Home Inspection!

Six hours and $600 later, I have a much deeper understanding of 45 Hough St (the place I may buy). Built in 1890, it has an old barn that was converted into two 2BR apartments. The barn and the house are connected by an added on section. Here's what I learned today:

• Powder post beetles can live for up to 300 years in wood. In the old days none of the wood was kiln dried, meaning the beetles lived on after the boards were cut. Nowadays that's not an issue. In this house it is a bit of an issue, especially under the barn/connector parts.
• Old construciton is OLD. They wood they used is also old now, as are the bricks, blocks, and other things that make up the house. When things get old they sag, crumble, split, crack, and otherwise deteriorate. I've got one non-loadbearing wall that's crumbled (block foundation in the connector) and one non-loadbearing sill that actually rolled out from under the gabled end wall and off the foundation (and also happens to be full of above beetles). The barn roof is also in need of some repair, although in the whole place we only found evidence of one leak. All the chimneys are essentially reverting back to the original clay the bricks were made from. Problem? Maybe someday, but it'll be ok for another decade at least (I hope).
• One furnace is great, the other three could go at any time. Three water heaters are great, one could go at any time.
  
• Moist dirt floor basements make me sneeze.
• One electrical panel needs to be updated from fuses to breakers.
  
• If I ever need to climb up the fire escape onto the roof again, there had better be a raging fire. That thing was terrifying.
• Most of the tennants didn't know there was a coin-op laundry in the builidng (two came home with laundry from the laundermat while I was there for the inspection.
• The attic wasn't originally designed for living space, but now contains three bedrooms. Electric heat was added at some point (the rest of the house is FHW) in the rooms up there. The joists are also undersized, and the floors are spongey/springy/droopy. That should be fixed.
• If you need a home inspection, call Guardian Inspection Services (in Manchester, NH). Steve was great - he was crawling around in racoon shit for chrisake. And he knows his stuff.

So there's lots to think about now. I might try to get some money off, or I might say f* it and pass on the place. I suppose it's not as bad as I think it is. I'll get some more opinions, the furnaces inspected by a furnace guy, and think about it.

What I really need to remember is that this house is not "my dream home". It's a means to an end. It's a way to get other people to help me out with my equity, reduce my immediate cost of living, and be able to get the 'place of my dreams' sooner than I would by just putting cheddar in the bank. Sometimes it's bad to expect everything to be done right, I guess. After all I don't live in the basement, nor am I going to live in this place forever.

Decisions, decisions....

May compassion be always in your heart, and peace be always on your tongue.

- J