The "Looking to become a homeowner" Thread

[Crazed_Insanity]

My parents’ house was built in 1928 and my old CA home was built in the 50s. Never had any plumbing leaking issues. Could be because older construction materials were more solid? Or perhaps SoCal had pretty mild climates, no extreme temperatures?

Anyway, now in WA, our neighbor had burst pipe to the washer, which ruined their living room floor. A friend had burst pipe in kitchen which ruin her kitchen floor. Another friend had a burst pipe from an upstairs toilet which ruined multiple floors! All those incidents happened while they were on vacation or out at work…

Our current home was built in 1999. Not really sure what kind of pipe we have, hopefully it wasn’t cheaply built…

We’re thinking of hiring a plumber to install an WiFi controlled water shutoff valve. Supposedly it can automatically shut water off whether if it’s a burst pipe or slow leak.

Of course moving would be the easiest fix, but maybe you can DIY a shutoff valve like that for peace of mind?

[speedpimp]

Billy, there are multiple shutoff valves(hot water heater, one for each line to the washer, one at the toilet, one under the bathroom sink, one for the outside water and one under the kitchen sink). So that is covered.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I meant a main valve that can sense leaks and automatically shut itself off. I’m still doing some research whether to do this or not, considering what has happened to my neighbor and friends, I thought it could be a worthwhile investment?

Something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/MOEN-Flo...-001/309096191

I wish it has better ratings. That’d make my decisions much easier…

[Cam]

Our apartment rent is going up by 14% this year.

Thankfully, we are making pretty good coin renting our home in SC, but it is still something we need to think about. Our renters extended their stay by a couple of months, but they are still moving out by the end of the year. Our pest control service has gone flaky, so we need to find a new one. Kind of annoying to have to do stuff like that remotely. I would like to sell and be done with it, but I think my wife got dollar signs in her eyes when she realized the income potential of renting our house.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Hire property management to take care of it for you.

Having a house, especially with low rate mortgage, is a great hedge against inflation though.

I tried selling my home back in LA, but couldn’t get a high enough price, so I’ll just keep it for now. Currently rent can easily cover its payments.

[Cam]

Our real estate agent asked if they could show the house. The wife initially said no, but I convinced her to be on Team Sell. Funny thing is, we did not even talk to the agent about selling. They just had a client who was interested. We didn't even put a price out there. Although, I am willing to entertain any offer at this point.

[Cam]

We are officially relisting our house.