We had to cancel our contract last week with the house we were trying to buy. We had all agreed to get an engineering report, and the sellers supposedly ended up picking the engineer saying that our choice didn't seem fair. Well, no engineer came to the house - it was some guy who collected data, wrote the report and then had the engineer look over the report. He said he would put recommendations for repair, measurements, etc. in the report and that it would have an engineer's stamp.
We got the report and it was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. It had no data, it referenced repair recommendations and an elevation diagram that were not there and it had absolutely NO substance whatsoever. And, I find that a bit strange considering the house was slanted off the level by over 4 inches. Our realtor, Jeff, called their realtor (whom I'll refer to as RH from now on) about this. RH said he spoke to the engineer and that he didn't want to get sued and in the middle of anything so he basically didn't say anything. I"m not sure how putting repair recommendations in a report is a bad thing, but whatever. I think what is more likely is that RH asked the engineer to make a vague report that he would be able to give to future buyers and not scare off. We are thinking about filing a report with the BBB.
Jeff tried to call the engineer to no avail. So, as a last resort we wrote a letter to the sellers themselves and explained that we love the house, would actually still like to buy it if the repairs could get taken care of and outlined all the inconsistancies and problems we've had with RH. It was a good letter. They actually replied saything they live out of the country so sometimes communication is slow, but that they would address our concerns with RH. We replied and said that we would still have to cancel the contract because we cannot proceed further this way, but please let us know if and how they would like to move forward. So the ball is in their court and we are just waiting I guess.
In the meantime, RH wrote Paul and e-mail that was supposed to go to his client that was totally misspelled and claimed we had missed our deadline for canceling the contract without penalty. Paul wrote back (cc'd the sellers and Jeff) and attached the contract that very clearly showed that we did not miss the deadline. Then Jeff wrote to RH saying how difficult this has been to work with him. RH also called Jeff and as Jeff was voicing his complaints about this whole deal RH hung up on him. I think Jeff is also going to file an official complaint about RH. He has been totally unprofessional and ridiculous to work with. He kept mentioning to Jeff a backup offer that he had, and so when we sent the contract cancellation we were sure to attach the foundation report we had gotten that says this house has major problems and an engineer is needed. That will have to be disclosed to any future buyers. Hopefully if anyone else ends up buying the house they will see what a serious problem it is.
I guess there is a small chance that the sellers will want to work with us and see that their realtor really screwed some things up. But, I'm really disappointed - it's a great house that we were really going to be able to make our own, it has an amazing huge back yard and it's the perfect location. Otherwise, I suppose it just wasn't meant to be.
2.28.2009
2.11.2009
15 Memorable Moments from Teaching
I was thinking about some of my more memorable moments in teaching so I thought I'd write them down. I am continually amazed at what students share with me. Here goes in no particular order:
1. One day while I was student teaching I had to take a small group of students from my class out around campus for something like a scavenger hunt. Well, one of the students said something incredibly funny (unfortunately I can't remember what it was now) that got me totally laughing. He was a pretty funny kid in general and whatever it was completely set me off and I was laughing so hard I was crying. We got back to class and my mentor nearly had a heart attack - she thought the student, Jeremy, did something terrible to me and that I was actually crying. I have since never laughed so hard with/around my students. I'll never forget that kid - he kept me on my toes.
2. Pardon the language here, but a student once asked me if pre-ejaculate (although she used much more graphic slang) could cause pregnancy. I decided to take it as a teaching moment since it was a biology class and hopefully educate them. Maybe a pregnancy was prevented . . .
3. I once had to counsel a student on what to do after she came to me and told me she discovered her mother was having sex with her boyfriend and esentially paying him off in college tuition in exchange.
4. My first year of teaching I had a student come to me with a 'lady problem'. It ended up being that she, a 14 yr old freshman, had contracted herpes. And, she thought herpes caused AIDS. I was mortified at how uneducated students were when it came to sexual health/education.
5. I was once the first person a young lady (senior in HS) came to when she found out she was pregnant. She was terrified to talk to her mom, but I convinced her to do so and her Mom reacted better than expected.
6. I had several students who were refugees from Somalia and Burundi. They told a few stories of family members murdered right in front of them, as well as young people running around with AK-47s. They lived in refugee camps before coming here and several had lost most of their families, and I know they had many more stories and memories that they could probably not bear to share. All they wanted to do was learn. The girls did not even know which way to hold a magazine up, and by the end of a couple years they could read and write English fairly well. Knowing them changed me and my perspective on life. One of them lived through the situation depicted in 'Hotel Rwanda'.
7. At one school I used to have fights continually outside my classroom. One was between 2 boys who were punching each other in the face and blood was splattering all over the lockers. Others involved girls pulling out each other's hair. I'm not sure which was worse (boys or girls), but it was pretty crazy.
8. At the same school in #7 the students once got so riled up about something in the lunchroom that they banded together and started running around the school in a huge group yelling and screaming and knocking others down. They were unstoppable by teachers and it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. That school was out of control.
9. I once said a semi-curse word (shit) in Arabic around a student who spoke arabic. He got the most surprised look on his face and then ran out of the classroom and then came back a few minutes later. He absolutely couldn't believe I just said that!
10. I had a parent tell me (after I called home about failing grades) that her child was ADHD and didn't take meds, and as a result couldn't be held responsible for coming in for tutorials because he just couldn't remember and wouldn't be able to do any homework because he just couldn't remember to do it and there wasn't really much she could do about it. He failed.
11. There was a girl at one of my schools who got in serious trouble (police were involved) for sending around photos via cellphone of her 'lady parts'. Instead of addressing the problem her parents immediately withdrew her and took her to another school.
12. One of my greatest guilty pleasures is taking cell phones away from students. My 1st year was the best for this - the girls would always sob and sob and sob because I wouldn't give it back to them. It was interesting to see students in such a tizzy and tantrum over a cell phone.
13. I teach a hard class, no matter which class it is (Integrated Physics and Chemistry, Conceptual Physics, Earth Science). My students are always saying it's one of the hardest, and more currently they wish they could just switch in to one of the easier classes. I am proud that I teach a challenging class and more often that not the students also say that they actually learned something in my class. I don't believe in dumbing down science for students. I continually believe they will rise to my standards. It's generally very exhausting.
14. A fellow teacher once asked me if I was still teaching the algebra (for formulas in physics). That teacher didn't think I should teach it because the students wouldn't be able to get it. I continually teach students how to algebraically solve equations and they are certainly able to learn it. It pisses me off to no end when other teachers think that because our students are unmotivated and at-risk that they are also unintelligent. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
15. I have taught gang members, rich kids, minorities. I fell out of my chair once, I accidentally cursed in class once, I nearly passed out on a field trip to a gross anatomy lab, I have had to educate about STDs, sex & pregnancy, I've recieved about 5 gifts, I have had kids stoned out of their mind in class, I've deliberately passed a kid because I felt it was better for them and society in the long run if they passed instead of failed, I've been thanked by parents and I've recieved one love letter. It's all in a day's work!
1. One day while I was student teaching I had to take a small group of students from my class out around campus for something like a scavenger hunt. Well, one of the students said something incredibly funny (unfortunately I can't remember what it was now) that got me totally laughing. He was a pretty funny kid in general and whatever it was completely set me off and I was laughing so hard I was crying. We got back to class and my mentor nearly had a heart attack - she thought the student, Jeremy, did something terrible to me and that I was actually crying. I have since never laughed so hard with/around my students. I'll never forget that kid - he kept me on my toes.
2. Pardon the language here, but a student once asked me if pre-ejaculate (although she used much more graphic slang) could cause pregnancy. I decided to take it as a teaching moment since it was a biology class and hopefully educate them. Maybe a pregnancy was prevented . . .
3. I once had to counsel a student on what to do after she came to me and told me she discovered her mother was having sex with her boyfriend and esentially paying him off in college tuition in exchange.
4. My first year of teaching I had a student come to me with a 'lady problem'. It ended up being that she, a 14 yr old freshman, had contracted herpes. And, she thought herpes caused AIDS. I was mortified at how uneducated students were when it came to sexual health/education.
5. I was once the first person a young lady (senior in HS) came to when she found out she was pregnant. She was terrified to talk to her mom, but I convinced her to do so and her Mom reacted better than expected.
6. I had several students who were refugees from Somalia and Burundi. They told a few stories of family members murdered right in front of them, as well as young people running around with AK-47s. They lived in refugee camps before coming here and several had lost most of their families, and I know they had many more stories and memories that they could probably not bear to share. All they wanted to do was learn. The girls did not even know which way to hold a magazine up, and by the end of a couple years they could read and write English fairly well. Knowing them changed me and my perspective on life. One of them lived through the situation depicted in 'Hotel Rwanda'.
7. At one school I used to have fights continually outside my classroom. One was between 2 boys who were punching each other in the face and blood was splattering all over the lockers. Others involved girls pulling out each other's hair. I'm not sure which was worse (boys or girls), but it was pretty crazy.
8. At the same school in #7 the students once got so riled up about something in the lunchroom that they banded together and started running around the school in a huge group yelling and screaming and knocking others down. They were unstoppable by teachers and it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. That school was out of control.
9. I once said a semi-curse word (shit) in Arabic around a student who spoke arabic. He got the most surprised look on his face and then ran out of the classroom and then came back a few minutes later. He absolutely couldn't believe I just said that!
10. I had a parent tell me (after I called home about failing grades) that her child was ADHD and didn't take meds, and as a result couldn't be held responsible for coming in for tutorials because he just couldn't remember and wouldn't be able to do any homework because he just couldn't remember to do it and there wasn't really much she could do about it. He failed.
11. There was a girl at one of my schools who got in serious trouble (police were involved) for sending around photos via cellphone of her 'lady parts'. Instead of addressing the problem her parents immediately withdrew her and took her to another school.
12. One of my greatest guilty pleasures is taking cell phones away from students. My 1st year was the best for this - the girls would always sob and sob and sob because I wouldn't give it back to them. It was interesting to see students in such a tizzy and tantrum over a cell phone.
13. I teach a hard class, no matter which class it is (Integrated Physics and Chemistry, Conceptual Physics, Earth Science). My students are always saying it's one of the hardest, and more currently they wish they could just switch in to one of the easier classes. I am proud that I teach a challenging class and more often that not the students also say that they actually learned something in my class. I don't believe in dumbing down science for students. I continually believe they will rise to my standards. It's generally very exhausting.
14. A fellow teacher once asked me if I was still teaching the algebra (for formulas in physics). That teacher didn't think I should teach it because the students wouldn't be able to get it. I continually teach students how to algebraically solve equations and they are certainly able to learn it. It pisses me off to no end when other teachers think that because our students are unmotivated and at-risk that they are also unintelligent. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
15. I have taught gang members, rich kids, minorities. I fell out of my chair once, I accidentally cursed in class once, I nearly passed out on a field trip to a gross anatomy lab, I have had to educate about STDs, sex & pregnancy, I've recieved about 5 gifts, I have had kids stoned out of their mind in class, I've deliberately passed a kid because I felt it was better for them and society in the long run if they passed instead of failed, I've been thanked by parents and I've recieved one love letter. It's all in a day's work!
2.09.2009
One more step . . .
Saturday night we got word that the sellers have asked us to submit a couple engineers to them. They will pick a couple and then we will agree on one to come out and do the inspection. This is a step in the right direction for sure! Once they have a report that says the foundation is out of spec they will have to fix it. Our mortgage company said they wouldn't finance a loan for a house that is in need of such a major repair and insurance won't cover it unless it's repaired. So, most likely no one else could really get a loan for the house in this condition.
Theoretically they could decide to just not sell the house and rent it for awhile, but the problem will still exist in a few years from now. I guess all we can hope for is that they will be willing to do the repairs.
Our option period ends on Saturday, so it looks like we will have to extend it in order to get this all sorted out. The sellers are not exactly quick at getting back to their realtor when it comes to making decisions and I'm not entirely sure they are acknowledging the reality of the situation. Who knows. Time will tell.
Theoretically they could decide to just not sell the house and rent it for awhile, but the problem will still exist in a few years from now. I guess all we can hope for is that they will be willing to do the repairs.
Our option period ends on Saturday, so it looks like we will have to extend it in order to get this all sorted out. The sellers are not exactly quick at getting back to their realtor when it comes to making decisions and I'm not entirely sure they are acknowledging the reality of the situation. Who knows. Time will tell.
2.06.2009
!!
We are still waiting to hear from the sellers. It's been more than a day, and apparently they sellers are in their home in Costa Rica and have left power of attorney to some relatives here. So, their realtor is trying to get ahold of them (supposedly) and we are just waiting. Also, supposedly, the realtor has been in realtor classes (continuting ed.) all day and can't recieve phone calls. Who knows. Our realtor doesn't believe it.
I should take this minute to just say that we are convinced that we have the 'James Bond' of realtors!! He has been digging around and strategizing on what to do depending upon what their response is and gathering lots of important information that we never would have thought to find. He is doing some good research and giving good advice.
So, here we sit. Waiting. Waiting for these people to him-haw around during our option period. I hope they realize that they are totally screwed if they don't agree to work with us because no one is going to buy a house that has a major foundation problem looming over it. Hopefully I'll have something to report soon.
I should take this minute to just say that we are convinced that we have the 'James Bond' of realtors!! He has been digging around and strategizing on what to do depending upon what their response is and gathering lots of important information that we never would have thought to find. He is doing some good research and giving good advice.
So, here we sit. Waiting. Waiting for these people to him-haw around during our option period. I hope they realize that they are totally screwed if they don't agree to work with us because no one is going to buy a house that has a major foundation problem looming over it. Hopefully I'll have something to report soon.
2.05.2009
Spoke Too Soon?
We had the inspection of the house yesterday, and I believe that went well. We also had the foundation inspected per a suggestion from an architect. That did not go so well. The house is tilted to one corner by about 3-4 inches. This is not good for many reasons, but the main question is if the house is still moving or if it is done settling.
The house had the foundation repaired in 2005, andd the seller disclosed that report to us. That particular report said that the house was originally built on a slant and that adding some piers to one side should stabilize the house. But, after a little more digging we found another report from 2001 that showed significant settling due to lack of rain the previous year. The 2005 report looked as though the house moved back up, probably due to rehydration of the soils. Sellers are not required to disclose reports, inspections, etc. any farther back than 4 years, so that's probably why they didn't give us the 2001 report.
The foundation guy yesterday recommend that we hire a structural engineer to look at the house and try to determine if it's still moving and what the repair recommendation is. He seemed to think it would need a full outer and inner repair which can cost as much as $30,000. Yes THIRTY THOUSAND!!! So, our realtor, Jeff, was at a total loss of what to do as of yesterday. Paul is not sure he wants to spend the money to hire a structural engineer when he's going to most likely tell us what we already know - that the house needs major repair (who knows, he could also tell us it's fine). But, the other question is if it's stable enough to add a second story, but at this point that is secondary.
So, we will probably ask the sellers to agree to get a struc. engineer and then if they determine a repair is needed that they agree to pay for most of it, but that we will pay for some of it. We are hoping they will work with us - they will now have to disclose the foundation report to any further buyers, and most of them would probably see this problem as too big and ugly. And, if we end up not purchasing the house it will be the 3rd deal to fall through, which would make it look bad to future buyers. We are in a unique position because we don't care if they have to rip up all the floors, etc. since we plan to remodel.
I'm totally stressed. I"m grinding my teeth and can't concentrate at school. I love this house and the lot - it is so perfect for us in many ways. But, we are also not going to buy this house for the current price on the table if a $30K repair is looming over it. We'll have to make a decision on what to do today, but at least we got all that taken care of in Day 1 of the option period!! I guess if it's meant to be it will work out some how.
The house had the foundation repaired in 2005, andd the seller disclosed that report to us. That particular report said that the house was originally built on a slant and that adding some piers to one side should stabilize the house. But, after a little more digging we found another report from 2001 that showed significant settling due to lack of rain the previous year. The 2005 report looked as though the house moved back up, probably due to rehydration of the soils. Sellers are not required to disclose reports, inspections, etc. any farther back than 4 years, so that's probably why they didn't give us the 2001 report.
The foundation guy yesterday recommend that we hire a structural engineer to look at the house and try to determine if it's still moving and what the repair recommendation is. He seemed to think it would need a full outer and inner repair which can cost as much as $30,000. Yes THIRTY THOUSAND!!! So, our realtor, Jeff, was at a total loss of what to do as of yesterday. Paul is not sure he wants to spend the money to hire a structural engineer when he's going to most likely tell us what we already know - that the house needs major repair (who knows, he could also tell us it's fine). But, the other question is if it's stable enough to add a second story, but at this point that is secondary.
So, we will probably ask the sellers to agree to get a struc. engineer and then if they determine a repair is needed that they agree to pay for most of it, but that we will pay for some of it. We are hoping they will work with us - they will now have to disclose the foundation report to any further buyers, and most of them would probably see this problem as too big and ugly. And, if we end up not purchasing the house it will be the 3rd deal to fall through, which would make it look bad to future buyers. We are in a unique position because we don't care if they have to rip up all the floors, etc. since we plan to remodel.
I'm totally stressed. I"m grinding my teeth and can't concentrate at school. I love this house and the lot - it is so perfect for us in many ways. But, we are also not going to buy this house for the current price on the table if a $30K repair is looming over it. We'll have to make a decision on what to do today, but at least we got all that taken care of in Day 1 of the option period!! I guess if it's meant to be it will work out some how.
2.02.2009
New house picture
Here is the back of the house - the yard goes out significantly behind where I am standing and has tons of huge trees. The lot is basically 2 full lots deep and the neighbors also were able to buy the property behind their lots and no one has fences, so it's essentially a huge woody greenspace. I'm not really sure why the fence is there - it marks about half of the total property. I didn't take any pics of the huge yard because it was online but now I'm unable to grab those pictures, so I'll have to take some more and post them. But, this one give you a little idea.
The other picture is the front - not terribly beautiful and I really don't like the landscaping, but all of that will change significantly since we are going to most likely add a 2nd story and do a major remodel. But, who cares when the back yard is so awesome!! Oh, and I will MOST CERTAINLY be getting rid of the teal green door and trim. Yuck!!
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