you ever think about just getting out of it?

[seecrabrun]

Actually, from what I was told by the USDA, my house was never inspected. So they sent someone out but I don't know where they find him because he said everything was fine... Then the wall outlet caught fire one day and it turned out my whole house is wired with the wrong rated wire for the electricity that runs...

I don't know much about that kind of stuff but the electrician tried to explain it and explained it was why I was constantly flipping the breaker when I used normal household appliances.

I have grown to really hate my house, but there's nothing I can really do. I'm trapped in a lot of ways and even though I bought my house "on the cheap" during the housing crisis, it's worth MUCH less than I still owe on it.

 

[beth]

You're telling me, but no luck with the lawyer I consulted with. I was told we'd have to petition every home owner in the neighborhood and then the city could take it over, problem is a lot of the house are under foreclosure and are being held by random companies and banks.

It sucks bad.

Petitioning every neighbor would not be so bad, would it? Its their neighborhood and therefore their problem which will effect the value of their property whether they are directly impacted or not.

 

[Kristin1234]

Its kind of funny that this thread did get revived. I've decided to get out of it. For now anyway. I'm donating all my critters, rock and sand to my LFS. Selling the tank and stand. I'm keeping all the equipment and my 36g and putting it in storage. The wife and I are getting divorced and in 8 months I plan on moving to Hawaii. So you probably won't hear from me much for about a year. But, I will be back in the hobby. Hawaii is going to be an awesome place to be in this hobby.

Wow! Good luck with everything!

 

[seecrabrun]

Petitioning every neighbor would not be so bad, would it? Its their neighborhood and therefore their problem which will effect the value of their property whether they are directly impacted or not.

Nope it's not and we've talked with a lot of them, but we've been unable to find one and 2 are owned by completely different companies that have something to do with them being foreclosures?

Then there is the company who now owns the empty lots for sale as well. They've never returned our calls.

I've not given up, it's just a stupidly slow process. If I had the money to say "here, Mr lawyer, your job is to fix this problem" then it would get done in a timely manner, but trying to do it all on my own while also dealing with everything else in my life makes it feel like it'll never get fixed.

 

[seecrabrun]

Multiple houses in the neighborhood have just been completely abandoned. My neighbors across the street to the side just moved out this month. Looks like they may be walking away as well.

The subdivision hasn't even made it to the end of its first decade and I'd say about 30% of the houses have been abandoned/foreclosed.

Even mine was originally a foreclosure after only the first year. I'm now the 3rd owner.

I've considered walking away myself, but as a single mom and with the type of loan I ended up with, I don't think it's the right move.

 

[flower]

Actually, from what I was told by the USDA, my house was never inspected. So they sent someone out but I don't know where they find him because he said everything was fine... Then the wall outlet caught fire one day and it turned out my whole house is wired with the wrong rated wire for the electricity that runs...

I don't know much about that kind of stuff but the electrician tried to explain it and explained it was why I was constantly flipping the breaker when I used normal household appliances.

I have grown to really hate my house, but there's nothing I can really do. I'm trapped in a lot of ways and even though I bought my house "on the cheap" during the housing crisis, it's worth MUCH less than I still owe on it.

You can have your house rewired, take out a loan to cover the cost...it isn't that much (it all depends on the size of the job), have your electrician give you a figure, use the house as collateral... That would be the cheapest method, improving your home, and your personal safety. My home isn't worth what I owe either, but I'm happy in my house and don't want to move anyway. If I had your problem, I would look into rewiring.

http://home.costhelper.com/rewire-house.html The comments (12) at the end, were really helpful to get an idea of what it might cost, per size home and work done...

 

[seecrabrun]

Oh the electricity thing was fixed when my wall caught fire. That was when I first bought the house. It's been almost 6 years since we moved in. Made a lot of improvements in that time and thanks to the loan I got I'll be forever upside down on it.

 

[beth]

I would go with the neighbors who are actually living there on the petition. You could list all the owners, including the banks, etc., who are foreclosing as parties not invested in the living conditions of the neighborhood. That alone is an indication that the neighborhood is falling apart at the seams. Also, the city or county is not blameless and I would include that in the petition. City/County always signs off on construction projects and if they didn't do their job with the approvals of grading and drainage then its on the city officials as much as the contractor. The city has to approve all such plans in the form of permits and are supposed to inspect and finalize projects. Those permits are the local government's approval of the plans. The plan resulted in a big mess, then the city has to also be responsible.

Its going to take someone in that neighborhood to lead in this, and its going to be a project to get done. But you or someone needs to start leaning on the local government. I'd start with some sort of letter detailing this and send it to every city/county commissioner, and whatever building department head there who has responsibility for construction permitting.

 

[flower]

Oh the electricity thing was fixed when my wall caught fire. That was when I first bought the house. It's been almost 6 years since we moved in. Made a lot of improvements in that time and thanks to the loan I got I'll be forever upside down on it.

Gottcha... Sigh, it's still better then renting. Beth makes a good point, somebody dropped the ball. I wonder if bribes were involved. Inspectors who approve those houses should be held accountable if the basic guidelines were ignored. The wrong size wiring is pretty serious to be overlooked, it had to be intentional.

 

[2quills]

Nope it's not and we've talked with a lot of them, but we've been unable to find one and 2 are owned by completely different companies that have something to do with them being foreclosures?

Which ever banks financed the loans are now the ones stuck with the properties. They wouldn't want to get involved. They're just waiting for some investor to roll by with the highest bid who will purchase them and then most likely do a lease to own deal with some unsuspecting buyer who isn't going to go out of their way to pay for a home inspection before they sign the paperwork. Pass the puck on down the line sort of thing just to try and recoup some of their loss.

They busted some builders a while back down here. They'd hire all of these illegals to do most of the work and then never pay em. So of course they'd get pissed for not being payed and then come back and do all kinds of crazy damage to the houses like pour concrete down the drains or cut through all of the studs with a sawzall. Then the builders would find someone else to come in to half ass fix and cover up the damage.

Or they'd get these guys to pull up the re-bar for the foundation toss in a bunch of scrap metal and cans right before they poured the foundation for the house so that when the inspectors came buy with the metal detectors they'd think there was actually re-bar in there and then use it on the next job.

 

[beth]

Gottcha... Sigh, it's still better then renting. Beth makes a good point, somebody dropped the ball. I wonder if bribes were involved. Inspectors who approve those houses should be held accountable if the basic guidelines were ignored. The wrong size wiring is pretty serious to be overlooked, it had to be intentional.

Bribes not unheard of in building departments. Contractors do this to do things they know they can't get permitted to do.

 

[flower]

Which ever banks financed the loans are now the ones stuck with the properties. They wouldn't want to get involved. They're just waiting for some investor to roll by with the highest bid who will purchase them and then most likely do a lease to own deal with some unsuspecting buyer who isn't going to go out of their way to pay for a home inspection before they sign the paperwork. Pass the puck on down the line sort of thing just to try and recoup some of their loss.

They busted some builders a while back down here. They'd hire all of these illegals to do most of the work and then never pay em. So of course they'd get pissed for not being payed and then come back and do all kinds of crazy damage to the houses like pour concrete down the drains or cut through all of the studs with a sawzall. Then the builders would find someone else to come in to half ass fix and cover up the damage.

Or they'd get these guys to pull up the re-bar for the foundation toss in a bunch of scrap metal and cans right before they poured the foundation for the house so that when the inspectors came buy with the metal detectors they'd think there was actually re-bar in there and then use it on the next job.

Wow... After seeing this post, I don't think I would buy a new built house. Give me one that's old and sturdy, the workmanship in todays world isn't worth spit. The best house I ever owned was one the contractor built for himself, it was old, and when I had to redo the plumbing or any electrical...the comments were always about how well the house was made, and top of line back in the day it was built. I did upgrade the breaker box, and the much of the old pipes, which were easy to reach because I had a basement...I miss that house, the two I had afterward made me realize the difference.

 

[silverado61]

Can I move to Hawaii with you???

Sorry to hear about everything else. Right now I'm back to thinking of getting out of it again. Everything just went to hell really fast this week and I'm contemplating if I should even try to save it, or just leave.

Well, Hawaii was a bust. I'm back on the Mainland now in my home state of Illinois. The ex and I are still divorced and plan on staying that way. I'm in a great relationship with an awesome woman and we currently live together. I don't have a tank, yet, but I plan to. I'm hoping to get my old 72 bowfront back because the guy I sold it to put it in his garage and it's been setting there ever since collecting dust. Fingers crossed. Anyway, I'm back people!

 

[lmforbis]

Welcome back Silverado

 

[jay0705]

Its about dam time!!!!!!!

 

[silverado61]

Thx everybody. It's good to be back. I've got a lot to catch up on.

 

[Kristin1234]

Welcome back!

 

[silverado61]

Thx

 

[beth]

Welcome back! So what happened in Hawaii?

 

[silverado61]

I ended up living on the leeward side of Oahu, which is the dessert side because the mountains block the rain and wind. So all we got was the hot sun with no breeze or shade. The cost of living on the windward side is higher. That, and the homeless situation is astronomical because California sends all its homeless to the islands to get rid of them. It was depressing. Plus, I just missed the changes of the seasons and all my family and friends are here in Illinois.
It's good to be home.