We are still trying to buy a house.
This is house #3 of our Milwaukee attempts. It isn’t quite in the neighborhood(s) we targeted, but is about 2 blocks west of one of our top 2 choices. And it has 4 bedrooms and a finished basement, which are mighty fine attributes in a house, I must say.
But.
We were supposed to close on Friday. Then we were supposed to close on Monday. Now we are supposed to close on Wednesday or Thursday. The seller “didn’t understand” that his second mortgage was a mortgage he’d have to pay back in order to sell the house. Pardon me while I express extreme skepticism about a doctor not understanding that fact, ESL notwithstanding.
They moved something like 6 months ago, so the wild garden has been growing unsupervisedly since spring first began. Although we haven’t closed yet, Grandma pulled out 4 thistles the size of 10 year olds on Saturday, plus sundry other large and healthy weeds. She also generously donated garden gloves, a denim shirt, and the last couple of ounces of scary weed killing chemicals. I bought giant and regular sized garden clippers.
Today I cut down and rained death on the formerly 2-4′ tall weeds blocking access to the garage, using up the scary chemicals. Then I chopped out — I couldn’t get the root out — a thistle 5′ tall and nearly as big in diameter. I pulled 3 more that were “only” 3-4 feet tall. And I cut clear the path between the alley and the backyard.
More expensive and intimidating than the garden is the roof.
I’m still getting bids, but essentially, we need to tear off a 2-part roof: 3/4 is crumbling, defective, 10-year-old shingle; 1/4 is only partially damaged, maybe salvageable, poorly installed rubber. And in the middle of the rubber roof, there’s a chimney that needs repointing. It seems to regularly “pop” chunks of brick across the roof. Last week I climbed up and looked for myself.
See all those little bumpy dealios on the edges of the shingles? They aren’t supposed to be there. They’re the shingle curling up. Unsurprisingly, that also makes all the little rocky parts get loose.
The part where it looks like it has a skin condition isn’t actually part of the problem. I think the previous owners were trying a home-grown “maybe we can get the light to reflect and then upstairs won’t be so hot” effort. The problem is mostly around the chimney.
So anyway, we’re getting a bunch of bids to replace the roof and fix the chimney and it seems like every person who comes through has a new suggestion of what’s wrong and what needs to be done to replace it.
And while I’m out there getting estimates, I’m also doing yard work.
If this sale falls through, someone owes me (and Grandma!) for a LOT of yard work.
Wait..he’s a doctor AND an acrobat?
For what it is worth, the white-roof concept is endorsed by heavily honored, super-smart, Nobel Laureate, Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu.
We plan to replace with white shingles when we need to replace.
I looked at it, but a white roof would look unbelievably horrible on the house.