Scenes from our house painting (exterior)

We painted the house this summer, did I mention that? I could swear I wrote a post about it but when I tried to find it, I couldn't.



Anyway, here's a photo of the house in the beginning of the summer:

As you can see, the paint was starting to peel. The sides were in much worse shape, trust me.

Sean and Steve did the majority of the painting and had a little accident we refer to as "the caulking incident." It was the time they caulked the whole front of the house with non-paintable caulk and had to go over the entire thing again with paintable caulk. Yeah, it was awesome.


It's also the reason we ended up painting our house white. Because it was the only color that didn't show the caulking mistake. Because the caulk is clear. Because when we tried to paint over it with green the paint beaded up and ran away. Oops.





Anyway, it turns out we really loved the white. It opens up the whole back yard and we'll add some splashes of color to the door and window trim this Spring. We're also going to get a new fence in the backyard and I will (finally) hang up my window boxes.


Oh, and we're going to paint the cement porch--any color or paint suggestions?

Questions about NACA: Round #1

I've compiled the questions you've asked about NACA through the comments section of this blog, over email, and through MySpace. I will answer them in a series of posts. Some of them I grouped into general issues/concerns with the program. Please keep in mind that I'm speaking about my and Steve's experience; other NACA members may have a different take on its services, positive or negative. I'll throw in a few anecdotes from friends here and there.

How long did it take you to get through the NACA process?
Steve and I knew we wanted to buy a house in the City of Buffalo but beyond that, we were clueless. We were leaning to the West Side but were also willing to consider properties closer to the Canisius College area and Black Rock/Riverside. In our hearts, we wanted a house tomorrow but in our heads, we knew it made sense to go slow.

I think this reality affected our experience with NACA in a positive way. We didn't have a neighborhood or a house in mind--as some people who contacted me do--so it didn't matter, for example, that we had to wait three weeks after our NACA workshop for a one-on-one appointment.

From finding out about NACA and attending the required workshop to closing on our house, the process took about a year. If I remember correctly, both presenters at our workshop said their process took around a year too.

While I understand the frustration associated with slow-moving bureaucracies, I think that the process NACA puts its members through is a good thing. If the goal is to give first-time homeowners mortgages that are non-predatory in their nature, fixed at low interest rates, and genuinely affordable for that buyer, then an education process is a must. NACA members are required to create budgets, accumulate savings, take care of bad debt, and be reasonable about what they can risk. This hand-holding was great for us; some people might find it annoying.

For about 4-5 months, all Steve and I did was save money, pay bills on time, and check in every couple of weeks with our counselor John (he was very accessible). Once we had enough money saved--that magic number was determined early on--we got hooked up with a real estate agent. About two months and many homes later, we found "it" and made an offer. After that, everything moved along well.

(I can't say express enough how grateful I am for taking this process slow. It's the biggest investment I made; I'm glad I looked at 15 houses and had enough money saved to buy paint supplies after closing.)

I think the slowest part of the NACA process is accumulating enough savings and credit. For those of you hoping to speed this part up, come to your first appointment with money in the bank and a budget already created.


What's your relationship like with NACA post-closing?
This is a two part answer because there are really two relationships to consider: that with our local NACA office and counselor, and that with the NACA rehab department (known as HAND). I will get to the HAND stuff in another post--trust me, I've got a lot to say!

Regarding the local office: each member is required to participate in two NACA "actions" per year as an agreement of his/her membership. These actions aren't enforced with an iron fist and I suppose if you wanted to blow them off completely, you probably could. That would also make you an ass.

The "actions" are pretty diverse and include the following choices: office work, speaking for ten minutes at a workshop about your experience, attending an advocacy event, and putting a lawn sign on your front yard. You can also sit on a panel and review current requests for NACA's Neighborhood Stabilization Fund loans from other members. We did this last one a couple months ago and it took an hour.

Beyond the actions, I've had very few reasons to call our counselor John post-closing. I did reach out to him regarding my trouble with CitiMortgage and he had some helpful advice. I would not hesitate to call him again if needed. Around the time I was having trouble with the bank, a different NACA rep from out of town called me to check in and see if things were going ok. They frequently monitor the status of member's loans and will check in if things look hairy. Luckily, my problem was finally resolved the day before so I didn't need his help. Still though, I appreciated the call.

Intense colors WHOA!

Stairwell of an Israeli house profiled in the New York Times this week.

Having lived in a multi-colored, high-intensity house for almost a year now, I have to say that it's a mixed bag.

On the pro side, photographs taken in our house are always lively and engaging (I'm biased, of course) and first-time visitors to the house usually offer positive feedback. One otherwise laconic friend recently stated, "These are the colors I'd paint my house if I had the balls." Awesome, thanks!

On the con, it's a little dizzying to go from intense red to intense surfer blue in just two steps. And there's something about the bright colors that makes the space feel cluttered to me, even if it's really not. To the contrary, the two most muted (and cluttered) rooms--my bedroom and my office--are often my refuge from the intensity. They both seem to me clean, and airy.

Since Steve and Sara moved downstairs--we need an entry about that, I know--I've been contemplating future changes to the space. I'm drawn to all-white walls or at the very least some more neutral palettes. Thoughts?

Roto rooted

Today the Roto Rooter man came and cleared out a bunch of roots inside our sewer line. It was pretty neat, actually, and probably something we'll have to do twice a year as maintenance. According to our tenant, the house has historically needed roto rooting 1-2 times a year.

I did a little research and found the following on invasive roots and how to deal:

• 5 Steps to Dealing with Invasive Tree Roots
  
• Sewer Line Replacement Procedure - This narrative takes it a step further than we needed (fingers crossed) but it's interesting nonetheless.
• Q & A on invasive tree roots with Reader's Digest's Handyman
  

It seems like periodically reaming the pipes is not a bad option. Roto Rooter man also recommended the following: once a month, fill all sinks and tubs in the house with water. At the same time, release the plugs and then a couple seconds later, flush the toilets. He says this should clear out the sewer line fairly well. I'll keep y'all posted.

Any other experiences out there? Has anyone tried the chemical solution (i.e. copper sulfate crystals)? Share in the comments please...

Balancing act

Last night Micaela came over to talk with me as I was having a rough sort of night. I've been working a lot, as is the case during the summer campaign season, and also feeling kind of lonely. Seems like I've gotten out of practice with asking people to be there for me. Or rather, with asking more than a small selection of people to be there for me.

Micaela & Steve: probably the most "Kodak moment" moment we've had.
We were writing a song about the Holy Trinity--no joke, we're in a band!

I told her about the calm I felt post-vacation and how I've been trying to carry it with me since coming back into the grind. She said she thought a lot of it started with canceling out the chaos around you, and we both agreed that our physical environments have a lot to do with it.

Somehow I thought I'd be more settled in at the house. I never thought the dishes would always been done or the bathroom sink clean but I did think that I'd have pictures on the wall and a relatively clean bedroom and all boxes emptied by now. Not the case, not even close!

I'm so tired at the end of the day. Last night I thought I could use my little ball of energy to clean out my office after I read the last two chapters of my book but by the time I read the last few words, I was too whipped.

I'm not asking for advice per se, just admitting that I'm still adjusting to a life that is not, well, college. Even years later I'm still hoping for a chance to get it all done and probably romanticizing the hell out of the past. It's all about balance and if you've got any pointers, hit me.

Homeowner club

It seems like a lot of people I know are buying houses. My boss and her husband just bought their first, as did my and Steve's friends Eric and Rebecca. A couple other folks are in the midst of the NACA process too, soon to be homeowners themselves.

One thing that's struck me these first couple months is all the money we're spending on stuff like lawnmowers, sump pumps, and hoses. Sometimes these purchases can be delayed but more often they are of the immediate variety. For instance, the basement has flooded. For instance, the grass is 3-foot high. For instance, the basement flooded again.

With all this in mind, Steve and I recently sent out an email to our homeowner friends, suggesting that we create an informal list of household and yard tools that we wouldn't mind sharing. We volunteered use of our painting supplies, Steve's toolkit, yard & garden tools, and lawnmower. I suggested too that we think about purchase bigger items as a group, like a ladder.

I grew up on a tight-knit block and borrowing stuff from the neighbors was a regular event. Anyone out there have experience with this sort of communal sharing of tools?

Discuss amongst yourselves

Sometimes I Feel Like I'm The Only One Trying To Gentrify This Neighborhood

Energy-saving light bulbs

My dad has totally switched over to energy-saving light bulbs. Even Wal-Mart has begun a campaign to sell 100 million of them by 2008. Seems like they're the way to go--Steve and I have pretty much decided to stock our house with them.

Questions though, for those of you who have used them: Are they bright enough? Which brand is best? If you've been using them for awhile, have they lasted longer than conventional bulbs? Any other advice?

Little House in the City, by the way, has promised to document any changes in her electric bill since her switch to compact bulbs. We'll keep you posted.

the fine art of harassment

a while ago i blogged a bit about my strategy of handling issues as being crazy and calling people an endless number of times and just being really intense about the whole process. now i'm pretty sure that's actually the way you're supposed to do it.

so far i've noticed that with every contractor or NACA person i really have to be insistant to get any kind of legitimate information or action. with many contractors i've found that several follow up calls were necessary to actually get an estimate done (i guess business is booming in buffalo). Thats a difficult call to make, "did you get a chance to look at the house?" "no" "really, I put you in touch with my real estate agent last week and you told her it would be done last tuesday." I don't say that, but I want to scream it. To me this practice seemed really shady. If they had told me that they weren't going to get to it until next week, i probably would have called someone else.

I've found the same situation with the paperwork people are quick to give us positive, "yep! you're done!" answers when we've really only completed a minor task in the great paper rodeo that is buying a house and securing a mortgage/rehab loan through the Neighborhood Assistance Coorparation of America. I understand contractors fudging their schedules because they are very busy and they don't want to lose the work, but I can't understand folks not saying that we've completed another of the many tasks we need to complete to buy a home. Are people that eager to please?

I've developed a strategy of calling everybody on my list a couple times a week to see where things stand. Sure, the helpful folks at the switchboard sound a little meaner every time I call, but I get my questions answered and things seem to move forward faster. Does anyone know a way to do this without being a jerk? other than being educated?

We love advice

"upstairs kitchen" originally uploaded by whitneyarlene

1. What color should we paint the above kitchen? I'm thinking yellow. Or teal. Maybe green?
   
   
2. I need to start packing so any tips on where I should scrounge for boxes?
   
   
3. Have you ever heard of someone closing on time?
   
   
4. I know there's a rule about painting your kitchen with a semi-gloss--or something like that--but I'm not sure about the details. Also: should I buy high- or medium- or the cheapest-damn-available-quality paint?
   
   
5. If you've received multiple estimates for a single work project, how would you go about deciding which contractor to choose?