The last two houses we have owned, we have not had the time we really needed to look and purchase; we have always been in a pinch for time. It is what it is, but with this last house, it has left us with some major necessary upgrades that will need to be done sooner, rather than later. Some days I want to sit down and cry, then I want to scream, and finally I am grateful we have a roof over our head. Love/Hate is definitely the term to describe our new house.
First, what made me fall in love with this old home.
- The 1.4 acre lot - our kids have room to run and play, and explore. Our youngest son and the neighbor boy even have an awesome fort in the bushes.
- In-Law Suite (we are trying to come up with a better name for this) - this is where our laundry room is. At first, I wasn't fond of it being outside of the house, now I love it, can you say peace-and-quiet.
- Long driveway - the kids can actually shoot hoops and roller blade at the same time, without any impending doom due to close quarters.
- Center brick support wall with 2 fireplaces - Can you say character, and I have 2 mantles to decorate for Christmas.
- Vaulted ceilings throughout the main living areas
- Skylights in the kitchen and dining room, lots of natural light.
- Newly renovated kitchen - They put in new cabinets and granite counters, plus I have an island!
- Huge master bedroom and bath
- Large outdoor patio, which we added to after Hurricane Michael took out our brick columns and small fenced in privacy area.
- Carport - I know, I didn't think I would like it, but it's not overstuffed with stuff like a garage, and I can back out without fear of hitting the side. Plus, my husband has a small shop that came with the property to store his tools, lawnmowers, etc...
- The long brick pathway that leads to our mailbox. Such charm!
Now for the things I dislike. Hate may be a strong word.
- Wiring needs to be upgraded and brought to code, we have no ground in the house
- Our in-slab ductwork is rusting out beyond the point of sealing
- Our HVAC system needs to be redesigned and replaced - we just had quotes on this, this is not going to be a cheap fix. Unfortunately, after just buying the house less than a year ago, we don't want to take out a loan for $20,000.00 to fix it. Our most inexpensive quotes were around 19,000.00 to run new duct work in the attic above the sleeping areas/bathrooms, and install mini-splits in the vaulted main area and in-law suite. Unfortunately, the previous owners, tried to fix it somewhat but ended up making the situation worse. Long story.
- We need to install rain gutters.
- We will also need to upgrade our water heater eventually.
- Our utility room is a disaster, the electric panel is literally maybe a foot away from our gas furnace, and the main shutoff is behind that, and the door opens the wrong way. Unless you are a toothpick, or the size of a 5-yr-old it's almost impossible to access. After Hurricane Michael we had multiple different power guys, scratching their heads trying to figure out the best & safest way to restore power to our house. It did happen, after hours of consulting other power guys.
Those are the main things we dislike. I guess we are more disappointed that our 5-star inspector we found on Home Advisor, missed some major things. We found out about the ducting and hvac, because our master bedroom was not cooling in the late fall. My husband went to check our floor registers and found them sealed off with foam, we also have one small 4-6" ceiling duct in a room that is over 400 square feet. That 4-6" flexible ducting was connected to the bottom side of our down-flow furnace, and the hvac technician explained it isn't close enough to where the fan actually blows out, so we are basically getting very minute airflow off the coils. Ugh. The back two bedrooms, need a dehumidifier, due to no airflow, and in the winter we had to buy a space-heater for our bedroom. We live in southern Georgia, we shouldn't need a space-heater. There was one day this past winter, our bedroom was only 58 degrees! We have had humidity levels of over 70 percent, until I bought a dehumidifier.
I love the house, I don't love the shortcuts that were taken with the hvac. There have been a lot of lessons learned with this purchase.
I did make a purchase, for a product called FreshVent, vent filters. (Update below) These don't restrict airflow, like the big heavy ones. Supposedly they are anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-viral. They prevent bugs from entering your house through the vents, protect toys from falling into them, and help reduce dust being blown into your house. Yes, this is a band-aid until we can pay for a new hvac system, but when you have kids with allergies and asthma, you will try anything to make the air quality in your home better. We replace our air-filter every six weeks as well. If you want to check out FreshVent, click on my affiliate link above, I will update and write a review after I receive them.
As I stated earlier, there is a lot to love about this home, and when we get everything fixed and running properly it will be a great house! It is what it is, and we have so much to be thankful for, including the roof over our head.
Ductless mini-splits are one option we are looking into, so far it looks like this Mr. Cool DIY version gets great reviews, and thankfully my husband is handy, so he is more than capable of installing one of these with a helper. YouTube has a lot of how-to installation videos, another popular brand for the DIY crowd is the Pioneer, they are cheaper, but you do need to hire someone to vacuum out the lines and test for leaks.
- You can't always trust HomeAdvisor, especially in a lower populate area.
- Look at DIY jobs with a magnifying glass, especially when it comes to hvac.
- Save a small portion of your down payment for an emergency fund.
- Don't be afraid to lower your offer.
I did make a purchase, for a product called FreshVent, vent filters. (Update below) These don't restrict airflow, like the big heavy ones. Supposedly they are anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-viral. They prevent bugs from entering your house through the vents, protect toys from falling into them, and help reduce dust being blown into your house. Yes, this is a band-aid until we can pay for a new hvac system, but when you have kids with allergies and asthma, you will try anything to make the air quality in your home better. We replace our air-filter every six weeks as well. If you want to check out FreshVent, click on my affiliate link above, I will update and write a review after I receive them.
As I stated earlier, there is a lot to love about this home, and when we get everything fixed and running properly it will be a great house! It is what it is, and we have so much to be thankful for, including the roof over our head.
Ductless mini-splits are one option we are looking into, so far it looks like this Mr. Cool DIY version gets great reviews, and thankfully my husband is handy, so he is more than capable of installing one of these with a helper. YouTube has a lot of how-to installation videos, another popular brand for the DIY crowd is the Pioneer, they are cheaper, but you do need to hire someone to vacuum out the lines and test for leaks.
Update: (04-17-19)
The FreshVent Vent filters so far, so good. They are basically like a thick nylon stocking, and they don't seem to block any airflow. They are going to be great for keeping things out of the ducts, and keeping insects from crawling out of the ducts. My daughters room, has the worst looking floor vent, and even with those on, it still smells like dust/dirt when the registers are blowing. Her room may be one of the first to get a mini-split, as her and my youngest do have breathing difficulties from time-to-time. Until we can find the time and the extra money needed to install one of these, I will be looking for a great air purifier. Recommendations are welcome.
The FreshVent Vent filters so far, so good. They are basically like a thick nylon stocking, and they don't seem to block any airflow. They are going to be great for keeping things out of the ducts, and keeping insects from crawling out of the ducts. My daughters room, has the worst looking floor vent, and even with those on, it still smells like dust/dirt when the registers are blowing. Her room may be one of the first to get a mini-split, as her and my youngest do have breathing difficulties from time-to-time. Until we can find the time and the extra money needed to install one of these, I will be looking for a great air purifier. Recommendations are welcome.