September 26, 2016

 A quick entry because it is 12:30AM and I have to get up at six o'clock in the morning.

A decent chunk of my day at work was spent writing my newspaper article and finding books to reference in my article. I wanted to have it done today but that didn't work out. The rest of my day was spent helping patrons. I walked several to the various books or sections they were looking for and I helped a couple with copying and printing. I felt very helpful, which is good. I also had some good conversations with my fellow librarians. I like my boss but I also kind of like the days she isn't there because I don't feel guilty about the distractions that may happen with coworkers. Although when she is there she is often a part of the distraction, so there's that.

After work I went to my realtor's office, met my Mom, and then she followed us to the house by the nursing home. My sister joined us eventually and we walked through the house again. I read through all the information my realtor sent to me and one of the things mentioned the sliding door in the master bedroom being broken but then fixed. It was a temporary fix at best. The door slid open just fine but when I went to move the screen door it fell off in my hand. The sliding door has shifted too close to the track the screen door slides on and the screen door won't fit on the track. Also, it appears the fix with the door was just a little bit of caulking around the bottom of the glass. This doesn't fix the issue with the screen door or the fact that the glass or the frame is a little wonky and you can see between the glass and the frame into the house. So that's on the list. But I still really like the house and so does my mom. I think my sister does as well but I need to talk to her about it.

At seven o'clock my Mom left and a little while later my Dad, brother, and step-mom showed up. I had sent my Dad all of the paperwork I had received and he read through it all and made notes. He had my brother climb up on the roof to check the condition of it and he went up into the attic to see where a vent was coming from and if there were any signs of water damage. Negative on the water damage, so that's good. My brother also went around and check all the plumbing stuff, looked for leaks, and checked several other things. He has learned a lot being a plumber and growing up with my Dad.

My Dad and brother found several things that need to be fixed, some of them agreeing with the inspection and disagreeing with the owner's claim of being fixed. Most of the little things could be good weekend projects but there are three big things: the roof, the back siding, and the sliding door. All three have gotten bids to be fixed but it is uncertain if anything has happened beyond that. The roof and the siding, if done in full, need the neighbor to go along with it. I believe my realtor is going to find that out tomorrow maybe, along with the contact information for the HOA president so I can ask some questions about that. He's also going to find out if anyone else is interested in the property. Evidently someone was close enough a month ago to put in an offer, which is why I have the inspection information, but thankfully it fell through.

Once I learn more updated and detailed information about the HOA it will come down to putting an offer in. And I need to figure out how to do that. Do I pay asking price with the contingency that the roof, siding, and door are replaced? Do I ask for just the siding and door and then have someone patch up the few spots in the roof that are looking bad? Do I ask for a reduced price and pay for the other stuff on my own? There are too many options.

After my realtor drove me back to my car I went by Sonic to grab dinner (because it was nine o'clock and I hadn't eaten yet) and then headed over to my Dad's to discuss what he thought about the condition of the house. We also got sidetracked by other stuff, hence not starting this until 12:30AM. It was a good conversation though and it gave me some stuff to think about. It got me focused on the major issues, which I think is what I need to focus on in the offer phase. Rather than getting distracted by the little things that could easily be inexpensive weekend projects. But I've got a lot to think about. I'm going to email my realtor some of my questions tomorrow and get his opinion on some things.

But that is tomorrow and at present I need to go to bed. I have to wake up early for a haircut before work because I am about two weeks behind schedule. And when I get to work I've got to make sure I'm ready for my class in the afternoon and hopefully have time to finish my article so it can be proofread and edited before I submit it on Wednesday. It's going to be a long day with very little sleep to get things going.