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After a two week delay my furnace was finally installed. The delay came from incorrect measurements.  I had three bids on the property.  Two bidders told me my gas meter would have to be moved in order to get the new furnace into the crawl space.  The third never mentioned that the meter would be problem.  By chance the third guy was the one I asked to install my new furnace.

Salesmen are not installers.  The installers took one look at the crawl space opening and said the furnace would not fit.  Then the measured to make sure.  I had a two week delay on getting the gas company out to move the meter.  No charge thankfully.  I also let that salesman call to get the meter moved.  DO NOT let the installers move a meter.  While they could easily do it themselves, most gas companies will not allow it.  Plus in many cities such as mine, moving a meter without permission will cost you your license.

The furnace was installed for a grand total of $3100.  I’m not upset at all about the cost.  The new furnace will be a selling point next year.  Much better then a 1954 furnace.  My next project will probably be the insulation in my attic.  Currently it is only about 10 inches thick.   I need an R value of 35 or higher up there.  Till then.

I do apologize for no post in awhile, but frankly I had very little to post on.  This is a live and flip, so I’m doing what I can within my budget.   So what could have possible caused me to wait this long to post?  Obviously something kinda expensive.  You guessed it, a new furnace.

So the here’s the scoop.  When I purchased the house, my home inspector told me the furnace was an older model about 20 years old.  We had a cold day this summer (45 degrees at night), so I decided to test the furnace again.  Low an behold I couldn’t get it to work and I didn’t know how to correctly relight this style furnace.  I had never used one like this before.  I called a local firm and they happily came out and checked it out.  They did a  relight of my furnace for a whooping $175.  They also suggested I needed a new one since the model I had in my 1954 house was original.  Joy.  Oh and they could do it for 4k-7k.  To say I was skeptical was a bit of an understatement.

I had planned on replacing the thing all along for decent resell advantage.  Realizing the age and taking a closer look at the current condition bumped my time line up a year.  Older furnaces can be as low as 50% efficient.  Everyone knows the energy prices are climbing.  Replacing the thing now will save me quite a bit of money this winter. Note: To check your furnace age its the 2nd and 3rd number for older furnaces and the third and fourth number for newer furnaces.

I called in 3 contractors to give me bids on a new furnace.  Rather upset with my relight cost from the original contractor (a 20 minute job), they didn’t even get a phone call from me for a furnace replacement.  Sorry but thats not the way to earn my business through outrageous costs on menial work.  The three contractors bids were $2300, $2900, and $3400.  In the end I choose the 2nd bidder since their price was set in stone and the furnace they install is a bit more reliable.  The first bidder offered to install a Goodman furnace.  From my google searches I found the furnace to have a 50/50 reputation.  The Kenmore had much higher marks, plus with guaranteed set price I am not worried about extra costs that quickly run up my bill.  The furnace will be installed next week, I’ll be sure to update you then.

Oh and to the lovely spammers that have found my site.  Quit wasting your time.  I am far more stubborn then you think, and I screen messages to my few readers.  Mass edit mode a is a beautiful thing.

I had my security system put in yesterday.  The main reason is simply peace of mind.  My neighbors all have security systems or at least signs for security systems.  Crooks generally take the path of least resistance, the house with no security system.  That left me more vulnerable then if none of my neighbors had one.  Since my neighborhood is still recovering from some of its dark days, it was really a no brainer.  It took the gentleman about 4 hours to install.  Fairly professional job.  Everything went well, except the purchase.  I goofed on that side.

My sister gave me a contact of someone to call and get the system installed.  I called and the sales rep came over within about 45 minutes.  I was actually pretty impressed with that part.  She sold me the system.  $400.  I really didn’t think twice about it.  I thought I had and ADT discount since I had looked about their prices online recently.  An hour after I signed the contract a gentleman walked by stating that they were offering free systems to new customers.  He was wearing an ADT t-shirt, had all the right paperwork, etc etc.  Thinking this was another ADT rep, I gave him my name and number to call back.

Turns out they were both security system brokerage firms.  The second company stated I had 72 hours to back out of my contract with the first company and still sign up with them.  Here’s the catch, they asked my not to tell the other firm why.  Well that perked my interest.  I guess one authorized dealer is not allowed to steal customers from another dealer.  Red flag number one.  The 2nd red flag came when they claimed to be giving me an $1800 system free.  I inquired what was in the system.  Same components that were in the system I already purchased.  Come to find out as well, they tack on hidden fees and I would only be saving around $200 if I went their route.  Red Flag number three.  Three strikes your out.

I decided to go with the first company.  Yes, it probably cost slightly more, but they were honest with me, had a good reputation of follow up customer service, and were very prompt.  They get my service hands down.  If track records with shady companies have told me anything, the 2nd company would have cost me far more in headaches and low customer service.  No thank you.

So lesson learned, security companies sell their products through brokers.  Shop around before you buy and evaluate their service.  Sad part on this one, it wasn’t till after this whole hiccup that I remembered someone telling me this months ago.  Dang CRS strikes again.  Some lessons just have to be learned the hard way I guess.  I won’t make this mistake again though.  Another note to others.  When you move, your security system can go with you.  They will move the system.  Just make sure you don’t advertise security system with your house.  That is unless it will help sell the house and it would be cheaper to buy a new system.  Food for thought.  Good luck.

Well between moving and lack of internet, I have failed to post any updated. To my one reader, I apologize. Without further delay here is a picture of the house.

So far I have gotten several items taken care of and added several more to my list. I replaced all the locks in the doors and drilled a new dead bolt, trimmed some shrubs, put window tinting on my exposed windows, and replaced the storm door shutting mechanism. The cooling of my house is quickly moving to the priority list. My house gets to about 86 degrees during the day. Thats a little to much for me. I’m looking at Xcel energy rebates on swamp coolers.

As far as replacing the deadbolt. You will need some tools for the job. Don’t substitute any tools here. You can really mess the door up and there is few chances to fix mistakes on this. First you will need a drill and two saw bits. One for drilling the hole for locking mechanisms and the other for drilling the hole for the actual deadbolt. Use the template provided and drill the holes in the door for the locking mechanism and install it. Before you drill the hole on for bolt to actually go into the door frame, mark the end. Use a magic marker, chalk, heck even makeup if its the only thing handy. Make the end of the bolt, close the door and engage the bolt several times. This should leave a mark on the door frame. Now you know where to drill. This will save you time and mistakes and the headache of trying to eyeball everything. Fairly simple. If you have an old door frame, it may be wise to pre-drill your holes. That wood can split very easily.

Other then that, Ive priced dishwashers, garbage disposals, swamp coolers and will be pricing windows very soon. I have a contact for my security system and have a few more other items to look at. Till next time.

It finally happened. I closed today around 11:00 am. I ended up showing up at the title office around 40 mins early. I didn’t plan on Denver traffic being so light. Who knew. My down payment was miscalculated and I ended up with $500 back. I can’t complain about that. Everything went smoothly and we finished in about 90 mins. I only had a few minor questions which our closing agent was ready to answer. No questions she hadn’t been asked before.

I got to talking with the seller. The first time I got a chance to meet him. He was very friendly and let me know about all the neighbors, planned neighborhood improvements and any other tidbits that could be useful. The gift of gab helped me once again. Turns out he’s an architect for a local real estate company and had some very useful knowledge to pass along. Another contact made. One example he mentioned, light rail will be coming to my area within 7 years. Thats huge. It could really appreciate my property. I certainly won’t be living there in 7 years, but I could still be renting it then.

First thing I did tonight was immediately go out and buy a new lock set for all three doors. I could have just had the original set rekeyed, but its very worn and falling apart. This way I have one key set for all three outside doors and I give an updated appearance to the front door. I plan on installing them after work tomorrow. I’ll fill in some tips and tricks tomorrow for installing lock sets. Most will be learned again tomorrow. I haven’t installed a lock set in 7 or 8 years.

On a side note: I ran into a auto body repair shop owner at dinner tonight. He owns a rental right in my area. He’s lived in the area for 20+ years. We had an excellent conversation. It still amazes me how much a simple conversation can teach me.

Closing moved again to the 23rd.  I’m not holding my breathe.  The seller extended this time.  He’ll be on vacation for the original date of 18th.  Really it doesn’t hurt me any and will actually save me some money. Till then.

I haven’t closed yet. Keep getting delays either from VA or the lender, but I have good news (and no I didn’t save a bunch of money on car insurance.), I actually have a credit score again. Woohoo. My shot in the dark worked. I applied for and got a credit card, and sure as shootin, when the first report was made to the CRA’s my FICO score came back. The other thing I did was apply for a small LOC with my hometown bank. Either method should work. Your bank may actually be easier to work with then some CC companies.

I’m talking to my mortgage broker in the morning. Since I haven’t closed yet, it just might lower my rate 0.5%. This would be a very good thing. Guess I’ll find out in the morning.

So…for anyone looking to recover their credit score because they don’t have a recent credit history, (My last debt was payed off in Nov 05) try applying for a credit card. Your score could very well come back after only 1 month. My consumer score actually went up 10 points as well.

Tip for others: If your applying for a loan, mortgage, or LOC, the only place to get your true FICO score is myFICO.com. This is not a plug for their website, but myfico is run by Fair Isaac Company. Unfortunately, they hold the bag. Do Not try and get your score through any other means including the credit reporting agencies. Yes, you may have a consumer credit report, but that is NOT your FICO score that is needed for lending purposes.

 I got an unusual request for more documentation from my lender a couple days back.  More documentation is not what is unusual, its what they wanted.  My college transcripts.  I faxed them off, but what the heck does that have to do with anything.  They already have a copy of my diploma, what should matter what classes I took.  Ah well.

The closing has been put off till next week.  The lender wrote an simple one line email yesterday stating “we received all the information”.  No time table on approval.  Rather frustrating.  So my closing will be delayed a 2nd time.  This time will probably cost me $500 dollars.  While some of the is recouped in interest, it is nothing I will see immediately.  I feel the loss of that $500 dollars though.  I was planned for and set aside, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Thats all for now.  Hopefully next Tuesday or Wednesday closing.

I was always told to never count my chickens before they hatch, but I can’t help it.  I sat down and went through the rough list of what I want to do with this property.  I was actually surprised by the number of items.  Its a good eye opener for the next property that will most likely require more work.  The outdoor items list is kind of bare at the moment, but I haven’t really wandered and day dreamed the yard yet.  Outside is where I really get inspired to tinker.   Here’s the list:

                                    To Do

                        Outside

1. Settled front step and back patio
2. Grade soil away from foundation
3. Fix uneven back yard
4. Cracks in foundation (get estimates)
5. Outside paint around windows
6. Remove 2 dead trees in back yard and tree stumps
7. (2)New fence posts
8. Brick in driveway
9. anti-frost faucets
10. Gutter drainage away from foundation

Inside

11. Change all exterior door locks**
12. Interior Painting **
13. Fix grounds in spare bedrooms
14. Anti-tip bracket for stove.
15. Tub resurfacing (cast iron)
16. Furnace cleaning
17. Open neutral in back spare bedroom
18. Cracked window in front spare bedroom
19. New doorbell cover
20. Alarm system
21. Loose cabinet around sink
22. Install master bedroom screen
23. New insulation in attic – remove junk in attic
24. Check sacrificial anode rod in water heat
25. New door cover for water heater
26. Closet door handles in master bedroom
27. Washer in mud room

Wish List

28. Front Deck
29. Back Deck
30. New Storage Shed
31. Garage
32. Sprinkler system
33. Double pane windows
34. Master Bathroom and walk in closet
35. Swamp Cooler
36. Garbage Disposal

**Before move-in

I finally received my confirmation number from the VA yesterday. I overnighted the information around the first week of May. My lender had confirmation via an automatic system they have with the VA, but they needed this as well. So be it. I also got my payment verification letter from Verizon, although it really just shows what my bill was for the last 12 months. Small update, but thats where I am. Hopefully if all goes right, I’ll be closing the Friday.