Scammed Myself
Homeownership. (And I mostly scammed myself…)
We bought our home six years ago, and I was all emotionally caught up in getting out of apartment living and getting into a house.
Sweet merciful Jesus, the guy we bought our home from saw that from a mile away. I was such an dummy, and he knew he was sitting on a lemon.
Here’s a brief rundown of our nightmare:
Inside the First 30 Days
Major roof leaks discovered. Required extensive interior repair of water damage. New roof also required.
Basement renovation was concurrent with #1. New carpet. New bathroom.
Major electrical overhaul was required for #2, as previous owners had done nightmarish, awful DIY electrical work.
All major appliances failed. Replacement was effectively cheaper than repair. (Washer, dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher)
Every toilet required repair due to poor DIY work from previous owner (he used fishing line to connect the handle to the flap).
Most sinks leaked and required repair of the drains.
Rodent problem discovered. (Explains the cat they openly hated).
Gas leak discovered near furnace.
Hot water heater issues (what lead to discovering #8). Was able to repair.
Gas fireplace not sealed properly. Produced carbon monoxide.
Dangerous dryer vent clog. House almost burned down. Only discovered due to a mysterious “leak” in an adjoining room. (Water vapor from dryer not escaping).
Inside the First Six Months
AC units near failure. Only able to maintain interior temperature of ~85 F. It was a hot summer.
Garage door hole (near seal at bottom) invited rodents. The rodents invited snakes.
Tree planed in front yard was an illegal, invasive species.
Mailbox broke.
Garage contained curious electrical issues. Determined to be more dangerous DIY work. This included a naked, live wire sticking out of the wall. (It had been covered by a shelf).
Poor drainage on exterior of home.
Clogged gutters.
Ant infestation.
Driveway had not been maintained. Required expensive repairs.
Front walk had not been maintained. Required expensive repairs.
Back deck had not been maintained. Required expensive repairs.
Poorly done windows. Still dealing with this.
Inside the First Two Years
Complete overhaul of HVAC system. No vacation that year…or the year after that.
Wall oven failed.
Built-in gas cooktop failed.
Garbage disposal failed.
Garage door openers failed.
Garage door replacement (no more snakes!)
More poor DIY electrical work uncovered. (Still finding some of these). Pro-tip: Don’t put lamp wire in your walls. It’s really dangerous. Call a professional, for God’s sake.
Replacement of multiple faucets that were failing/near failure.
There is a very, very long list of things I’m forgetting. All this stuff above, plus other issues, also triggered a major depressive episode for me, from which I am only recently recovered. I joke that I had house PTSD.
The next house we buy is going to be stress-tested to the extreme. Oh, and forget home inspectors. Bring a friend along, like me, who’s got the thousand-yard homeowner stare.
We use the previous owner’s name as a curse word around our house.
Story credit: Reddit / [deleted]