Monthly Archives: December 2013

home improvement

We just got back from a short vacation, and I discovered yay! our bathroom floor is bowing rather severely.  Anybody know who I should go to in order to get it fixed?  I really don’t even know where to start.  I presume there is a leak somewhere, so I think we need to deal with this ASAP.

college costs

I keep hearing about how college prices are going up, up, up, but then I also keep hearing about how colleges are building new and fancier dorms and gyms and whatnot.   Consider this article:

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022511257_residencehallsxml.html

UW has just knocked down an old building in which dorm rooms cost $5000 or so per academic year for a new one in which dorm rooms will cost $8500 per academic year and will feature amenities like private bathrooms.  That’s about $1000 / month!  That’s completely nuts.  I paid only $550 per month at Stanford, and for the record, no private bathroom.  Somehow, as a 24-year-old adult, I was able to deal with sharing a bathroom.  And yet, there are hundreds of people on the waiting list for the new dorm.  Are these fancy new dorms being paid for with student loans?  If so, that is just wrong, very wrong.  Or, is there a two tier system with the wealthiest students living in the fancy new dorms and the financial aid students living elsewhere?  That is wrong, too.

negativo

Well, we did not get the house.  It went for more than 35 over asking.  We stopped at 15 over asking, so we were obviously not in the running.  The winning bidder also had no contingencies, meaning not subject to inspection or financing.  (I believe they pre-inspected.)  I guess if you know what you want!  B and I really liked the house itself, but we had some mild concerns that made us not want to go bonkers.  Hopefully we will have better luck next time.  It’s funny that this is the first house after looking at houses for months that it was obvious to me we should place an offer on, and apparently at least 6 other people felt the same way.

housing search

We made an offer on the house I posted yesterday.  We offered 12 over, the same as I offered on my current house.  (I was the second highest bidder of 5 on this house.)  We are working with the selling agent, who agreed to give us 1% cash back at closing.  The downside is that I don’t really feel I can trust them.  The upside is that they obviously are motivated to see us the house since they’ll profit off that deal.  They informed us today there is another buyer who has a “similar offer” and offered “about” 8K more than us.  B and I have been discussing whether we want to raise our offer.  I am somewhat disinclined to do so.  The house is well-priced and would still be well-priced even at 20K over, but I have some reservations about it, and I become less enthused in general as the price approaches 600K.  We feel very rushed, having only seen the house for the first time Sunday, not being super-familiar with new.castle (though we loved what we’ve seen driving through the neighborhood, and what little shopping I’ve done in the area has impressed me.)  B is out of town today and tomorrow and under a lot of pressure on his business trip.  I had to lead a significant review at work today, so I’ve been pretty stressed out as well.  Trying to do a 4-day turn on a house is just not easy under ideal circumstances and these circumstances are not idea.

So, we will probably not raise our offer, and we probably won’t get the house.  *sigh*  I have become a little bit emotionally attached to it.

 

I would love to have that bathroom!  I barely have room for my dental and contact supplies in mine with a modest shower and no tub.  But it would be a lot to clean.  I suspect there are hidden costs with big houses.