I decided to buy a house as soon as I had a job, and that was back in November of 2006. Well I found one, and I made the offer the day it went on the market, days before I was to leave for France for a week. The offer was accepted and my excellent realtor Jesse Knight made the whole deal so easy, I was a little nervous it was too good to be true.
We had the inspection and sewer scope done within days, and the first hitch hit: During the inspection, under normal investigative measures a leak formed in a pipe leading to an external hose bib. The leak was due to corroded connections between copper and steel pipes.
LESSON #1 Copper and Steel plus water = corrosion. Do NOT mix copper and steel. If you have to, there are special connectors you must use.
The situation was resolved with some difficulty because the realtors of the owner were very nasty. But resolved it was, and the sale moved forward. On July 11th I closed and signed all the papers.
On July 20th I got my keys. Ecstatic is the only word I can think of. I bought a beautiful gem of a small house in SE Portland built in 1926, and retaining all the charm and qualities of that era. Location was very key to my house hunt and I believe I have the perfect location. I am right on a great bus line (not a major line, a great line that serves a very specific area, and isn't too fast or slow), very close to two major bus lines, and walking distance to a coffee shop, co-op, New Seasons Market, The Clinton St. Theater, a Burgerville, restaurants, and much much more. This is South East Portland at is best, and on top of all that I am 4 blocks from my capoeira studio; Capoeira Regional.
There are a few issues with the house that I plan on addressing as time goes on. First and foremost is the fact that there is no exterior window in the bathroom, and it is on an exterior wall. The tub is a cheap-o unit and may have been installed over an existing window! I will find out soon enough. The second issue is the vinyl siding. The house looks like it was frosted in petro chemicals, but I have seen through the facade and the original siding is intact underneath. Phew.
It is a great little house! And it is mine! Hooray!
3 comments:
Congratulations!
How about a virtual tour for those of us (ok, me) that can't come to the housewarming party?
Good work! Any plans for sustainable modifications? Keep us updated!
Nice, dude. Nice!
I'm very jealous. I can't wait to get the tour next time I'm back in town.
I'm with Tarek. Get some photos of it up here on your photoblog asap!
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