Pulling the trigger

[metulj]

http://coldwellbanker.com/imgs/property2002/349/9439157_100.jpg

This is the coolest house ever and we just signed a contract on it. Man, are we going to have fun with this. Total classic. Built in 1908. Prepare to see lots of annoying photos of various stages of demo and remodel, IF the deal goes through.

[Carl Snow]

man o man that are one suh-weet lookin' house Toby! damn! (he shoots - he scores!)

[James]

Now that's what I'm talking about!

[rikki]

That's cute. Where is it?

[gypsy]

yeah, congratulations! what's the 411?

[edens]

Man, are we going to have fun with this.

Famous last words (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001WTWVU/qid=1147032610/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5280113-3527105?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130)

[Smootz]

Famous last words (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001WTWVU/qid=1147032610/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5280113-3527105?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130)

Oh, it's a double feature (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007GZQZ/qid=1147036424/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-7111658-4199943?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130)!

Congratulations

[metulj]

yeah, congratulations! what's the 411?

Location: Lincoln Park (!) in Jersey City. 30 minutes to midtown on the PATH.

We looked at it twice. There was a contract on it from a commercial real estate guy. The family was selling after their mother's death and they were afraid the guy was going to do a shitty restore and flip it. This is a common thing here, especially Brooklyn. We considered buying this sort of place in Ditmas Park Brooklyn, but, to be honest, a junked-out old crack house there runs $750000 and there is a bidding war going on. We paid a lot less than that for a place that can be lived in and renovated at the same time. More on that in a second.

Anyhow, the son was on the premises the second showing and started talking with me and hanging with the girls. Went through the history of the house and we started talking about the leading in the glass, the inlaid floors and all kinds of stuff. Nice guy. We thought about it and called the mortgage company to see what could be done. Financing came through and we made an offer. They accepted and cancelled the first contract (still in attorney review because the first bidder was trying to play games with the inspection). He told us that he wanted a family to live there like his had for 40 years. Sniff.

It is going to be a lot of work but we can live in it while we do the work. The downstairs was split about 60 years ago into a doctor's office and an entrance foyer to the main staircase. Removing the divider is a matter of pulling out 2 very flimsy walls. The kitchen was moved to the second floor where the living area was with 4 bedrooms on the 3rd floor. So we can live up there while we do the first floor. We are going to put in a killer kitchen with dining room and parlor returned to pre-WWII state. Then we'll move up to the second floor and restore it which will be a guestroom and our master suite.

In the end, it will be 6 beds and 3 1/2 baths. A lot of room for friends to stay and room for kids to visit.

Then we are going to put in a mother-in-law apt in the basement and my mom is going to move up, thereby eliminating an big anxiety in my life. It's not a big deal for her as she grew up in Perth Amboy and Freehold, NJ. New Jersey. Only the Strong Survive.

Now this is all contingent on nobody beating our offer, but the contract is now a "no-show" deal which is better and it goes out of review on Friday. We'll see. It's going to be a show stopper.

PS. Not that we are going to "flip" it (when you walk into it, it feels like the place you will live til the end), but the Jersey City housing market went up 36% in the first quarter. Now, that may be realtor talk, but I will be damn happy to get anything close to 10% a year on this puppy.

[me]

Congrats, Metulj! Sounds like a great place with good bones. Good thing you are a young man who is willing and able to put in all the hard work. Sounds like it will be well worth your investment of time and effort and money. Good luck on getting a closing date set in concrete...

[gypsy]

that all sounds very cool. i look forward to the housewarming.

[Smootz]

Knock on wood & may your deal go down.

[metulj]

Good luck on getting a closing date set in concrete...

June 15th. The important thing is that the house was in title with only 2 families over its life. Closing costs were remarkably cheap too.

[Tess]

fingers crossed for you all ....

[Georgia]

Fantastic news! I hope everything goes through and there aren't any hitches-

Looking forward to hearing the updates of the renovations.

[metulj]

UPDATE: So, here come the lawyers.

It seems that the other bidder's lawyers are claiming that the house was out of attorney review and that the seller must take their offer. We still want this place and no other, so we are letting the seller handle it as we outbid the other guy substantially. He does not want to sell to what seems to be a real sleazeball guy anyhow. The house is an 'as-is other that structural' sale which means that if he objects to any condition other than structural ones as defined by Jersey State law, the deal is off on his end. He has already informally objected to a bad soffet (not considered structural) and the division of the downstairs into an office (wants the owner to remediate that and it is not structural either). We'll see. Joules is disappointed, but I think it is going to work out. The seller is not happy with the other bidder at all.

[metulj]

Hooboy. We got it. The original bidder got scared when the house inspector told him it would be ten years before he could flip it. S'ours, baby. Yes. I know the soffet is falling out. I get to buy tools....

Presenting our snobbily named:

Giammetti-Naval House

http://metulj.org/front.jpg

[metulj]

http://metulj.org/window.jpg

[Georgia]

Amazing stained glass...congrats on your new home!!!

[metulj]

Taking orders from Father-In-Law. Made sure to crack many wiretapping jokes. Best line of the day: "Wow, John. That's a bigger number than Bush's approval rating." He bought lunch because I told him that Bush would be below thirty points by Memorial Day.


http://metulj.org/paterfamilias.jpg

[metulj]

http://metulj.org/rearline.jpg

[ipa]

Congrats, metulj! Is it just me, or is that a really big house? And more importantly, you will be able to bike from there, right?

[metulj]

Congrats, metulj! Is it just me, or is that a really big house? And more importantly, you will be able to bike from there, right?

Work is 9 miles, dead flat across the Meadowlands.

~4000 sq ft on the house.

[rikki]

Congratulations!

It looks like the pop-in-law is pointing a TV remote at you, trying to change the channel.

[ipa]

Work is 9 miles, dead flat across the Meadowlands.


Sorry about that- the flat part. I'll be thinking about you as I'm cresting the Colle della Neubert Springs, on my way to dropping whatever 4-wheelers are cramping my space.


It looks like the pop-in-law is pointing a TV remote at you, trying to change the channel.

heh. ouch.

[binR Bishop]

Hey, congrats! It looks great. Can we all come visit?

[metulj]

Hey, congrats! It looks great. Can we all come visit?

Yep. We got lots of room. Running water too.

[gypsy]

sweet!

now to start boning up on my jersey jokes...

[ipa]

Running water too.

Nice sales pitch spin to East Tennesseans.

[metulj]

sweet!

now to start boning up on my jersey jokes...

I've heard them all. My mom grew up in Freehold. Went to high school with Springsteen. She has a yearbook with him in it. Nerdly. Very nerdly. Anyway, the high school had 4000 students so my mom wasn't exactly hangin' with the Boss.

Exit 14A.

[edens]

I know the soffet is falling out.

I'd say the problem lies in the porch's built-in gutters.

Overall it appears to be in excellent shape. And I must say, nothing dresses up a Palladian window quite like an air conditioner.

[metulj]

I'd say the problem lies in the porch's built-in gutters.

Overall it appears to be in excellent shape. And I must say, nothing dresses up a Palladian window quite like an air conditioner.

Or lack thereof.

Central air is #10 on the list of things to do.

[Georgia]

Or lack thereof.

Central air is #10 on the list of things to do.


Have you started looking into venting options? There are some great mini ducts and ductless (you still see the system on the wall, unfortunately- but, you don't have to go through plaster to put the ducts in)

You're going to get really comfortable visiting renovation sites... there's nothing better than working on an old house. I've enjoyed every floor I helped hand sand, every tile I've regrouted, every plaster wall I've repaired, every kitchen I've helped update...it's a lot of work but the satisfaction you're going to get is amazing.

[edens]

Or lack thereof.

You sure? From that pic of your pa-in-law, that junction in the downspouts a few feet above his head seems to suggest some sort of drainage system on the porch roof (although calling it a "gutter" might be putting it too generously). Can't really see the top, but let me guess: either a rubber membrane or composition roof, with a shallow channel around the lip that, in theory, slopes to that corner, but in reality allows water to pool in a few places and seep through?

[metulj]

Can't really see the top, but let me guess: either a rubber membrane or composition roof, with a shallow channel around the lip that, in theory, slopes to that corner, but in reality allows water to pool in a few places and seep through?

It is as you describe it (rubber). The channel has separated in places and lets water in. I understand that there is a pretty straight forward way to remediate this problem, but it may be beyond my skills.

[metulj]

http://metulj.org/front.jpg

It's ours. 11th hour drama involving closing costs, but it all worked out.

The people we bought the house from gave us a traditional Filipino house warming gift of bread, rice, and sugar. Even the tough one shed a tear.

Demo starts on Saturday. We are fighting over countertops already. I want concrete. She wants copper. Something tells me that I am getting copper.

[TallGirl]

Sweet! If I can annoy everyone with photos of TallBaby, you shouldn't worry about your house....I'd love to find an old farm house to re-do.

[metulj]

Update:

After sleeping in the guest room for 2 weeks, the girls are in their bed room.

I had to tearout 40 year old carpet which was on top of 50 year old linoleum, then get the floors smooth. Want a workout? Run a floor sander. We painted the floors as they are a basket case and we will have to buy a new floor for the third storey as soon as we can afford it. Seems half assed, but at least it is clean right now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95687848@N00/sets/72157594227094849/

Next up is the AuPair's room and the playroom. I am building a window seat in the Aupair's room to match the one between the builtins in the girls' room. The playroom is going to be a chore as there is some old water damage to the wallboard that has to be replaced but I think it will go OK.

[Georgia]

The girl's room really, really looks great. It looks like a proper room for all kinds of late night whispers and tea parties.

(By the way, I love the mural...is it your work or the girls? Tell me you kept at least some of it somewhere.)

[metulj]

(By the way, I love the mural...is it your work or the girls? Tell me you kept at least some of it somewhere.)

No. It was drawn directly on to the wallboard. The only artifact is the photos I took. It was a sacrifice, but with two little girls you can't give wall drawing inspirations....