The post is dedicated to Matt Waugh and Teri Wicker :)
After months of falling in and out of love with houses after the highs and lows of denials and counter offers, I have settled on a cute little house on the South side of Lansing. It's perfect and very reminiscent of my parents house, which they have lived in for about twenty years now.
I now wonder if subconsciously that is why I picked the place, if only I can create as good of memories and grow a family there as they have. From the Spartan green shutters to the big front window, to the old wood floors, it takes me back to my childhood and shows me a glimpse of the future.
I met the inspector at the house yesterday to give it a good thorough once over before the offer became final. We met under the pine tree near the driveway as April snowflakes fell from the branches onto the papers in his hand, the described the inspection process, ensuring detail and integrity in his work, we proceeded to walk around the outside of the home.
I met the inspector at the house yesterday to give it a good thorough once over before the offer became final. We met under the pine tree near the driveway as April snowflakes fell from the branches onto the papers in his hand, the described the inspection process, ensuring detail and integrity in his work, we proceeded to walk around the outside of the home.
He pointed at cracks in the walkway and around the porch steps, instructed me on the need to fill them due to potential safety risks, he pointed up at a leaking eaves dropping onto a rotted portion of wood over the door and said it would possibly lead to water damage.
I begin to see dollar signs, anxiety, frustration and scenes from the Tom Hanks movie Money Pit, I nod my head as he explains things in words from another language "grade, beam joists, S-traps..". I am fully overwhelmed as my mental capacity to keep a list of these maintenance issues has now exhausted itself.
All in all, he says, the house is in good shape. Good electricity, the plumbing is good, insulation fantastic, but the furnace is old and may not last too much longer. I am overwhelmed, but relieved. How nice it is to know the condition of something before you commit. To know what may break, what needs immediate repair, what can be done to improve structures, what to expect from the home in years down the road.
I begin to see dollar signs, anxiety, frustration and scenes from the Tom Hanks movie Money Pit, I nod my head as he explains things in words from another language "grade, beam joists, S-traps..". I am fully overwhelmed as my mental capacity to keep a list of these maintenance issues has now exhausted itself.
All in all, he says, the house is in good shape. Good electricity, the plumbing is good, insulation fantastic, but the furnace is old and may not last too much longer. I am overwhelmed, but relieved. How nice it is to know the condition of something before you commit. To know what may break, what needs immediate repair, what can be done to improve structures, what to expect from the home in years down the road.
To know the condition.
How nice it would be to do a routine inspection of ourselves, not like getting a physical once a year, or reflecting on New Years and making resolutions that never stick. But to kneel in our crawlspaces, climb into our attics amidst the cobwebs and dust, inspect the foundation, check for leaks and potential safety hazards. To be completely honest with ourselves and exposing the condition we are truly in. To put it into a report and to show those who are making their investment in us, possibly to the one we are spending our life with.
You can't always foresee things, actually you rarely can foresee things happening, but I hope we all can somehow prepare for maintenance, repairs, improvements in ourselves, others and the place we call home.
