I'll just have to keep plugging away until the deal is completely dead or completely to our satisfaction.

GoLightly said...

Isn't that annoying, when the bank can't even care for it's "own" property.
Jeeez. Hope it can be fixed, BEC! I love that fireplace!

Oh, just read about the mold inspector findings. That was my first thought. Fire is really the best way to kill mold:(

Best of luck!

Pony Girl said...

Ah, bummer about the mold. That is bad stuff, though. I watch that extreme makeover home edition on t.v. from time to time, and can't believe how often mold is a problem in making people sick in homes. Hopefully you can get a major price reduction and are able to salvage some of the home, as you love the land. I am liking that fireplace, how cozy!

Rising Rainbow said...

Looks like a great house. Hope the mold situation can be remedied.

I had no idea you had such great skills. Your remodel plans sound great especially if you can do them yourself and only need supplies. That has to carry some weight with the DH.

Laura said...

Too bad about the mould - that is nasty stuff and you don't want to take chances with health issues. Hopefully a drastically reduced price will work out for you...

That kind of thing bugs me though - the realtor is a tool, the bank doesn't do a bit of basic maintainence to keep the property safe (and keep the value up!) for potential clients...

Either way, I'm sure you will figure out a good solution for you and your family!

The Equestrian Vagabond said...

great place - geez i hope the mold isn't bad.
- The Equestrian Vagabond

Michelle said...

The place is beautiful. I can see why you like it so much! I hope things work out with the mold situation and you're able to follow through with the purchase.

Unknown said...

Well, it sounds like the house has to be completely devalued - like down to zero. Don't move in, plan on building and use some of the materials.

That extensive of a mold problem is dangerous. Would they sell it with the house acknowledged as a tear down?

Can't hurt to try.