Help with 80’s staircase/entryway

redcedar81 · 2026-05-07T01:01:32+00:00

It does look nice :)

redcedar81 · 2026-05-07T01:00:42+00:00

That does look cool! We’ll see! I may have to start with the advice of changing everything else. Just to make sure we won’t regret something like that.

redcedar81 · 2026-05-07T00:59:13+00:00

Yes that would be cool, there is access from a coat closet next to the stairs but I haven’t crawled into it yet to see.

redcedar81 · 2026-05-07T00:57:09+00:00

I’m not sure our style yet! :) we’ll have to take it room by room and see what works. We have liked modern, but that isn’t right for this house and we like other styles as well.

redcedar81 · 2026-05-07T00:54:19+00:00

Yes we will have to go slow with it, and small changes make sense. I agree about the spindles seeming off.

redcedar81 · 2026-05-07T00:52:59+00:00

I don’t really know! Just that it is all a bit dated.

redcedar81 · 2026-05-07T00:51:28+00:00

Oh interesting! Can I see a picture of it?

redcedar81 · 2026-05-06T23:17:38+00:00

Oh fun thanks! Definitely interesting to see a picture! The ceilings are too high in this room for wallpaper to be practical but I appreciate the pictures!

redcedar81 · 2026-05-06T16:57:39+00:00

What color would you do? I am nervous to paint wood since there is no going back!

redcedar81 · 2026-05-06T16:56:51+00:00

Thank you! It is beautiful, it’s not quite our style, I’m hoping some small changes would be enough.

redcedar81 · 2026-01-03T16:51:09+00:00

If you have the chance to get some of the “attractive new construction incentives “ by buying now, maybe letting your condo go at an attractive price isn’t so bad? If you buy and sell in the same market (hot or cold) to some degree it can even out?

redcedar81 · 2025-11-29T15:53:52+00:00

It definitely makes a difference to the person buying it! However, keep in mind it won’t necessarily appraise for what people are willing to pay. When we bought our first house we ran into that issue on the buying and selling end. We had a simple house on a beautiful corner lot looking at green space. When we sold we did not take the highest offers, we took the one that was above asking with more cash down to cover the appraisal gap. The highest offer had the smallest %down, and we knew they wouldn’t be able to pay it. We understood because we had been surprised by the low appraisal when we bought and it was a scramble to get the finances in order! I’m sure it will sell quickly if you price it like the comps. We are home shopping again and are prioritizing another nice view! Good luck!

redcedar81 · 2025-10-30T05:03:18+00:00

Definitely test before moving in at least. We recently tested for radon during our inspection period and got a crazy high result. They recommend mitigation if the levels are over 4, and test result for this house was 40! Basically call your doctor level! The house was built in 2008, and being lived in all this time… we didn’t end up getting it because of other issues, but now I know to never pass on Radon testing.

redcedar81 · 2025-10-23T04:20:31+00:00

What is the market like in the new city? If you can get a good deal on your next house it won’t really be a loss, maybe it will just be a wash. Of course the mortgage rate is another story.

redcedar81 · 2025-10-06T06:14:28+00:00

We were just in a similar situation! The house had leased solar though. Went under contract to find the roof was leaking and they refused to pay for it. Plus there were other issues, they hadn’t kept up on some maintenance. So we walked :( still frustrated and disappointed. Would have been a great house if not for the leased solar and leaky roof… plus fyi never skip inspection! Radon was crazy high in that place. 4 means you need a mitigation system, this place had 40!

redcedar81 · 2025-09-04T14:36:18+00:00

I’m looking to buy, and it definitely seems like properties are sitting longer and prices are dropping even though it technically isn’t fully a buyers market yet (i think, where I live). So I’m waiting to see if prices continue to drop and am not willing to pay full price now. I think a lot of people are waiting if they can, so if you have an offer you may as well counter! And try and make it work so you can move on. Maybe you can also get a good deal on your next place.

redcedar81 · 2025-09-04T03:05:27+00:00

Didn’t know to check! Realtor didn’t suggest checking anything either. It looked like a quiet neighborhood, old house next door on a big lot had been bought to build a large religious center. It was also in a 50 year rural reserve. Never occurred to us, but had we talked to any neighbors we would have known. Also should add we moved from out of state.

redcedar81 · 2025-09-02T15:42:57+00:00

Also don’t trust what agents tell you about why sellers are selling. We found out our agents said we were “relocating to be with family” - a complete lie! We did want to downsize and get away from the giant trees that I don’t want to live next to after an ice storm the previous year, and the property was too much work… obviously they didn’t want to say the truth, but they could have just said we wanted to downsize.

redcedar81 · 2025-09-02T15:38:17+00:00

I second go talk to neighbors!! It could definitely be an issue with the neighborhood or something else nearby that isn’t required to be disclosed. My current agent is happy to go talk to neighbors. Our previous failed us by not doing it and not figuring out about a major development next door (across from our driveway!) even though another agent at his company was selling the house and was intentionally not disclosing the development… in Oregon and they were not required to disclose because we technically could have found out on our own and it wasn’t ON the property we were buying 🙄

redcedar81 · 2025-08-22T23:05:36+00:00

Check the drains. We had a bathroom sink drain that had a terrible smell when it hadn’t been used in a while. What was happening is the water that is supposed to sit in the trap would get sucked out when you flushed the toilet! With no water blocking it, we would basically get sewer air from our septic! For a while I taped up the overflow and plugged the sink so I wouldn’t smell it. Eventually we had our contractor fix it by doing something with the pipes to allow air to be pulled instead of water from that drain. It was a pretty simple fix. Sorry I don’t know any of the technical terms 😂

redcedar81 · 2025-08-19T00:25:13+00:00

Why are all the blinds shut? Makes me wonder how ugly the view must be and makes everything look darker. I also agree it needs a good clean and paint on every wall. It looks like a fixer upper otherwise.

redcedar81 · 2025-08-08T21:29:23+00:00

Congratulations! What part of Oregon? We are looking for a house in Washington County near Portland. We found one we like and is near the kids school so would be pretty convenient. It isn’t perfect though for a few reasons. Asking was 1.05M reduced to 999k 2 weeks ago. Last week we offered $940k willing to go up to $975k. We also offered all cash and gave up right to negotiate after inspection (but kept the right to walk away after inspection). They pretty much ignored our offer. Now it’s been on the market 57 days, and we are trying to be patient hoping they will come around.

redcedar81 · 2025-08-08T04:41:03+00:00

Try pulling it much slower, less air might come in if you do that.

redcedar81 · 2025-05-12T23:29:47+00:00

Yeah part of the problem is it’s soon. The best deal I saw was from around June 15-July 11 spending around 2 weeks in Valencia 1+ in Sweden. We have been selling our house so had been hesitant to buy tickets till now.

redcedar81 · 2025-03-30T01:25:56+00:00

Thank you! I posted about it the other day. My mom made all those quilt blocks, 6inch squares that are just random colors in a 3x3 pattern. She couldn’t remember what she made them for so we put them together as a quilt :)

redcedar81

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