Quote :

"Any Wake county residents planning on appealing their new tax valuations?"

mine is $5k above what i bought it for this summer. I have no clue what you do to justify an appeal. Compare to other homes in the area? Recent home sales? On that basis, not sure I would be able to argue much.

^^ let us know what you find

[Edited on December 9, 2015 at 9:03 AM. Reason : new page]

12/9/2015 9:02:47 AM

I want to wire my house with ethernet but would rather pay a contractor to do it for me, anyone have any recommendations/costs?

12/9/2015 10:27:45 AM

^^ & ^^^ My tax assessment is right on the money if not low.

12/9/2015 12:38:07 PM

^this.

my tax bill went up $70 this year. My escrow account has a surplus still. I'll let it slide...

12/9/2015 1:41:10 PM

^^

12/9/2015 1:44:12 PM

I will soon be joining you people. Wife and I are supposed close on our first home January 8th. Very exciting, a little stressful, but we love the place we got and can't wait to move in. Over 2 acres in the Garner/Clayton area.

12/9/2015 3:04:01 PM

Two years after we bought our house now we have to sell it because we are moving. Such a pain in the ass but the market is so hot right now we should at least make some decent money on it. As far as what to do with the money we get, should we just put all of it towards a new home? We are going to have a decent amount more than 20% but I don't want to get hosed on taxes.

We wouldn't want to keep all of the excess but if we could take a little money to fix whatever in the new house to make it how we want that would be nice too.

[Edited on December 9, 2015 at 10:12 PM. Reason : .]

12/9/2015 10:11:45 PM

they finished my backyard fence today...looks great (6' white vinyl privacy) ... it's dark now though so I will take some pics tomorrow

12/11/2015 6:16:25 PM

^^ those gains are tax free. However, I'd definitely recommend putting it towards your next house.

12/12/2015 1:22:43 PM

Just realized that after a Google. We are planning on it but we might get something $50k or more cheaper than what we sell for and so this way we can do some renovations without hurting our savings. In that sense we will be putting it into the new house.

12/12/2015 7:03:23 PM

Probably been discussed before, but does anyone have a reccomendation for (or warning against) a closing attorney in the Raleigh/Garner/Clayton area?

12/15/2015 1:30:10 PM

So my cash to close went from 1625 to -500 dollars....does this mean I get a check?

12/15/2015 4:58:30 PM

Thinking about getting an Ecobee3...anybody have any experience with one?

12/15/2015 10:00:53 PM

I prefer the nest interface but like the remote sensor capability of the ecobee - unless you need the remote sensor get a nest

12/15/2015 11:09:01 PM

I love my ecobee3. Fixed all of our heating / cooling issues and it has a great interface with good data collection to show you when the unit is cycling on/off. Definitely like the remote sensor capabilities. It helps when you don't have multiple units for your house.

12/15/2015 11:32:53 PM

Quote :

"So my cash to close went from 1625 to -500 dollars....does this mean I get a check?"

You could, but I don't know of any banks that will cut checks at closing. They'll find a way to make you use it.

I had about $7,000 owed to me at closing and was told that would be given to me at closing and that the bank wouldn't require me to use it. False. Every. Last. Penny. Had. To. Be. Used.

12/16/2015 8:33:25 AM

How can I use the money? Apply it to the first mortgage payment? I mean, there is no way I can just buy another 1k work of points can I?

12/16/2015 9:22:16 AM

If you are having work done by a contractor, pay them through closing instead of through a personal check.

12/16/2015 10:45:58 AM

Pretty sure I was just cut a check when I brought more money to closing than I needed.

12/16/2015 8:46:02 PM

Fucking mice!!!!!! Didn't realize this was such a problem for us till we saw one scurry across our living room.

Finally put traps out yesterday and caught 4 this morning! FML

12/17/2015 3:53:41 PM

So we went to close today.

First off, this guy is a realtor himself and was representing the house. Our due diligence included him agreeing to repairs on the center burner of the stove. He also wanted a very early close date, which we agreed to but he also tried to get is pushed up a few days, which we couldn't do because of the bank. So we were thinking that this place is going to be all set for us. Oh boy, were we wrong.

He originally thought we were closing at noon, however due to a bank error, it got pushed back until 3. Go to do the walk through at 215, open the door and the place is a mess. All their big shit is gone, but there is plenty of dishes, all the closets are still full, there clearly hasn't been any cleaning done at all. We check the stove, the repair hasn't been done, despite assurances that it was (we have signed paperwork saying it'd be fix). The sellers wife mentions it should be working because it's a new burner in there when the seller had emailed previously and had said he just cleaned it and it was working fine. Whatever.

We look through the house some more, getting more and more upset as we do and realize how unacceptably dirty it is and how they're not entirely out. Their dog was even still there roaming the house. We leave with our realtor to the lawyer and get told the options.

1. Delay the closing
2. Ask for money to be held for repairs.

The seller calls our realtor and asks for number 2, saying he'd put 500 bucks towards cleaning and would do his best to repair the stove. I counter with 1700 (500 for cleaning and 1200 for the stove), already figuring there'd be no way to move in tomorrow since we'd have to wait for cleaners. He comes back with 1000. I refuse and just say fuck it, lets delay till monday. He calls back 15 minutes later 'okay, 1700'..by this point, it's already too late in the day for the lawyer to record it and I don't like the way this going, so I say no and we'll continue monday. We learn he was in a rush because he needed to close on this house to close on the house he was buying.

So yeah, now I have to cancel the truck reservations and my friends who were going to help me move tomorrow may not be free when we finally do get a chance to move, so this is going awesome.

12/18/2015 9:51:47 PM

^wow

i bought my house from an alcoholic and dude didnt even move out. 3 days after close i see he is still there and have to threaten to call the cops.

12/19/2015 6:02:54 AM

Would I be out of line/childish for blowing this guy up on social media (yelp, zillow, realtor, etc) after all this shit is done?

12/19/2015 8:53:53 AM

1200 is a helluva stove rught? I feel like my stainless flattop Samsung was half that.

12/19/2015 4:37:09 PM

http://salestores.com/gegeneralele380.html?gclid=CM-H9Kz06MkCFVYYHwodRKULSQ#.VnXRnBUrKUk

12/19/2015 4:52:35 PM

Have a Samsung flat top that was much less expensive and would recommend.

12/19/2015 5:40:00 PM

^^ wow I didn't know gas stoves were that much more expensive than electric. makes sense though

12/19/2015 8:44:37 PM

You would think a Realtor would know what they need to do to keep things moving smoothly...but WTF.

One of the most fucked up inspections I have had in the last couple of years was a realtor selling her own house. Her husband had removed a load bearing wall without getting a permit & the upstairs was sagging (floors bouncing, door frames out of square). My clients still wanted the house if that was going to be fixed, so we asked them to get an engineers letter for what needed to be done and make the repairs. The engineer letter they sent was hand written and not even typed and said to add some 2x4 posts in the middle of the opening.

They had also not maintained their septic system worth shit it was full and and did not have a screen on it which is really bad for the leach field (only liquid is supposed to get past the tank).

I flipped out and got their due diligence fee back at least since she agent had filled out the NC Property Disclosure form stating no structural changes had been made..even though she knew her husband took the wall down without getting a permit. That would not have worked well for her if my buyers had decided to lodge a complaint.

12/20/2015 1:18:43 AM

^^yeah, this is the one that came with my house: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ge-cafe-30-self-cleaning-freestanding-gas-convection-range-stainless-steel/3448634.p?id=1218402860346&skuId=3448634

we just hope the appliances don't die on us too quickly because we wouldn't be able to afford to replace those bitches.

woe:
epoxied my garage floor over the weekend. now all my shit is in the driveway...waiting for "the cure".

[Edited on December 21, 2015 at 4:02 PM. Reason : ]

12/21/2015 4:00:01 PM

I am about to start retrimming the interior of my house. I hope I don't bite off more than I intend to. tired of the builder grade crap around the windows and the 4" baseboard.

12/22/2015 4:22:59 PM

I want to do the same, but my trial run with installing crown was a bit rough. I got most of the corners right, but there was one I could not, so I cut the length in half to get the corner right and was hoping I could get the middle cut hidden well enough... I didn't.

[Edited on December 22, 2015 at 5:32 PM. Reason : .]

12/22/2015 5:31:59 PM

Did you use a crown molding jig?

12/23/2015 9:41:11 AM

I tried one, but it (well, me using it I guess) was way off. Horribly off. So I just started doing compound cuts and got things pretty good. Except the one corner, which I think was due to a stud that was way out out of line.

[Edited on December 23, 2015 at 10:11 AM. Reason : .]

12/23/2015 10:10:43 AM

Roof started leaking today. Had to cut away ceiling sheetrock to see it. Now I need to find someone to come out and fix it on Christmas Eve

12/23/2015 11:19:24 PM

Well, started on my trim replacement this past weekend. I did 4 windows (one pictured) and I trimmed in the entryway to the living room. Previous to the trim, it was just a shitty drywall opening. I am very happy with the outcome. I still have base mold to do, and about 12 more windows and a whole lotta doors. My plan is to match the entryway impediment to the doors.

12/28/2015 9:19:39 AM

^nice



So back to my intermittent, randomly tripping AFCIs... I thought I had narrowed down the issue to the warmer zone on my stove putting some kind of noise in the circuit, and when that hit the panel/neutral bar, would trip AFCIs on other circuits. I still think that's true (at least one AFCI trips when the warmer zone is turned on), but there is apparently another source causing the living room breaker (one of the 4 AFCIs) to trip. My HTS/TV/etc are on this circuit, so I plugged the surge protector for that equipment into another circuit. No trips since (though, this doesn't necessarily prove anything).

I'm beginning to think that it may just be a bad breaker and when it trips, it sometimes causes others to trip (?!?!?). I have a normal 15A breaker I can throw in there to test. I guess I'll do that for a while and see if it ever trips.

12/28/2015 10:58:59 AM

Do you have any old appliances on the circuit? Old hair dryers, microwaves, fluorescent lights, etc can make them trip randomly.

12/29/2015 12:20:19 AM

mostly no; any old appliance added would have been after thr breakers started tripping.

12/29/2015 9:55:28 AM

About the tripping....

Maybe you answered it above... If you are having a bunch of random tripping, the first thing I would do would be to check ALL connections to all the outlets on the circuit. Make sure your neutral and hots are on the right correct terminal. If you had the misfortune of having buildings that use the stab, undo that and use the screw. If they pigtailed to the outlet, check the pigtail.

I have had to troubleshoot some nasty electrical issues before, and taking everything apart is a really good first step. If your house is older, you might as well take the opportunity to replace your outlets with new/better/non corroded ones.

I prefer all my outlets to be pigtailed... It takes the 'bad' outlet that is wired series totally out of the equation.

[Edited on December 30, 2015 at 12:53 PM. Reason : .]

12/30/2015 12:52:23 PM

After re-reading the post, I see you are having this on several circuits... I have heard of horrible stories with AFCI protected circuits. Maybe you should call the code office in your area and see if they are required on those circuits, and if not, replace them with standard breakers.

12/30/2015 1:32:14 PM

Does anyone use Simplisafe for home security? Seems pretty awesome (easy install, no phone line, no contracts, wireless, phone app) but too good to be true?

12/31/2015 6:27:21 PM

We just got SimpliSafe this month. We really like it so far.

24/7 Monitoring is 14.99 a month and if you want all the phone features, etc it costs 24.99 a month. No contracts like you said though. The install was really easy.

They don't you a stake for the yard sign, which kind of sucks, but you can pick up one from Lowes or Home Depot for next to nothing.

12/31/2015 11:25:55 PM

One of my good friends got SimpliSafe about a year ago and has really liked it.

1/1/2016 12:16:42 AM

Anyone out there ever tried to DIY air seal your attic with spray foam?

I'm thinking of trying this...but it seems pretty daunting. I assume I'll need to buy a gun and use "Great Stuff Pro" with a fire rating....just seal any penetrations and anywhere that wood and drywall meet? Unfortunately, I have a ton of can lights so I suppose I'll need can light covers

Advice? Thoughts/prayers?

1/1/2016 1:21:02 AM

When I replaced the ceiling fan brackets in my bedrooms I sealed the opening with great stuff spray foam (after covering the brackets with painters tape in case I ever had to run new wires). Seems to have worked OK. I didn't seal around the recessed lighting, but I did caulk around the AC registers in the ceiling.

1/1/2016 11:20:15 PM

Yeah, I'm thinking of doing all penetrations...and we've got a lot. I also discovered I have non "IC" (insulation contact) pod lights covered in fiberglass insulation....that's no good! I bought the "great stuff pro gun" and some great stuff pro so I don't have to mess with the individual one use bottles, so I think I'm gonna declare jihad on air leaks into my attic. I'm gonna seal all penetrations and anywhere that drywall meets wood. I already lose enough air through my drafty Windows!

1/2/2016 11:45:02 PM

durham co revalued our home and surprisingly, its about 50 grand more than what they valued last year.

it could be because the neighborhood finally got finished and houses are selling high here, but still, was like 'whoa' to see the tax appraisal value so high.

1/5/2016 1:09:32 PM

interested in recommendations on a dishwasher. budget is $800 and must come from sears (I have a company award bonus thing that's redeemable for gift cards)

heated dry is a must.

any other features that people have found to be indispensable?

1/5/2016 1:40:00 PM

Seems like the fancier ones have a filter you have to clean every couple loads, but I'm not sure why that's preferable over the food mincer thing in the cheaper ones.

My Kenmoore elite dishwasher has some kind of 360 degree wash I think it's called...that seems to be a real difference maker in terms of how well it cleans.

This is similar to what I have - http://www.sears.com/kenmore-elite-24inch-built-in-dishwasher-stainless-steel/p-02214753000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

35% off right now too. Not sure how long that lasts..


[Edited on January 5, 2016 at 2:42 PM. Reason : heated wash is a nice feature too]

1/5/2016 2:36:48 PM

The marketing point on the filter is that the grinder is noisy. I have checked my filter a few times over the last 2 years and it was never appreciably dirty. I think the filter/grinder only really come into play if there's chunks of food on your dishes. I've always had a POS builder grade dishwasher in apartments and when I first bought my home so I still do some minor prerinse out of habit. Every once in awhile I just load that bad boy up with some disgusting plates though and still haven't needed to clean the filter.

I don't know how noisy the grinder really is but I can barely tell mines on. I also have a Kenmore Elite. I think it was something like this but there are so many variants I would have to go home and check.
http://www.sears.com/kenmore-elite-24inch-buit-in-dishwasher-stainless-steel/p-02212773000P

I now consider a mid-to-high end dishwasher essential.

1/5/2016 4:15:47 PM