The Joys of Home Ownership

Tracy and I have vacillated between renting and home ownership in the various phases of our life together. There was the first apartment where we overspent our budget on Christmas decorations. There was the first home that didn't have central air or a dishwasher. There were two rental homes in seminary, one didn't have central heat and the other we had to keep the dog for the landlord. The one rental home we had when we moved to FloMo had bees under the tool shed.

Then we purchased the home we currently lived in. As best I can figure we've lived here for almost 8 full years. It's the longest we've lived in one home in our married life. I like it here.

And overall, I like home ownership. It's the American dream, right?

But the best part of NOT owning a home is the ability to call a landlord when things break down. We've experienced lightning quick speed as well as the "I'll get there as soon as I can" reality...but no matter what, the diagnosis/repair/expense all went to the owner. And generally they were pretty good about it.

Now we're experiencing the downside of home ownership: The diagnosis/repair/expense are all ours...and yesterday I'd have given my kingdom for a bank account tourniquet.

First, the arborist dropped by. He's a good guy who goes to our church. This reality is only highlighted by the fact that he refuses to carry a blackberry or day planner or mobile phone. He checked out the cracking willow tree in the middle of our yard and talked about possible solutions and such, but didn't hold much hope that even those would withstand any ice storm and maybe not even a severe thunderstorm.

We joked about the weather while he handed me a card of a guy who cuts down trees. The Anti-Arborist has been called...but I don't think he comes to FloMo. Anyone know a humane lumberjack? The arborist said to tell an anti-arborist lumberjack that it was an easy job...no power lines our home overhangs.

Second, we called a major plumbing business in our area. They sent out a guy who looked like he was in his early 20's. Now I'm not given to age as an indicator of ability or competency but this guy seemed pretty green. I thought it might be his first call on his own in the truck. He piddled around in various bathrooms (remember the leak is on the outside of the house) and turned on sinks and such. He walked around outside. He came in and detailed his business' standard diagnosis and repair package. I won't give you the estimate amount, but if a baseball team scored 15 runs a game over the entire season, you'd be in the ballpark...and that was if he didn't hit any unexpected things in process. "It could be higher if the slab leak is near a wall." I paid him $70 for showing up and told him I'd call him back.

Third, we had another plumber. He came to the door dipping snuff. I like that in a plumber. He looked at it and said he'd be "damned" if it was a slab leak. I thought that was a harsh punishment for a false diagnosis but he seemed pretty confident. He also fiddled with various water valves and tried to figure out the plumbing system. "Man, whoever had this installed didn't have clue. I don't even think it's up to code...but the codes in Flower Mound 20 years ago might've been different." His diagnosis & repair would be covered if a team scored 5 runs per game in the baseball season.

Two vastly different diagnosis & costs. You want to go with the lower one just because...so I called another guy in our church who knows about such stuff. He was in the military and corporate America. Not a liberal arts kinda guy if you know what I mean. He'd know.

Immediately he agreed with the snuff-dipping guy. Said anyone could tell it wasn't a slab leak. Said the 2nd guy's price was a "tad" high but he was coming a pretty long way...and that it was a short term solution, but since Tracy and I were talking of putting in a new sprinkler system as soon as we had the money to redesign landscaping it wouldn't matter. The short-term, cheaper solution would be fine.

So, some good news by 5PM.

The joys of home ownership continue today when the snuff-dipping guy shows up and turns our water off from 10AM until job completion...which I think wil be before 5PM when his daughter has to be at a meet-the-teacher night. Now, if I could just get a good lumberjack hit-man to finish off my tree...