Home Improvement Thread 2: Electric Redo the Loo

Now all I have to do is blast Sun Ra albums so she doesn’t go near the scratched floor by my record player.

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This is the year. I'm planning on buying a house this year. My current lease is up on June 1. I know that buying a house is a process and there's no way that the timeline will be perfect where I can move out and move in on the exact date. Also, my landlord always asks if we want to renew the lease by March 30th every year. So, ideally I have found something by March 30th. They're actually good landlords as far as landlords go (I know) and hope that if we cannot find something that they'd let us go month-to-month or we just break the lease early. I know for a fact they can get an extra $150/month if they got a new tenant instead of us with what the going rate for our place is.

My friend recommended a realtor they worked with two years ago when they bought a house. Is it too early to reach out to them and ask if they would be our realtor/willing to help? I am not approved for a mortgage loan yet because I know that approval only lasts a limited time, so I'd get approved prior to seriously looking at houses. How did the process go for your home buying experience? Is there anything else important to know for someone who's never done this before?
 
wokeupnew said:
This is the year. I'm planning on buying a house this year. My current lease is up on June 1. I know that buying a house is a process and there's no way that the timeline will be perfect where I can move out and move in on the exact date. Also, my landlord always asks if we want to renew the lease by March 30th every year. So, ideally I have found something by March 30th. They're actually good landlords as far as landlords go (I know) and hope that if we cannot find something that they'd let us go month-to-month or we just break the lease early. I know for a fact they can get an extra $150/month if they got a new tenant instead of us with what the going rate for our place is.

My friend recommended a realtor they worked with two years ago when they bought a house. Is it too early to reach out to them and ask if they would be our realtor/willing to help? I am not approved for a mortgage loan yet because I know that approval only lasts a limited time, so I'd get approved prior to seriously looking at houses. How did the process go for your home buying experience? Is there anything else important to know for someone who's never done this before?
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Absolutely not too early. Mortgages are taking awhile to process (my lender is at 60 days currently) and assuming you find a place, getting inspections, appraisals, etc. done and whatever, you’ll want that time.

Preapproval shouldn’t take a long time and you should have some flex. If you run outside the window for a rate lock, you can have it rerun. You might have a rate change in there, but the amount shouldn’t be a problem.

Tip: go ahead and lock down your spending now. Any large purchases on a card (furniture, etc) or like an auto are going to cause you a headache. Same with any big deposits. If you have a shoebox full of cash you want to stick in the bank to pay for it (or more realistically a “gift” of cash from a relative or whatever) don’t do that shit while you’re in the process.

Talk to realtors. Find one you like and remember they work for you, don’t get pushed around and if you feel like something is off, you’re not stuck with them.

Edit: also, start sacking away some money outside of your down payment. My biggest takeaway from buying a house was not realizing how much cash on hand you’d need for various stuff before the sale. I feel like there was a stretch during the process that every time the phone rang it was someone wanting another $500 check.
 
Corycm said:
Absolutely not too early. Mortgages are taking awhile to process (my lender is at 60 days currently) and assuming you find a place, getting inspections, appraisals, etc. done and whatever, you’ll want that time.

Preapproval shouldn’t take a long time and you should have some flex. If you run outside the window for a rate lock, you can have it rerun. You might have a rate change in there, but the amount shouldn’t be a problem.
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good to know. I talked with someone last summer and they said something about pre-approval being good for 3 months only, so I'd want to get it before seeing houses. But I assume a realtor can help me with all those timelines.
Corycm said:
Tip: go ahead and lock down your spending now. Any large purchases on a card (furniture, etc) or like an auto are going to cause you a headache. Same with any big deposits. If you have a shoebox full of cash you want to stick in the bank to pay for it (or more realistically a “gift” of cash from a relative or whatever) don’t do that shit while you’re in the process.
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I do all my spending on my CC for points but have no large outstanding purchases. I pay it off weekly an my gf doesn't even use a CC so I think we're good there.

Corycm said:
Talk to realtors. Find one you like and remember they work for you, don’t get pushed around and if you feel like something is off, you’re not stuck with them.

Edit: also, start sacking away some money outside of your down payment. My biggest takeaway from buying a house was not realizing how much cash on hand you’d need for various stuff before the sale. I feel like there was a stretch during the process that every time the phone rang it was someone wanting another $500 check.
Click to expand...
Good to know again. This guy came at the recommendation of a friend so I'm hoping they work out, but there's no shortage up here.

Yeah... I think we have enough for 25% as a down payment in our price range. But, maybe it should be more like 20% and use the rest to save for the other costs: taxes, closing, realtor fees, inspections, insurance, etc.

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll reach out this week to get the ball rolling!
 
wokeupnew said:
good to know. I talked with someone last summer and they said something about pre-approval being good for 3 months only, so I'd want to get it before seeing houses. But I assume a realtor can help me with all those timelines.

I do all my spending on my CC for points but have no large outstanding purchases. I pay it off weekly an my gf doesn't even use a CC so I think we're good there.


Good to know again. This guy came at the recommendation of a friend so I'm hoping they work out, but there's no shortage up here.

Yeah... I think we have enough for 25% as a down payment in our price range. But, maybe it should be more like 20% and use the rest to save for the other costs: taxes, closing, realtor fees, inspections, insurance, etc.

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll reach out this week to get the ball rolling!
Click to expand...
You’ll get a little more cooperation from realtors if you’ve got your preapproval in hand. Also in this market, it’s a good idea - if you want to make an offer you can, and not sweat the property getting sold out from under you while you jack with paperwork. So I’d get that cooking pronto. They usually only lock for 90 days, but like I said, usually you can call the mortgage officer if you’re getting close to the 90 day mark and re-up it without a hassle, you might just not get the same rate if things shift.
 
Man… I’m at a loss…
In September when we came home with Rose, our oven started malfunctioning. It was a 3 year old LG dual oven. Had repair guys come out… they said it was eletrical… had my electrician come out… he says its the appliance… ask him for an appliance guy… they come out… eventually the board on the unit dries… unable to get part…. They recommend buy new oven…. Buy new oven…. Same problem (you open the door, the power drops)…. Appliance guys send out their electrician…. It’s the appliance… get him to replace the outlet because plug doesn’t seat properly and I’m quickly running out of patience…. Call Duke power…. They come out… everything into the box is fine… call whirlpool because warranty… guy comes out replaces board.,.. same problem… comes back replaces harnesses for wires to door light…. Same problem… its eletrical… have new electrician come out after calling Duke and getting no where except a nice referral site… he says it’s the appliance…. He has the brilliant idea to get the appliance guy out… call his company they are cool, tell me to call the guy, he’s not real cool….

What the fuck?

So here’s what I know

Stove works fine. Top oven functions till you open door. Bottom oven door causes issue, bottom oven turning on causes issue. Issue is a voltage drop measurable at the connection to the appliance, but not further back. Line is not long. Line appears good. Breaker is good. Hooked up to air conditioner breaker, same issue.

Anyone have any idea (also when I google I never find anything exactly the problem - most similar problems say board issue, but that’s been replaced.)

Should I just have Costco take the thing back and try with a normal oven?
 
Lee Newman said:
Man… I’m at a loss…
In September when we came home with Rose, our oven started malfunctioning. It was a 3 year old LG dual oven. Had repair guys come out… they said it was eletrical… had my electrician come out… he says its the appliance… ask him for an appliance guy… they come out… eventually the board on the unit dries… unable to get part…. They recommend buy new oven…. Buy new oven…. Same problem (you open the door, the power drops)…. Appliance guys send out their electrician…. It’s the appliance… get him to replace the outlet because plug doesn’t seat properly and I’m quickly running out of patience…. Call Duke power…. They come out… everything into the box is fine… call whirlpool because warranty… guy comes out replaces board.,.. same problem… comes back replaces harnesses for wires to door light…. Same problem… its eletrical… have new electrician come out after calling Duke and getting no where except a nice referral site… he says it’s the appliance…. He has the brilliant idea to get the appliance guy out… call his company they are cool, tell me to call the guy, he’s not real cool….

What the fuck?

So here’s what I know

Stove works fine. Top oven functions till you open door. Bottom oven door causes issue, bottom oven turning on causes issue. Issue is a voltage drop measurable at the connection to the appliance, but not further back. Line is not long. Line appears good. Breaker is good. Hooked up to air conditioner breaker, same issue.

Anyone have any idea (also when I google I never find anything exactly the problem - most similar problems say board issue, but that’s been replaced.)

Should I just have Costco take the thing back and try with a normal oven?
Click to expand...
This new oven is that same exact model as the first oven?
 
Lee Newman said:
Man… I’m at a loss…
In September when we came home with Rose, our oven started malfunctioning. It was a 3 year old LG dual oven. Had repair guys come out… they said it was eletrical… had my electrician come out… he says its the appliance… ask him for an appliance guy… they come out… eventually the board on the unit dries… unable to get part…. They recommend buy new oven…. Buy new oven…. Same problem (you open the door, the power drops)…. Appliance guys send out their electrician…. It’s the appliance… get him to replace the outlet because plug doesn’t seat properly and I’m quickly running out of patience…. Call Duke power…. They come out… everything into the box is fine… call whirlpool because warranty… guy comes out replaces board.,.. same problem… comes back replaces harnesses for wires to door light…. Same problem… its eletrical… have new electrician come out after calling Duke and getting no where except a nice referral site… he says it’s the appliance…. He has the brilliant idea to get the appliance guy out… call his company they are cool, tell me to call the guy, he’s not real cool….

What the fuck?

So here’s what I know

Stove works fine. Top oven functions till you open door. Bottom oven door causes issue, bottom oven turning on causes issue. Issue is a voltage drop measurable at the connection to the appliance, but not further back. Line is not long. Line appears good. Breaker is good. Hooked up to air conditioner breaker, same issue.

Anyone have any idea (also when I google I never find anything exactly the problem - most similar problems say board issue, but that’s been replaced.)

Should I just have Costco take the thing back and try with a normal oven?
Click to expand...
We have the suite of lower end GE appliances in my kitchen. Our dishwasher died and we got the repair guy out. He said that our motherboard was fried and it would basically cost about the same amount in parts and labor to fix the machine as it would to get a new one. My MIL had the top of the line GE dishwasher. She had the motherboard go out on it and my FIL insisted on it being repaired. The motherboard went out again on the repaired machine, so they got a new one. When I went to replace my dishwasher, I decided on the Whirlpool instead of the GE--because we had the same issue as my MIL and her situation didn't get any better when she tried to keep the machine.

I would be extremely hesitant to try it a third time since the exact same thing happened with two other identical models. I would probably look at a different brand.
 
Ugh, sooooo our upstairs tub has a crack in it (from 30+years of wear and tear on fiberglass. The crack is right under a ledge where it looks like shampoo bottles have been falling off of for the past 30 years), and it's leaking. We are looking at doing some major remodeling. I'm extremely apprehensive about all this.
 
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