Skwerl's new cabin

skwerl

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Skwerl's quest for a new cabin

I'm probably still premature posting this since I don't even have a contract yet but I expect everything to go down in the next two weeks and I have to share this before I burst. Been looking forward to this move for many years and everything came together in the last 2 months straight out of the blue. The biggest part was an individual (unnamed) who stepped up and volunteered to back me financially since my lack of documented income prevents me from acquiring a traditional mortgage under today's strict guidelines.

For years my dream home has been a small house on a big lot with some privacy and room for my equipment, but close enough to town so I'm not driving an hour each day back and forth to work. I currently live in an 1100 square foot house and don't use half of it, my needs are simple but I want a big shop/barn for my truck and gear. Most seem to think a bigger house is always better but my eyes glaze over when people begin going on and on about all their fancy marble trim and exotic cabinets or their huge pool (a hole in the ground filled with dollar bills). A couple months ago I started looking after being irritated by the neighbor's party with Mariachi music shaking my windows until midnight. I've been in this house 17 years and it's time to go.

Shortly after starting my search I found a small house on a 1 acre lot about 5 miles out from my current house. It looked ok but needed a lot of work (tarp on the roof, missing AC, gutted interior) and the asking price seemed high. But my biggest shock was when I walked inside (the sliding glass door had no jamb or latch) and saw this picture in the living room.

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You see, I have the identical picture in my living room. I've done tree work for the photographer and bought this 72" print about 10 years ago.

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The picture told me I was home. I had no idea how it was going to happen but I began contacting my resources. I asked a Realtor client of mine to look at the values of the house along with my house but he never followed through. I asked my house mover client since he's moved hundreds of houses this size and knows everything about everything concerning construction costs and making stuff work, he said it would be better to tear it down and move another house onto the property. I asked my bank about money and they said in spite of my 814 FICO I didn't show enough income and to come back with two years of tax returns showing more income.

At this point I was feeling like it wasn't going to happen and I was stuck. I asked another friend who has dabbled in buying and flipping houses for the last 10 years and he reluctantly agreed to help me submit an offer but he told me to keep looking. A few days later I mentioned it to another friend and out of the blue he said "I'll loan you the money." You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Anyway, my buddy Paul submitted 3 bids. A lowball cash price, a second price with a decent size down payment and the owner carrying $50K of the financing at the rate of $1000 per month for 50 months, and a third bid close to asking price with a very small down payment and the owner carrying $100K at $1000 per month for 100 months. The seller came back a week later with a counter offer which I thought was still too high. He was interested in the second bid but needed more down payment. We adjusted the numbers slightly (without increasing the total offer) and 2 days later he accepted. But he already had another buyer under contract and they had until Dec. 31 to close. Fortunately for me they were looking for conventional financing and there isn't a bank in the country that would finance that home without some repairs done first.

Needless to say it's been a very long month for me. Then just before Christmas my real estate buddy Paul tells me he's flying to India after Christmas and won't return until the 7th. Since the seller has been dealing with Paul, that left me hanging until he gets back. In the mean time I've been spending a bunch of money on stuff for a house I don't own yet.

The house:

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Taxman

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Glad to hear this is gonna happen. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it brother.
 

skwerl

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The ramp out front will be removed and a full porch will be built on the front and right sides. The left side (where the AC goes) will be closed in for a small utility/storage room. The washer and dryer hookups are next to the hot water heater on the back porch so I will enclose a small laundry room as well. Both sliding glass doors on the right side will be removed and replaced with the two regular windows that the seller conveniently left for me. Roof will be replaced, insulation, AC, kitchen cabinets, bathroom, drywall repairs inside, new floor covering and paint. That's most of my rough starting list but I'm sure we will find more.

Another friend of mine who works for a big distributor got me a killer price on roofing materials. Shingles for $55 per square (25 square) and the peel-and-stick underlayment for only $38 per roll. With the peel and stick it will turn the whole roof into one huge single sheet and won't ever leak again. I have some decking to replace but the peel and stick will cover up lots of minor imperfections.

I picked up 800 feet of cheap wood laminate flooring from Home Depot on sale and plan on doing everything except the bathroom with it. I'll remove all the baseboards and replace them with cedar 1x4 boards after running a router down the top edge. I've also been buying tools such as a compound miter saw, a roofing nailer, a framing nailer and a trim nailer.

Last week I found an ad for a company that sells pole barn kits. I have room for a 30'x50' which would hold my bucket truck, my shop and a separate garage area for my car. A pole barn can be put up with only one cheap permit and legally enclosed on two sides. Once it's up I can come back later and finish closing it in before pouring a concrete floor. I won't need to worry about footers since the building won't be on the concrete. I can erect the poles and trusses easily enough with my bucket truck so I expect I'll have my shop by the end of the year.
 

skwerl

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Thanks! I know it looks like a run down POS that most of you would barely tolerate for a hunting cabin, but honestly it's all I want or need. I've lived in my current house on a 75'x100' lot four blocks from the railroad tracks in a crappy subdivision since 1997. Before that I lived 7 years in a duplex next to the railroad tracks. Over the last 24 years many railroad tracks have been eliminated and consolidated, now half the rail traffic through central Florida goes past my house every night. A year ago Orlando started the Sun Rail commuter trains running every 30 minutes. I'm sick of trains, I'm sick of neighbors, I'm sick of not having any space, and I'm sick of all the crappy renters taking over my neighborhood. I don't want a big house, I want a big shop. Away from bitchy neighbors.

The new place has one neighbor on the left, a dry lake bed on the right, 7 acres of woods behind (been for sale for 30 years asking $2,000,000), three neighbors across the street that all have gated driveways and the houses are not visible from the street. On the next block is a horse farm, a $750K mansion and a couple $300K-500K houses. Further down the road are three subdivisions, two of which are gated. One has McMansions selling for $250K each. I'm over a mile from the nearest convenience store and almost 2 miles off the nearest bus route. All this means no human trash walking around and the privacy to do whatever the fuck I want (which isn't much). And my property value can do nothing but go up. You see, I'm the guy with the neighborhood eyesore. And the best part is it will be completely paid off in 5 years.
 

psfracer

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Looks like there needs to be some tree trimming done. Know anybody? :chairfall:

1 acre is plenty of space. How many square feet is the house? That is cool about the picture. Is that a sign or what?!

Oh I talked to the owner of the 7 acres behind that house......they are putting in a train station there next year.
 

skwerl

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The house is only 800'. Two bedrooms, one bath, a living room and a kitchen. The rooms are big, though. Master is 12'x12', second bedroom is 9x13, kitchen is 12x13 and living room is 13x16. The porch on all four sides is huge, though. Roof overhang is 9.5' on all four sides.

The house is a Lowe's kit house built in 1986, similar to the Sears Roebuck houses from 100 years ago. The seller has lived there since 1986 and this house, the 1 acre lot next door and the 7 acres of woods were all part of the same family trust.

I'll have to do some searching to find a tree guy. Those chainsaws are dangerous! :omfg:
 

terry5357

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YOu know man, its awsome that you have a friend that will back you like that. With that being said (and I'm sure I don't have to tell you this) that can put a HUGE strain on a friendship. I hope you know what blessing a friend that would do something like that for you is. Again, congrats!
 

Kenaizer

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Congratulations! I rented an 800 square foot house once with a girl I dated. Unless we had people visiting, I usually forgot the 2nd room was there.
 

skwerl

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Thanks again, guys. I can't wait to get started on it. Today I bought 20 new rolls of wall insulation off Craigslist for about 60% of retail. I'll use it where we enclose the sliding glass doors as well as the laundry room, any leftover can be saved for my shop.

Another huge advantage I have with this purchase is that I'm not in a great big hurry to get out of my current house. Work is normally slow this time of year so I have lots of time to work on it and get moved. Thanks to the loan terms, I have a few months before I need the equity dollars from my old house so I have time to clean it up and get top dollar. Houses sell better in the spring anyway.
 

stkjock

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love the outdoor hot water heater.. :p

best of luck Brian
 

skwerl

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I gotta quit looking at Craigslist. Today I picked up a half dozen sheets of 1/2" plywood cheap and this evening I snagged a nice old Craftsman radial arm saw and stand for $40! I've never used one but it looks handy as all get out. Hopefully I don't cut my hand off with it.
 

irishpwr46

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Best of luck with it man. it looks like a great project
 

mpm_1

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good deal Skwerl - looks like a lot of potential and a ton of fun to come in making it yours
 

retfr8flyr

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I gotta quit looking at Craigslist. Today I picked up a half dozen sheets of 1/2" plywood cheap and this evening I snagged a nice old Craftsman radial arm saw and stand for $40! I've never used one but it looks handy as all get out. Hopefully I don't cut my hand off with it.

Congrats on the new house!! Be careful with that RAS, they can be very dangerous to use. It's hard to keep the blade aligned, for accurate cuts and kickback is a big problem with them. Do a little looking on youtube about safety procedures for using one.
 

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