I'm so tired of owning a home

[sam999]

hello all,
Yes, condos can be easier-----depending on who they have to take care of the maintenance issues. The strata fees can be very high too, and what if you never need anything done; paying all that out for nothing? I would like to give it a try, after I see all the high cost of owning a house outright.

 

[Nicolecat]

I know how you feel...our overflow valve on our a/c unit which is in the attic has quit working twice now, which causes water to build up in the drip pan and eventually overflow onto the ceiling below it. UGH!

Our Master bathroom shower has sprung a leak on a pipe that we can't get to in the wall, without tearing out out shower...or gauging a hole from the other side of the wall.... UGH!

and now our guest bathroom toilet is leaking...and we can't find the water shut-off to the house to fix the shower or the toilet... DOUBLE UGH!

Trust me when I say...you are not alone in your utter hatred of owning your own personal hangout.

This isn't even to mention the abundance of neighbors that think its okay to park their cars in front of our house. I hate that SH*t.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Our Master bathroom shower has sprung a leak on a pipe that we can't get to in the wall, without tearing out out shower...or gauging a hole from the other side of the wall.... UGH!

The other side of the wall, absolutely.

Far easier to fix.

and now our guest bathroom toilet is leaking...and we can't find the water shut-off to the house to fix the shower or the toilet... DOUBLE UGH!

If there is no valve under the toilet, check in the basement, where the water line, or maybe the meter is. There should be a whole-house valve there.

This isn't even to mention the abundance of neighbours that think its okay to park their cars in front of our house. I hate that SH*t.

Start parking your car there, ALL THE TIME.

 

[Nicolecat]

The other side of the wall, absolutely.

Far easier to fix.

My husband thinks that he can get a saudering iron through the cutout where the shower hot/cold control is. We'll see...I'm not convinced.

If there is no valve under the toilet, check in the basement, where the water line, or maybe the meter is. There should be a whole-house valve there.

We have a slab foundation...no basement. We've asked one of our neighbors, and it seems the water cutoff (to the whole house) is somewhere along the front. I'm debating calling the utilities company and having them mark it.

Start parking your car there, ALL THE TIME.

I would...but I have a driveway, and use it. Plus, I cuss everyone that parks on the street (although we do like it when our neighbor cop parks his patrol car on the street). I chock it up, to living on a culdesac...and having more street space then some of the others on the end.

...and this isn't a racist statement, but there is a family of Asians that live in three houses in rather close proximity (easy walking distance, practically next door) and yet they all drive to one house for dinner (parking in the street...like 10 cars at one house) and create a cluster f*ck for any two cars that need to come past (since they are on a main street, with only one way in and one way out). This is by far one of the most annoying things I have to deal with daily.
...The neighborhood association has been complained to on numerous occasions, but when they've been asked to not park that many cars at one house...they all of a sudden don't speak English (not one of them).

Sorry, rant off.

 

[OscarTheGrouch]

I feel your pain.


We have a mysterious leak.. It will leak frmo upstairs to downstairs for about a week, then stop for months to this most recent time was almost a year. I don't get it, and at this point I do not care to. I'm tired, I'm done.

A friend of mine has a house about to come up for rent, and that's where we are going. He is going to cut me a deal on the rent for taking care of some things for him (labor wise) and we will be good.

I'm still going to pay a deposit etc, we understand the line between friendship and business, so we are doing everything by the book to make sure there is a definitive line etc so no feelings get hurt.

 

[Nicolecat]

I feel your pain.


We have a mysterious leak.. It will leak frmo upstairs to downstairs for about a week, then stop for months to this most recent time was almost a year. I don't get it, and at this point I do not care to. I'm tired, I'm done.

A friend of mine has a house about to come up for rent, and that's where we are going. He is going to cut me a deal on the rent for taking care of some things for him (labor wise) and we will be good.

I'm still going to pay a deposit etc, we understand the line between friendship and business, so we are doing everything by the book to make sure there is a definitive line etc so no feelings get hurt.

Oooo...
Be careful with the fine details. We did that while we were looking for a house (rented a friend's guest house). Great way to ruin a friendship, make sure...ALL work for rent details are ironed out way ahead of time. ...and that you can handle all 'said help' with everything else going on around you. It got hard for us (when football season started ...nobody thought about us actually being at the games on Saturdays.) Not to mention asbestos siding tile laying in the yard/driveway where we were parking (I swear, if I get cancer...I'm suing him for all he's worth).

 

[sushi]

Yes, condos can be easier-----depending on who they have to take care of the maintenance issues.

Also, one area that you need to be careful concerning condos are the amenity service and areas. When the condo is new, everything looks cool and nice. But as time goes on issues will arise. Some will be personality driven and others maintenance driven.

Take for example a place that my wife and I looked at a couple of years ago. One of the common shared areas was a small movie theater. Now this complex had close to 400 units. How are they going to be able to share this facility? Plus who will be responsible to maintain and keep it up? What kind of movies can be shown? Can guests attend? How long can you reserve the facility? Are food and beverages allowed?

I could go on, but I think my point has been made. This is a disaster in the waiting. I am sure some tempers will fly when there a scheduling conflicts, overruns and the like.

Others sport things like health spas, exercise rooms, and other services.

IMHO, the simpler the facility the better in the long run.