Bad flipper, bad.

Being a homeowner is great, it truly is, and we feel very lucky that we are.  It can also be very frustrating, especially if you bought from an unscrupulous flipper.

I absolutely think flippers should be, at minimum, licensed and/or registered and/or responsible for their work in some fashion.  Undo hassle and a deterrent for small-time flippers trying to turn a small profit?  Maybe, but if it keeps one sleazy flipper away, it is well worth it.  The amount of damage one bad flipper wreaks can impact an innocent, well-intentioned family for years, in so many ways.  It's terrible.

We certainly ended up with a winner, I'll tell ya.  I seriously don't know how this guy sleeps at night knowing what he does to people.

We bought this flip because we thought the major components were handled by a full gut -- new electric, new HVAC, new walls, new plumbing, new new new.  Right?  Sure.  Just because it's new doesn't mean it's good or it works or is correct.  Everything else was essentially cosmetic we thought, stuff we could do to make it our own.

Before we bought, our awesome realtor and I walked through after a particularly heavy spring rain to see if there was any damage.  Sadly, there was some water leakage in the ceiling and a wall of the master bathroom.  Through negotiations, the flipper agreed to put a new roof on and we split the cost with him.

Before closing, supposedly the roof had been redone (which we agreed to pay half of).  We have a flat roof that can't be seen from the ground.  I was working too much, we didn't have a ladder tall enough, the roof is essentially inaccessible otherwise, and Mike said he trusted the flipper that it had gotten done.  It was like pulling T-Rex teeth to get a receipt (which has an incorrect date on it for August, two months after closing) and a copy of the roof product warranty (also the wrong date in that it doesn't match the receipt).  Nice, right?

After moving in, guess what.  Yep.  Leaked again.  I called the guy who allegedly installed the new roof (who said he couldn't remember when he put it on which I think is odd -- if you put a new roof on in the last two months or so, you'd remember, right?  He remembers bricking the facade of the house across the street a year prior but not a new roof in the last few months?).  He came out to take a look.  He said he'd be back to caulk but I never heard from him again.  He won't answer my calls and won't return my messages but he is the person the labor and roof warranty goes through, the person I am told I have to call.

Why do I bring this up now?  We had a lot of rain yesterday.  Mike headed up for bed last night only to find a pool of water all over the bathroom floor.  That was a new one, a pool.  The water traveled along the duct work and came through the register in the ceiling, a new entry point.  Needless to say, I left my pal Jose a message.  I wasn't nasty or mean.  We'll see how quickly he returns that call.  *cough*

Mike wants to completely redo the roof anyway since it is a cheap crappy roof.  Sigh.  He wants to also insulate the ceiling then too because, of course, we have no insulation in our ceiling.  Double sigh.  I know he's right but....it's costly.

I will say I am hugely excited that he expressed great interest in installing solar panels on the roof.  That's excellent.  There appears to be a new city program too that I signed up for so we'll see how that pans out.

We also had a company come out yesterday that did a free audit of our HVAC system since we receive no heat nor a/c on the second floor, Dr. Energy Saver.  He found stuff the flipper did poorly, or didn't do at all.  Shocker.  The guy will be out next week to let us know what our options are.  Hopefully he brings the winning lottery ticket with him as a gift to us.  Seriously, I should start playing.

Big sigh.  Right?

On a chippier note, Mike bought us a beautiful Japanese maple tree yesterday!

Love it!  I had started putting chunks of the broken backyard sidewalk up front in an effort to recycle and reuse and bring some needed visual texture to the front yard, but he went ahead and completed what I started.  Nice!  Love that too!

The front yard is looking really very nice now.  Yay!  Fifty zillion times better than the barren, dusty, garbage-riddled yard we bought it as, that's for sure!

I forgot what this plant is.  Do you guys know?  It was one of my 88 cent Menards perennials.  I forgot to save all the little tags, duh.  So pretty, those flowers.  And so thrilling for such an inexpensive investment!

Oh and hey, have you guys been over to the Instructables website?  It is massively cool.  I came across them on Twitter and it is a darn fun site.  I mention them not only because do they have a zillion neat projects you can make or peruse through, but also because way cool, my DIY pallet wood vertical blinds are an editor feature!!, are in the "popular" section and also in their pallet contest!  Please click here and vote for my blinds!  Please!  I'll love you forever.

I'm not sure what my plans are for the day.  I'm house-bound for the next several as today was chemo treatment number four for Hailey.  Since that stuff scares the bejeebus out of me, and she had such a rough go with the first treatment, and it messes with her each time, I don't like to leave her home alone while the chemo ramps up then settles down over the next five or so days, just to be safe.  Our little sweet pea.  Such a strong trooper.  I'm so proud of her.  But this means no running out for supplies or visiting Twitchy or going to Menards.

I'm sure I'll keep ya posted though.  ;)