This is really the only answer. If you think being able to put your your desktop in your pocket and use it anywhere would be useful, then you’d probably find a smartphone useful.
Plus, with the right combination of applications (more preferably, a few, and some with no active internet permission at all) and power settings tweaked both for better battery mileage and longer, more focused on-the-go sessions (e.g. editing documents, playing that one dungeon crawler roguelike, and planning important events, etc.) you could count on it more.
Upvote for funny posts, posts that contribute to the discussion even if they drift a bit off topic, and anything that promotes positivity.
No upvotes/downvites for things I disagree with that are just differences in opinions, or something that is trying to be funny but doesn't work for me. Also posts I just don't understand or understand the context.
Downvotes for people being jerks, posting misinformation, promoting terrible stuff like fascism, racism, sexism, etc. It does mean I mostly downvote anything positive about US conservatives, but that is because they tend to promote those things I mentioned already.
I sometimes also downvote people who go overboard with generally positive things by assuming anything other than agreeing with their narrow view is automatically malicious. Some of us are trying and admitting we aren't perfect or that maybe there is more than one way to be supportive than the one they think the only way.
I’d just recommend not settling for something in poor condition just because you feel beat down or overwhelmed by the grind.
You will be filled with constant regret if you wind up buying some dilapidated property simply because you’re tired of the back and forth because once you sign the papers, you’re stuck with it. The process isn’t enjoyable, but try not to let that get to you.
Not sure what the exact condition of house is nor what contractors charge for work in your area, but in my area of the US, $15k isn’t going to get you very far on most projects. One of my coworkers just spent $27k to have an HVAC system installed and $40k for new windows. I think he got fleeced, but even halving those prices, you’re still being given a rough quote equivalent to these somewhat basic tasks for what sounds like serious structural work.
Ok, I have to ask- what the hell kind of place do they live where HVAC costs $27k and windows cost $40k? Were these new installations where there had never been ductwork or windows before? Because those are way, WAY out of line for replacements in a typical single family home. By about an order of magnitude.
But to your larger point, yes, structural work can very easily (and quickly) hit 6 digits. I wouldn’t accept it unless the terms are that the original owner makes the repairs first.
As someone who just replaced all his downstairs windows for under $4k I also would like to know where this is so I can avoid it at all costs. Literally an order of magnitude difference is wild
Yes the HVAC was a full install as he had an oil burning furnace with radiant floor heating prior to this. They installed an AC/furnace and ducting. The windows were through one of those sleazy companies like Renewal by Anderson and like I said I think he got fleeced on both jobs.
If you aren’t comfortable with managing repairs, walk away. The repairs will likely take months and can be very disruptive.
It sounds like there are some very pricey repairs, chimneys are generally expensive and require specialized masons. Replacing windows can be expensive, but if the house doesn’t have double pane windows, the insulation benefits can offset the cost.
The biggest worry is the moisture issues, rising damp and bad window frames could mean significant water damage is discovered as part of repairs. Cracked walls can also be a big deal depending on the root cause, foundation issues are really bad.
I do have somewhere within walking distance where I can stay while works are being completed. Windows I’m not so much worried about, as estate agent said she had similar issues and just did the windows one at a time as budget allowed. The damp / potential subsidence though is my biggest concern. It’s likely the provider would pull the mortgage offer based on that, and there’s no way I’d get building insurance with issues like this.
Am not sure I’d be able to do that, it’s attached to another house; planning permissions I imagine would be a nightmare; it’s likely they’ll balk at any reductions in price let alone a massive reduction; and iirc the terms of my mortgage are specifically for a house purchase not a house build.
Dream idea though, I was looking at land the other day thinking how cool it would be to be able to just buy some land and build a house on it. Potentially cheaper than buying, just a huge project to manage.
Personally, unless you really love the house or location I’d walk away. I’d also be super surprised if issues found by a structural engineer can be fixed, particularly if you have to hire someone for a significant amount of that work, for just 15k, as after the structure is correct there’s a bunch of other aspects of the building’s construction that will have been disrupted and need fixing. If you need to hire a contractor for repairs it’d probably be more realistic to budget 50-80k for repairs.
If nearby homes exist in turnkey condition for 100k that’s your better bet. Not being willing to turn the electricity on in order to help a prospective buyer check out the place is a huge red flag with sirens attached as well. Structural problems can be very bad, electrical problems can burn the place down and kill everyone inside.
There’s nearby homes in turnkey condition for £90k, forget £100k! Like I said I have to wait until I have the full report in my inbox but it kinda feels like they’re trying to pull a fast one, especially with regard to the electrics / unsigned electrical cert. What company gives an electrical certificate but doesn’t bother to sign it? I don’t see how either the estate agent nor the seller had no idea it’s in such a bad state.
Walk away unless you plan on doing a large, time consuming, and expensive renovation. Don’t fall in love with the idea of what the property could be. Make sure it suits your needs now and the seller is much more transparent.
Am trying to take the attitude of not taking it personally, it’s just business and the seller is trying to maximise what they get for the house… but it’s hard not to feel deceived. They surely must have known there are serious issues and clearly have not priced the house accordingly. It’s frustrating to have to dig out these issues, every buyer is going to pay for a survey and waste money finding out things that should really have been disclosed by the seller.
Apparently in Norway, the seller pays for and provides a survey to all prospective buyers. Seems a much more efficient and fair way of doing things.
In the US there are some things covered in the survey and some not. We paid for an independent home inspector to go top to bottom of ours before purchase. I tested the water, had the most recent electrician go over our system, and talked to the neighbors about the history of the property. It was very good to have all that information and worth the money to pay for. It greatly reduced the worry and I got to know the property before buying it.
Yeah peace of mind is priceless. Plus as I’m buying via a mortgage, there’s no question about getting surveys done… iirc the provider would be content with a ‘basic’ survey but I felt like it was worth the extra ~£80 to go for a more in-depth one!
Am trying to look at it not as £500 wasted, but a £500 expense that’s saved me from potentially making a very bad purchase.
Yea unless you’re ready to fix (or more likely redo /replace) a lot of existing things while you live there, I’d walk unless they make a really compelling offer.
Renovations are really time consuming especially when you have a job, family, etc. And living in a renovation can be exhausting as you have to work around all the fixes until theyre done or at least usable. I speak from experience unfortunately.
That said, if the place is liveable and you can break things down into more manageable parts, could be worth it if again, they make a really compelling offer.
Renovations are really time consuming especially when you have a job, family, etc. And living in a renovation can be exhausting as you have to work around all the fixes until theyre done or at least usable. I speak from experience unfortunately.
Am self employed, single so I guess that’s going for me in this respect. Writing music would be pretty difficult though with drilling and hammering going on through the rest of the house! Thanks for your advice.
I bought my current place a year and a half ago - it was the fourth one I’d had an offer in on and the previous three had major structural issues (turns out 100+ year old houses built on same are a nightmare), at least two had subsidence. I have friends and family in the building trade and they reckon they’d be wary - houses like a that reach a point where, to continue for another century, they either need to get snapped up by a builder who can get the work done and flip it or someone highly motivated who can take on a project like this.
Your mileage might differ but I’d just spent 6 months and 50 grand putting the previous house on a raft of concrete that would outlast the next I’ve Age which was then used as a stick to beat us down on the price. So I was not in the right frame of mind to undertake another building project. And that’s what you should ask yourself - are you the kind of person that thrives on camping in their new house for months getting work done (and getting builders is trickier after the pandemic and more expensive)? What’s your budget like because this is the stuff the survey found but tearing into the place could reveal more? It has clearly not been well-maintained for a long time and there’s likely to be all sorts of other issues.
What level of survey did you have done? Have you had a structural engineer look it over?
I certainly feel like if they’re not prepared to negotiate re repairs then I have to walk away as I could buy a well-maintained property round here for the total cost of around £100k!
You’re clearly up north! If they aren’t prepared to negotiate then everyone should walk, if they weren’t prepared to come down closer to £50-60k then I’d definitely consider walking, as the modest savings don’t outweigh the stress. To be honest, if it were me, I’d be long gone already. Just reading this is giving me flashbacks.
What level of survey did you have done? Have you had a structural engineer look it over?
We went for a full survey, the guy is RICS-registered but fairly young so assume he’s pricing cheap to get plenty of jobs and reviews under his belt. He did recommend a specific separate cavity inspection but at this point it feels like I’m probably going to be chucking more money down the drain considering all the other issues.
You’re clearly up north! If they aren’t prepared to negotiate then everyone should walk, if they weren’t prepared to come down closer to £50-60k then I’d definitely consider walking
Correct haha. Someone else said that a reduction of 15k is almost unheard of. Tbh I already was having a bad feeling, and reading all these responses has really crystalised that I simply cannot buy this house without a massive reduction… and even then it’s going to be a shitload of hassle, potentially more expenses that haven’t yet been uncovered. Will see what they say once we have the full report in writing. I don’t mind roughing it a bit, but managing a project like this I would think isn’t really in my wheelhouse and will be very stressful.
We went for a full survey, the guy is RICS-registered
Yeah, they’re chartered surveyors, you’d be wise to get a structural engineer to look it over if you were thinking of having underpinning and they might spot other things. I stopped getting chartered surveyors and asked a structural engineer I know to do the surveys - they a lot harsher.
Someone else said that a reduction of 15k is almost unheard of.
Percentage wise it’s a big chunk of change but, depending on the amount of underpinning required, it might not be enough.
even then it’s going to be a shitload of hassle
If the underpinning is not accessible from outside the floors will have to come up. Cracks in the walls may have to be dealt with by removing the plaster and tying the bricks back together then replastering. Depending on where the damp is coming from you might need a new roof - did they get up there or use a drone?
I don’t mind roughing it a bit, but managing a project like this I would think isn’t really in my wheelhouse and will be very stressful.
And money aside, this should be your deciding factor.
The surveyor said he was actually surprised to find the roof in quite good condition… seems like at least one area where it’s either been properly maintained, or had very high-quality work performed.
I’ll definitely do some shopping around for structural engineers in the area for future surveys, might as well go in deep for the most expensive & important issues before moving forward with any future potential purchase. Great advice, thanks.
WoW Ascension on the Area 52 server. This server is classless, you can pick any ability and talents you want. Plus there are mystic scrolls you can find in the world which when equipped (you can have 17 equipped at once, 1 legendary, 3 epic, then a bunch of blue or green) and these enchants completely change how abilities work to allow for you to make incredibly cool custom classes.
It’s a separate company, I don’t understand how they don’t get sued into oblivion, but they update the game all the time, it’s feature rich and has so much to explore. The website is ascension.gg. They also have an alpha server which cost money to get access to with 21 brand new classes, none of the old classes, new ability, new talents.
I went and set this up after seeing this comment. I will say, it’s wild and I’ve had a blast playing it. The community is awesome and I have no idea what I’m doing but that doesn’t seem to matter at all.
I’m so happy someone tried out Ascension based on my post! I’ve been playing around in there for a few months now, nothing hard core, just trying different specs or build ideas. At first it does feel very overwhelming, but they’ve made changes to the talents to sometimes make them a bit more agnostic or if the talent says “Increases Pet Damage” it’ll generally apply to any pet. That combined with the ability to search for any ability or talent based on keywords or phrases like “All Damage” to find talents to increase damage mitgation all combines to allow you to think up interesting specs and try building it your self.
The other thing I adore about this system is, in normal WoW, there has always been the meta, if you’re a fire mage and you want to raid you better be specced this one certain way or your trash. Well in Ascension, the options are so god damn wide open that no you could very well come up with unique build that is better then anyone has made before. Also people can’t see your spec in game, so there just isn’t that rigid expectation of choosing the “right” spec.
Also check out prestiging , it’s fun to loop back to level 1, level back up and earn rewards. Or prestige , and pick a Ironman challenge, where you get 1 life and need to accomplish a certain goal like, kill hogger before level 10 or you fail. I’m working on an Ironman Challenge called “King of the Jungle” where you get 1 life, and need to kill the final tiger boss in the Stranglethorn Vale big game hunt quest line before level 40!
Over all, it’s just a very well thought out and daring approach. On top of Ascension’s Area 52 server that I’m on (Free pick classless), there’s also the Thrall server which is also classless, but instead if free pick you get a selection of 3 or 4 abilities when you level and you try to assemble your build using those cards. I have some friends that positively love the draft server, but it isn’t my cup of tea.
I enjoyed classic wow through TBC but when wotlk dropped I lost interest. I just started on ascension wow area 52 a few days ago and it’s a really interesting spin on the classic experience. I’m enjoying it but I don’t think I’ll play it as seriously as I did for classic wow and classic TBC.
Really curious to try out this season of discovery thing though. I might resubscribe just to try it out.
Sounds like you’ve never trained. If you want to try kickboxing or Muay Thai you’re not going to be starting out sparring. You’ll be learning the basics. That is, of course unless you’re at some dodgy ass gym that pushes everyone to spar right out of the gate. In which case you should avoid and go to a proper gym. If you’re getting many hard hits to the head in training starting out you’re doing it wrong or your partner is an asshole. Just do it. I trained with other people in IT, I remember one guy was a C++ programmer. Stop over thinking it and go for it.
My girlfriend and a friend of hers went to a kickboxing lesson once and they had the student kick each other inner thigh all day. She was completely bruised up for the next week.
Getting a good gym for this is a process I guess and you shouldn’t expect to stay with your first one
That shit ain’t right! It’s sad that those wannabe gyms exist and it puts off people who would likely otherwise have a good, albeit still tough time (with some conditioning).
I was never a reddit member and so may miss some of that nuance, but I vote for things I enjoyed reading or for folks I enjoyed interacting with. I thought about down voting one thing, but then leaned that group didn't work that way. The whole point was to say something that was against the grain.
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