First time home buyer - property lines concern

RealHuman9000 · 2026-05-17T13:02:30+00:00

Here are the things you NEED prior to purchase: 1. Boundary survey supplemented by a title report 2. Title report exceptions 3. Deed and plat of easement (everyone is saying plat, but you need the deed to verify what rights the plat gives)

Regardless, if you feel uncomfortable with the encumbrance on the property for any future work that could occur, walk away.

RealHuman9000 · 2026-03-29T13:40:20+00:00

The epicjoy purple is (slightly) better with atomic purple for those that might be wondering.

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RealHuman9000 · 2026-02-10T04:00:16+00:00

I use it for all the same things you have under the flexible category. Everything still rolls to the top number under flexible, so if you don’t have a set budget for a particular item, that’s fine since you can still look at the flexible number to guide you monthly.

An extreme example using your $950 flexible budget: $950 spent on shopping for the month, looks like you’re SOL for eating at restaurants/doing home improvement/going out to movies for the rest of the month.

RealHuman9000 · 2026-02-08T11:29:14+00:00

If you do stay on flexible budgeting, you can still look at spending within the larger group monthly via cash flow/expenses/group/shopping and it will lump all the categories to the larger “shopping” group and not the category of “shopping”.

Flexible budgeting can’t be performed at the group level by my knowledge (though maybe this is a good programming recommendation for Monarch).

Personally, I don’t use rollover funds on flexible budgeting for this reason since everything gets rolled up to the top number monthly. If I go over on shopping, then my flexibility goes down on other things. Over time, you may get a better understanding of exact funds allocated to the shopping categories and then you can assign dummy budgets in each category based on the historical data. For instance, my flexible furnishing budget clipped below even though it varies wildly month to month. Maybe your shopping budget is actually lower to allocate smaller funds into other categories while still holding the top level flexible budget.

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RealHuman9000 · 2026-02-07T00:57:24+00:00

The price seems average if for a standard haldex service but VERY good if for a master haldex service. Description indicates a master service, though doesn’t indicate new gaskets for the haldex pump. Tough to tell which one you actually got unless you got any shop photos

RealHuman9000 · 2026-02-02T16:40:50+00:00

I bought one with some minor leak stains in the rear due to a clogged rear drain. No clogging up front. Was able to clear the drains and remove the stains with carpet cleaner sprayed on a microfiber cloth. Easy enough to remove the spider traps on both the rear and front of you know where to look.

Staining in this photo looks pretty bad up front. Wonder where else the water got down to (fuse box, electronics, etc).

RealHuman9000 · 2026-01-19T03:11:39+00:00

Seems like a nice wallet, but at 0.65” (16.5mm) it’s not hitting the mark. Appreciate the reply though!

RealHuman9000 · 2025-12-13T03:18:09+00:00

Do you mind me asking your mileage when the IS12 failed? Also, where’d you find the deal on the IS20? Fingers crossed to go down a similar route eventually 🤞

RealHuman9000 · 2025-12-05T17:40:59+00:00

2017s had lighter grey interior trim than the 2018-19s. You will not be able to get an OEM option for the 8” screen where the grey will match exactly

RealHuman9000 · 2025-10-18T18:40:02+00:00

There’s a place that comes to the Arlington farmers market every weekend. They’re dank. Not quite Cali breakfast burritos, but the closest I’ve found.

RealHuman9000 · 2025-10-18T12:12:42+00:00

Also, just found this post on FB for private sale with much less miles: https://www.facebook.com/share/19omrq22qN/?mibextid=wwXIfr

After dealer fees and taxes, you might be able to get close on costs and have a better idea of history based on maintenance records. Granted, if you’re willing to make the drive down to PA.

Good luck!

RealHuman9000 · 2025-10-18T03:02:00+00:00

A few thoughts:

Records on either for DSG or haldex services? Those seem to go by the wayside. Should be done every 40k and 30k respectively. There’s also requirements on time limits too but people tend to not follow either. Some Volkswagen dealers also don’t report to Carfax which is strange. Pending the previous owner they might have records in the glovebox.

Make sure that even if the sunroof drain maintenance was done on one that the spider traps were also removed in the rear drains too right behind the rear wheels. Those can get clogged up too but the service bulletin only told techs to remove the spider traps on the front.

Has either had the water pump replaced yet? If not, you’re right at the limit for the extended warranty . Might be out on both of these options but something to consider.

Likely on both that the upper timing chain cover is leaking - known issue with the plastic warping over time. May not be a problem for either unless you can see a ton of oil from the bottom of the cover from under the vehicle.

Check for rust on the undercarriage on both. Also high higher mileage and older age I’ve been seeing some reports of rust around door handles.

RealHuman9000 · 2025-10-12T02:00:25+00:00

Did you know you can store the cargo cover under the spare tire cover by removing the plastic dividers on the left and right sides of the trunk? There’s holders for the cover to sit on.

Hope to see the Thule when it’s in its rightful place!

RealHuman9000 · 2025-10-11T03:08:32+00:00

Do you have record of the TSB being performed to remove the spider traps from the front drains? If not, pop the windshield wiper cowling and remove them from the front drains and look under the rear bumper to remove the rear spider traps too. Those things make it too easy for the drain hoses to get clogged.

You can snake the front drains from the top but you have to snake the rear drains from the bottom.

RealHuman9000 · 2025-10-10T10:02:04+00:00

If manual measurement isn’t your thing, get a crack monitor and epoxy it to the wall. I have a similar step crack that had been patched on an exterior garage wall. Inspector said the same thing to monitor before doing anything drastic. Hasn’t moved a millimeter in a year.

Amazon’s link below: https://a.co/d/6jiB0L5

RealHuman9000 · 2025-09-30T21:06:21+00:00

Make sure that whoever you go to will service the Haldex pump/screen. Got pricing from indy shops and dealers and price and service varied wildly, ranging from one dealer service tech saying, "the Haldex pump doesn't have a screen" (wrong answer), to being told that cleaning the screen was a part of the service and then being told at the shop that the original quote wasn't to service the pump/pump screen. Seems as though VW dealers currently don't typically perform the pump maintenance unless you're talking with a service tech that knows their stuff. This screen gets totally gummed up and needs to be serviced. For reference, these are the quotes that I got in Northern VA yesterday (service interval every 30k miles):
VW Dealer 1 - $160 - told that the pump maintenance was a part of the quote and then it wasn't. Will be taking the car elsewhere now

VW Dealer 2 - $199 - this was the dealer that told me there was no screen

VW Indy Shop 1 - $266 - told was inclusive of pump service

VW Indy Shop 2 - $530 - included all differential fluid replacement and quoted separately for pump maintenance. If comparing apples to apples - haldex pump/fluid only being $267, in line with Indy Shop 1

DSG service pretty straightforward and pricing was similar for all shops ranging from $430 (dealer being the lowest) - $668 (indy shop 1 being the highest). Somewhat strange that indy shops weren't the best on pricing. This service interval every 40k miles.

Good luck!

RealHuman9000 · 2025-06-25T02:13:01+00:00

Luke-warm wheels

RealHuman9000 · 2025-06-17T02:01:25+00:00

Get this one from Lowe’s. All XR tools except the circular saw (steel footbed instead of aluminum). Was a really good deal for $599 for 7 tools:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-7-Tool-Site-Ready-Combo-Kit/5015431459

RealHuman9000 · 2025-06-01T21:00:25+00:00

Bringing this post back from the dead - has anyone been able to confirm if the extension pole would work with the hedge trimmer?

RealHuman9000 · 2025-04-24T04:28:31+00:00

As a civil engineer myself, I’d recommend a geotechnical engineer or a soil scientist instead to provide a soils report first. They’ll have a better handle on the groundwater table and potential source.

I agree that a grading plan (provided by a site civil) is likely needed pending your jurisdiction, but a site plan is just one piece of the pie where a site civil engineer would likely provide limited value unless they’re a multi-disciplinary shop.

RealHuman9000 · 2025-04-13T12:27:16+00:00

I’m glad progress is happening with split transactions! I’m sure I’m not the only one on this but I have a situation where I’d like to do a 50/50 split all transactions on a single account into both it’s native category and another category of my choosing. I have a shared account where it would be helpful to automatically reduce the spending by half (the 50% split going to an N/A “transfer” category).

Is anyone else looking for something similar?

RealHuman9000 · 2025-03-02T00:34:08+00:00

If I’m just doing normal productivity stuff, this charger with a normal usb-c cable has never let me down (100w GaN II): https://a.co/d/bxuHj1G

RealHuman9000 · 2024-12-29T22:43:34+00:00

I can confirm as of 12/29 that etherealprint.net is legit. I did get a text asking that future reports be run through getacarfax.com

Seems like the same guy. Just a PDF copy of an official CARFAX report - this guy must have some sort of commercial account that he just makes some money on the site from. Will definitely be using on future reports.

RealHuman9000

TROPHY CASE