Day 111

We went to the inspection today. It was quite instructive. We learned quite a bit about the type of septic system they have. There's some care and feeding involved, like switching drain fields every three months and not using bleach in the washing machine. It's a pump based system, so we can expect to have to replace the pump every few years. The good news is that the system was just rebuilt to the tune of $4,500.

We also learned about some things that happen in Texas, but not in Oregon. One of the strangest is the need to water the foundation in the summer time. It seems that the clay soil around here expands when it soaks up moisture in the winter. If you don't water it in the summer it dries out and shrinks away from the foundation.

We met the wife half of the sellers and had quite a nice talk with her. She told us quite a bit about the property. She offered to take us around the property and point out things we should know like the operation of the swimming pool. She also offered to leave us a list of "good people to work with" in the area. That's really valuable when you're moving into an area where you have no acquaintances.

The house needs about the amount of work that we expected. A new roof, shower, and counter tops are the remodeling things. The new roof needs to have "ridge vents" and ideally a radiant barrier coating. It would be nice to add a wood stove for times when the power goes out. The swimming pool needs a new pump. We might just have it removed. One thing I was disappointed about was that the house has single pane windows.

All in all the inspector gave the house a clean bill of health. The next step is to finalize on the lender and schedule the appraisal. Hopefully that can be done tomorrow. In the mean time the dog is just going to have to wait until it stops raining.