Kirby Krackle Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Topic is the TL;DR, so I'm getting that out of the way now. Feel free to stop reading right about... here.This is the backstory paragraph. I've been renting for some time now. I do live in NY. Not in Manhattan but pretty damn close. My family owned the house I grew up in. But time and illness took them one by one, so it was time to sell the place. I've been renting apartments ever since. As I've learned, houses are expensive. Very expensive. I also do not make that much in my little retail. The Wife works in IT, in a specific industry far too complex for my tiny pony brain, but they basically crack hard drives for lawyers. She makes much more than I do. Oh, and remember that brief mention of that house being sold? Well, I owned a part of it too, due to inhertance. And I still have some of it! Where that money went is another story all together. Resources were pooled, in short, and together we made a down-payment, got approved for a loan and after many many awkward searches, we have a forever (30 year mortgage) home.This following set of paragrapha explains the last week and a half or so, including all the trials and tribulations that I can remember right now. I wanted to say that the first problem was the paint job. The bedroom was this disgusting dull pink and the living room was just a plain nameless white. Bleh. Those things had to go. Our little painting session was last Thursday, the day after we closed the deal and signed away our lives to a bank. But before that, to make the drying process quicker and the painting process less... not-20-degrees, we needed to turn the heat on. Fine. The plumbers came bright and early and dewinterized the pipes. Water ran great and they replaced a faucet for us. Time to turn on the boiler! Yay! But oh no, it's belching smoke and steam and general unpleasentness. The plumbers think it's a chimney problem and recommend a cleaning ASAP. So my friends with their smarty phones called and surfed, trying to find a sweep that could come that day. "That day" was a problem for most sweep companies. We waited three hours before service. Fast forward to a relatively clean chimney, because in the meantime, we said "buck it" and painted anyway. We were cold, so it's time to turn on the boiler! Yay! MORE SMOKE! Why? My desperate housewife calls our oil company because they can fix the boiler. It has to be the boiler. Process of elimination The soonest he can arrive is 10 that night. There is more painting in the cold. Just saying this now, because I will remember it always, the serviceman who came for us that night has a fantastic mustache. Seriously. I wish I had a picture. But anyway. He cracks the monster open and I'm astonished. Every little nook and crannie in there is caked with soot and condensation, making a disgusting cement that is choking our precious machine. He cleans it diligently while I make Dick Van Dyke jokes. It's the moment of truth now. Time to turn the boiler on. Drumroll, please. SUCCESS! Sure, there's a smell. But our boilerman says that's normal for a unit that has been out of service for eight months. We have heat!The actual move was an easier time. We called some duded and they lifted things. One of the things we had to move ourselves were the cats. One of our cats, Pumba, is about eight years old and hates being in the carrier. He hates it. Truly and utterly. Once it's in sight, he's off under the bed ot behind the sofa. But what's this? The movers took those things already? Ha. Ha. Ha. I actually enjoyed his terror this one time. Once in the carrier, it's his habit to void himself. Seriously. He releases every single bodily fluid he has, save blood. That's how unhappy he is. I'm unhappier, because I'm in the car with him, listening to his whining and smelling his odors. We both become even less happy when it's my duty to bathe him.Here is some good news, though. We have two more cats! Being owners and not renters means we can do what we like regarding animals! One is a dainty little girl, twelve years old, declawed and diabetic. She's pitch black, gorgeous and named Sabrina. The other is huge. Grey and white and huge. No, really. The boy is twenty pounds, at least. He's not fat, either! He's just a big cat. Biggest was a title previously owned by my fifteenish pound Ragamuffin, Dusty Rhodes. But this boy. Hoooo. His name is Sharky. I call him Vinny "The Shark" Gambino. During the move, no cats were happy. My first three did not appreciate new ones. There was hissing and growling, mainly from first three and Sabrina. Sharky we know for a fact hates other cats, so he's living in the bedroom alone, while we slowly introduce him to the rest of the family.This paragraph wraps things up. As of right now, we need to unpack everything. We need to nitpick here and there and make things safe and liveable. Fixing gutters, putting up curtains, buying new doors, changing locks and all sorts of other things that I am not sure I'm ready for. But it's coming. Oh well. One of the more immediate problems is not having a fridge and a fully functioning stove. Should I want to cook anything serious, I would have to go upstairs to the second apartment. Speaking of which, one of the things we need to do very soon is have someone rent from us! It will help with the mortgage and maintenance fees. The good news is that we have have some potentials.No closing statements except that this is hard. The end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirShadowdeath Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Cooleo.I live in NYC too.But, I actually live IN NYC, not around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3arlGrey Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 "He releases every single bodily fluid he has, save blood."The stuff you go through.I'm sorry for your inconvenience though - moving was always hard for me, but I'm glad you got out of that house - sounded like you would've ended up like Billie Jo and her mother if you persisted. Stove problems and all.I hope you can cope, because the way you describe it....I sure couldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weesh Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Well congrats, I guess.That was an ordeal.Never would have been worth it for me. I don't see the draw to owning a home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 The bonus is that, if I really wanted to, I could drive a sledge hammer into a wall and leave it there and no one could stop me. Also, landlords can't tell me "No more cats". Yeah, I think I'm motivated by cats.Edits about Pumba: OhGodIt'sHorrible. Seriously. He pees and poops and slobbers and vomits. All at once. All. At. Once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirShadowdeath Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 The bonus is that, if I really wanted to, I could drive a sledge hammer into a wall and leave it there and no one could stop me. Also, landlords can't tell me "No more cats". Yeah, I think I'm motivated by cats.Edits about Pumba: OhGodIt'sHorrible. Seriously. He pees and poops and slobbers and vomits. All at once. All. At. Once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyMirage Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Congrads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DosEquus Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Success and happiness, eh?Sounds like all your recent trials and tribulations have payed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Congrats ! And good luck with all the work there is to do ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted February 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Updates: We get a fridge tomorrow. Also, we're hiring people to clean the kitchen, because buck it. We deserve a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted February 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Here's some updates!1) The fridge we ordered can't get its fat @$$ through our back door, which leads into the kitchen. We need some controlled demolition to fix the problem. Luckily, Wife picked up a pry-bar yesterday. Also lucky, I like to break things.2) Verizon's basic package does not offer the Hub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted February 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 Further news: We tore down a chunk of door. We now have a refrigerator. And I have a celebratory cheese sandwich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSwirl Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 I have been where you have been, I helped out my parents in remodeling the house I am currently residing in until the economy picks up again and I can find a suitable apartment with a PC in it.... We had to rip out all the carpets and clean the basement floor because the previous tenants had let a dog run loose down there and it left many presents down there..... It was several months of hell and several years later we are still making small improvements on the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted February 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 Got any recommendations for stripping carpet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSwirl Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 Utility knife and a crowbar will do fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlpfan Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 congrats on your new home:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJefferson Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Congratulations! Jelling I'm still in school. Studying all sorts of things that will most probably be helpful later in life. #yayme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker_Izing Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 not bad moment to buy a home, at least values are unlikely to fall much more... So, if someday you want to move... And there's no Landlord with marrying kid in need of a home (in case, yours)... But still there is the risk of a random Major in heat for an international Heliport over your property... Risky situation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTX Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I like this thread and it was necessary to say that.From what I've heard here today, having a house is hard and you should just hire slaves to do it.Also cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I like this thread and it was necessary to say that.From what I've heard here today, having a house is hard and you should just hire slaves to do it.Also cats.You'd think those 5 jerks would get jobs and pay rent by now. All day long its "Waaa, we can't get jobs because we don't have thumbs".Utility knife and a crowbar will do fineI have a Prybar, a box cutter and guts.Congratulations! Jelling I'm still in school. Studying all sorts of things that will most probably be helpful later in life.#yayme.I wish one of the things I learned in school was how homebuying worked. Oh, and wood shop. I never got wood shop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSwirl Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Yeah Kirby, those tools will do fine for the carpet, used almost exactly the same tools as you say you got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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