Posts Tagged Real Estate
Assessment Time
My real estate tax assessment arrived in the mail on Friday. I was expecting my assessment to go up considerably considering the rise in property values in my neighborhood. Needless to say, my “wish” was granted.
My assessment went up considerably. By my math, it went up over 100%. On some level, I am happy to see that the assessed value is actually tracking close to what I paid for my house. Even better considering the current real estate market. Nonetheless, I am not looking forward to my tax bill in the coming years.
The Roof, The Roof…
Posted by JJT in Uncategorized on August 22, 2007
…is not quite on fire. Following up on yesterday’s post, I had an estimate from Phil DiBello Roofing this morning. I have two options available to me to correct the problem at hand.
- Correct the immediate problem: My immediate problem comes from some poor decision-making on the part of the plumbers who performed the rehab of my house. Essentially, they ran their vent pipes and the pipe for the exhaust fan through the roof somewhat badly. Instead of using rubber and tar to seal the areas where the pipes emerge, they decided to use the flange/collars that one tends to see on shingled roofs and sealed it with some roof cement. The problem is fairly flat roofs do not lend themselves to these collars, so you eventually get a leak. Phil suggested that we could correct the immediate problem by removing the pipes and collars and redoing them with rubber and tar. The cost of this option is $650.
- Tackle the whole darn thing: I could take care of this the right way and have the pipes redone, the current roof ripped up and replaced with a rubber roof with a silver coating to reflect sunlight. This obviously gives me 20-25 years, and the concomitant cost as well. The cost of this option is $2200.
Honestly, I am leaning in the direction of just redoing the roof right. I am probably going to talk to my grandfather and my uncle, just to get their take on it. The only problem is that I really cannot afford to do this repair at the time. In a couple of months, I can definitely do it, but not at this time. I have to admit, though, that my impulse is to do this right so that the problem does not come back to haunt me in the time I own the house.
As Sally said yesterday, home ownership is bliss. The bliss part becomes slightly painful when you have to pay for home repairs.
Ol’ Drippy
Posted by JJT in Uncategorized on August 21, 2007
Apparently, this last batch of rain has exposed a leak somewhere on my roof. When I woke up this morning to go to the gym, I heard a constant dripping, but nothing that sounded like a pipe had broken or something else. Before I went to the gym, I decided to investigate a little further.
I pulled off the air register that is on that wall, as I noticed some dampness in the sheetrock around that area. I then poked around the box that houses the vent for the A/C duct work there. That is when I noticed the problem. The 2×4/stud above the vent box (for lack of a better term) was pretty wet and leaking water. I looked around my bathroom, and the only thing I could see was what appears to be some water damage to some sheet rock tape. The only conclusion I have is that I have a leak in the roof above my bathroom, and the water is leaking in and running down to this wall between my hallway and bathroom.
I know it is not the water to the shower and tub, as there was no increase or decrease in the dripping when I took my shower. Furthermore, there is no decline in water pressure either.
Just what I needed to wake up to on a Tuesday morning. Time to go find a roofer for an estimate and someone to fix the sheetrock that is most certainly going to need to be replaced.
Alarmed, Walled, and Covered
In just over two weeks after my break-in, I have taken almost all of the necessary action to ensure that a break-in does not happen again.
- Alarmed: My alarm system is working and being monitored. The system works just as it should, and I am using it all the time.
- Walled: The entry point in my basement has now been completely secured. My friend and I walled it in with some 2×4 and 2×10 lumber. We secured it with screws and made it such that it cannot be tampered with from the outside. Even if a potential intruder decides to try their luck, it will take too much time and effort to try and get in. Even then, the only means of access through the wall are too small to allow anyone in.
- Covered: The window that exposed my office has been covered with curtains. No one can see into the office from outside my home, so when my items are replaced they will not be attractive to any potential interlopers since they cannot see them.
The last thing I need to address is a way to make the crawlspace completely inaccessible. I am going to talk to my dad and uncle and see if I can get a hinged and lockable access door. I know they should be able to get one given the type of crawlspaces they deal with building homes in Ocean Pines. Once that is done, I will have everything covered.
It was an expensive lesson to learn, that’s for sure.
Securing the Perimeter
As of today, Stately Thomas Manor is now secured with an alarm system that is monitored. The representative who came out last week from the monitoring company came out this morning and got everything squared away. The system is hooked into the phone line and calling out in the event of an alarm being sounded, and the siren is quite loud and obnoxious. Tomorrow morning, my buddy and I will be walling up the breach in my basement. Once that is done, Stately Thomas Manor will be back as it was before and secured.
The last thing on the agenda will be to purchase some window coverings for the back windows. From there, I just need to follow-up with my insurance company and see what is happening on that front.
Some interesting movement on the job front, too. More on that later, though.
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