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Earl Aagaard’s opinions about everything that interests him. Og also enjoys gardening, travel, reading, woodbutchery, and lots of other stuff.
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NEW HOUSE IN CHICO
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
GARAGE STORAGE - FOR LIGHTWEIGHT ITEMS
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That’s my new storage system—up there on the ceiling (please ignore the rest of it - things are getting better, believe it or not!).
You, too, can get lightweight items out of the way by storing them safely in plastic bins and hanging the bins from the ceiling.
Family Matters • BUILDING PROJECTS • NEW HOUSE IN CHICO • Comments •
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
1941 PRESERVATION OAK—- OCCUPIED!
Such a long time since I’ve posted here…..lots of water under the bridge, not all of it sparkling and clear.
But…...we’ve pretty well occupied the house, now. As she always does, Gail has created a home out of dead (though, in this case, attractive) space. It never ceases to amaze me, although you’d think I’d be used to it by now, after 42+ years and 12 different dwelling places….thank you, Babe.
Without further ado, here we go:
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Looking (north) back at the entry - remember that virtually every single thing in our home has a story…and no, I’m not going to tell them all!! But I’ll do some hinting. You’re looking at the bronze statue of David that I bought when I was 10 years old. Just peeking in from the left is the Galapagos tortoise our family bought when we visited the islands in 1990. And just left of the door is the brass plaque commemorating the establishment of our home in 1969.
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
WE’VE MOVED IN—TO 1941 PRESERVATION OAK DRIVE
But, it’s still in a bit of a mess!!
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The garage still looks pretty much like this….but things in the rest of the house are improving as stuff is put away.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A NEW AND DIFFERENT (POTENTIAL) CHICO HOME…...UPDATED!
UPDATE:
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We load the van May 11 and 12; drive down May 13 (careful, Earl!). The truck unloads in Chico on Monday the 16th. Are we excited? That hardly covers it, you know….
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Below is the original post:
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The saga of 1938 PRESERVATION OAK DRIVE, also known as THE FLOOD HOUSE, has ended. (Sorry that I can’t make these links take you to the correct pages - you can look at the original story and then the update by clicking on “Family Matters: New House in Chico” on the left of the page, and then scrolling down to the first and second posts.)
When the bank refused to lower the price to pay for the drainage project, we closed the escrow and said “Thanks, but no thanks.”
This is 1941 Preservation Oak Drive, the newest possibility
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Saturday, March 26, 2011
UPDATE ON OUR (POTENTIAL) CHICO HOUSE
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AS YOU HAVE SEEN EARLIER, we’ve been considering a house to buy in Chico. It’s still under consideration. (Sorry that I can’t make that link take you to the correct page - just click on “Family Matters: New House in Chico” over on the left, and then scroll down to the first post in the list.)
Since we made an offer and the bank accepted it, we’ve paid a professional home inspector to give us a report, and he discovered some serious issues that changed the calculus considerably. Mainly, it turns out that the house at 1938 Preservation Oak was built in the middle of what is really a seasonal stream - because it’s the low spot along the street and the runoff from the little watershed behind the house runs right across the property. So, we asked for an extension that was granted by the bank, and we’ve been exploring options and staying in touch with our agent and a top-notch Chico landscape contractor.
Here’s the back of the house…
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
THE HOUSE WITHOUT CURB APPEAL…..AND IT COULD BE OURS!
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There it is…..from the other side of the overflow channel that takes excess water from Chico Creek to Butte Creek. At the time I took this photograph, Sandy hadn’t mentioned that it was for sale, so it’s pure serendipity that I got this - from the second floor of a different place we were looking at.
The stucco house on the far left over there across the canal was built in 2007, then lived in a fairly short time before being foreclosed on. The bank finally got it in late October, 2010 and it’s been on the market ever since. We understand that they got one offer, but that’s been it. To the left of the house are three lots, and the one next door has sold and will have a house on it fairly soon. All of the big oak trees to the left and behind the house are in a Blue Oak Preserve that will never be built on, so we “own” the views front and back.
There are some problems - drainage water from the section of the Preserve behind it runs through the property, and the builder (now reportedly fled the country after a mortgage scandal of some kind) dispensed with drains for the downspouts from the roof, so that adds to the hydrology difficulties. And the “street” in front is actually a private road, and we would own and be responsible for 1/7 of it. It’s also a fire lane, meaning there is no parking along the “curb”, and that’s why the “front yard” is a parking lot - two spaces required. Furthermore, the sewer system would belong to us, too….1/7 of the pipes, tank, sewer lift pump, etc.
It’s really no wonder people didn’t want the house very much at $225.00/square foot, it’s approximate original price. By the time we got there, it was down to about $155/foot, and we offered about $137. The bank wanted more and countered, but two days later they thought better of it and accepted the offer. You might ask why WE want it, with all the problems (there are more, but they appear relatively minor and we’ll know more after the inspection next week.) The first three reasons are, as with all real estate, “location, location, location”.....it’s on a private street with a Preserve behind and a canal lateral in front, so our views will never be marred by more houses! It’s about a mile from two of Gail’s brothers, where I will install my garden and work on a small orchard. And it’s two blocks from the lovely house that Laura and Leslie are renting, along with the two grand-girls!
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Reading
- BlogsForDummies :)
Web resources
- Arts & Letters Daily
- Ravi Zacharias
- Southern Adventist University
- The SAU Biology Deptartment - where I work with a bunch of very neat people.
- Venezuelan news—FROM Venezuela