Gustav & Hanna & Ike - Page 5

Crystal · 09-25-2008, 10:05 PM

Yeah drive safe!! I hope everything is good at your old house and your new house and everybody's house!! I know you must be looking forward to getting your own how becase I remember how good it was to think we had this place and it still feels like that.

Bucket Brigade · 09-25-2008, 11:45 PM

Good luck, Greg!

Greg · 09-26-2008, 12:54 AM

Thanks, Kimmy and Crystal and Bucky! We made it home!

The only visible damage to the house we're renting is one fake shutter that's sitting in the flower bed; however, the whole house stinks to high heaven! Apparently it was food that spoiled in the refrigerator. We didn't think to clean out the refrigerator because we thought we would be gone for at most one or two days.

Another anomaly: When we got home, the front door was unlocked and our landlord's daughter's card was in the door. It doesn't look like anything was stolen but you can imagine that finding the front door unlocked does not make me happy.

Well, the good news is that if we can just close on the other house, we will be out of here within a few days!

It doesn't seem like a good time to be trying to mortgage a house, but hey, the whole idea is to keep the banking industry going!

homerette · 09-26-2008, 05:00 AM

Glad you made it home, and all appeared well, if stinky. Good luck on closing!

Greg · 09-26-2008, 11:25 AM

Thanks, Homerette! Now the amusing thing about closing is that both of the ladies at the bank who would be handling it are missing in action.

Crystal · 09-26-2008, 05:54 PM

Yay your house is OK and your home safe!! I'm sorry about the stinky part tho.

kimmyfrmtx · 09-26-2008, 10:15 PM

Glad to hear things are ok there. I know how great it is to be home, even if it stinks.

At least the weather is fairly nice to air things out. Many people are just taping up the offending fridge and dumping it at the curb, must be nice to have that kind of money. I cleaned mine out right after I got home, it was just start to grow mold and didn't stink to bad. Damn shame it doesn't work, I just had it repaired right before the storm hit....time for a new one.

Greg · 09-27-2008, 12:41 AM

Melva has been experimenting with getting the odor out. Her test with vinegar on some plastic bowls that were in the refrigerator seems to have been successful. So for this particular problem, it looks like it's acid, not alkaline, that does the trick.

We couldn't afford to throw out a refrigerator but in truth, if it were ours and if we couldn't get the odor out, we would throw it away. The odor permeates anything we put in it, so at it its, we can't use it as a refrigerator.

Razamataz · 09-27-2008, 04:19 AM

Have you tryed Baking soda.. Leave a few open boxies in it for a few days. then scrub the inside out with bleach let air 12 hours unpugged then see how it smells.......

Greg · 09-27-2008, 10:52 AM

I think that will be our next attempt.

Melva did some experiment with cleaning it with baking soda as well as some cleaners, but with no discernible results. Then she experimented with some plastic bowls that were in the refrigerator by soaking them in a vinegar solution, which seemed to get rid of most of the odor. Her next try will be to wash out the whole refrigerator with vinegar.

The first three tries were with an alkaline solution. Vinegar is an acid, so that might be the thing that does it.

Crystal · 09-28-2008, 03:24 AM

Did she try the vinegar yet? Did it work?

Greg · 09-28-2008, 04:01 AM

Yes, the vinegar worked. There's still some residual odor but it's not the holy horror we encountered when we got back on Thursday night. At least that means our landlord shouldn't have to trash the refrigerator.

Tomorrow we're going to do a final walk through the new house and if all goes well, we'll close on it on Tuesday next week. Then we'll get ourselves moved as quickly as we can.

Greg · 09-28-2008, 01:23 PM

I finally got my big machine set up so I can show you some amusing pictures of my neighborhood after Ike went through.

Our house made it through the storm with near zero problems.

Nearly everyone in the neighborhood was lucky; there was very little damage to the houses. However, the storm did take its toll on the trees. Two houses down by the lake did get flooded; I'm sure they are of a different opinion about the lucky part.

Members of the local Mormon church turned out in force to help clear the debris from yards and stack it by the road, so by the time we got home, our place was all cleaned up.

Welcome to Deadfall Canyon

Block after block, the only openings in the piles of debris were the driveways. This is across the street from our house, looking north. Some folks lost whole trees. A huge tree came down, targeted right on our house, but it got hung up on another tree before it got to where it thought it was going.

I expect that firewood will be pretty cheap this winter. Tallow and live oak; good stuff for the fireplace.

Looking out our driveway

It was the same all over El Lago. The house we are planning to buy (next Tuesday!) is a block away at the other end of the street that runs right into our driveway. We're going up there today to check it out.

Just a week before the storm, our landlord had a tree taken out that was right on the driveway. It would be to your left as you look at this picture, and surely would have taken out either our house or our neighbor's.

Not exactly Happy Valley

When I got home from work on Friday, there was a huge open truck blocking the road and backed up onto our driveway. They were clearing the debris just north of us on our street. They picked up the debris in front of our place yesterday.

kimmyfrmtx · 09-28-2008, 10:42 PM

They are picking up debris on my street today, been out there about 4 hours already and only about 3/4 done.

I was out roaming around today for a bit, it is amazing and uplifting to see people getting back to regular day to day activities. There were even some boats out on the bay today.

Well tomorrow is Monday, back to normal life and the hunt for the (almost) perfect job.

Greg · 09-29-2008, 01:48 AM

Yeah, it's great to see things kind of back to normal. I drive past a marina that's a total wreck (huge pile of boats, roof caved in) and of course right past the now-famous Hilton hotel, but once I get to the office, everything seems like it was before the storm.

We checked out the new house today and we're GO for closing on Tuesday morning!

Bucket Brigade · 10-01-2008, 10:00 AM

Wow! Kimmy and Greg, I'm glad you're all right!

Did you close on your new house, Greg? I was very lucky with mine; got off the mortgage ladder before the bubble burst.

Greg · 10-04-2008, 01:52 AM

Bucky, as a matter of fact, yes, we did close on our house! Just this evening! Gosh, it feels good to be a homeowner again!

Of course, now we have to face the moving part of it! Ack!

The crazy inflation in house prices never happened down here in Houston, so you didn't have people trying to ride the escalator. I've heard that out many places (especially southern California) people would buy a house that they couldn't make the payments on, but as the price of houses went up, they'd count on taking a loan on the equity to make the payments.

Crystal · 10-05-2008, 10:51 PM

Yay!!!! You finally got into your new house!!

Those pictures of your neighborhood are really neat too. It looks like its not too bad because there are lots of good trees.

Buying a house and then borrowing more money to pay the mortage sounds kind of crazy.

Greg · 10-06-2008, 02:51 AM

Thanks, Crystal! Now we just need to get motivated to move!

Yeah, it was a crazy scheme. The bubble was bound to burst eventually. People were betting that they would be able to get onto the escalator and off again before that happened, but of course it was inevitable that for every house in that situation, somebody would get caught holding the bag.

Erm... maybe I should add that we have a conventional FHA mortgage on a home that we can afford by the traditional rules and there's nobody named Fannie or Freddie anywhere in sight!

Crystal · 10-07-2008, 05:18 PM

Yeah that does sound crazy. Is that what you meant Bucky about getting off the mortgage ladder?

Greg of course you got a responsible mortgage!! Your a responsible person!!

09-25-2008, 11:45 PM	#82
Bucket Brigade Rising Sun Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Other Manhattan Posts: 23	Good luck, Greg! __________________ *Bucky*

09-26-2008, 12:54 AM	#83
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Thanks, Kimmy and Crystal and Bucky! We made it home! The only visible damage to the house we're renting is one fake shutter that's sitting in the flower bed; however, the whole house stinks to high heaven! Apparently it was food that spoiled in the refrigerator. We didn't think to clean out the refrigerator because we thought we would be gone for at most one or two days. Another anomaly: When we got home, the front door was unlocked and our landlord's daughter's card was in the door. It doesn't look like anything was stolen but you can imagine that finding the front door unlocked does not make me happy. Well, the good news is that if we can just close on the other house, we will be out of here within a few days! It doesn't seem like a good time to be trying to mortgage a house, but hey, the whole idea is to keep the banking industry going! __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

09-26-2008, 05:00 AM	#84
homerette Day late & a dollar short Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: central VA Posts: 206	Glad you made it home, and all appeared well, if stinky. Good luck on closing! __________________ May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fall out.

09-26-2008, 11:25 AM	#85
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Thanks, Homerette! Now the amusing thing about closing is that both of the ladies at the bank who would be handling it are missing in action. __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

09-27-2008, 12:41 AM	#88
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Melva has been experimenting with getting the odor out. Her test with vinegar on some plastic bowls that were in the refrigerator seems to have been successful. So for this particular problem, it looks like it's acid, not alkaline, that does the trick. We couldn't afford to throw out a refrigerator but in truth, if it were ours and if we couldn't get the odor out, we would throw it away. The odor permeates anything we put in it, so at it its, we can't use it as a refrigerator. __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

09-25-2008, 10:05 PM	#81
Crystal Addicted Anjafan Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 160	Yeah drive safe!! I hope everything is good at your old house and your new house and everybody's house!! I know you must be looking forward to getting your own how becase I remember how good it was to think we had this place and it still feels like that.

09-26-2008, 05:54 PM	#86
Crystal Addicted Anjafan Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 160	Yay your house is OK and your home safe!! I'm sorry about the stinky part tho.

09-26-2008, 10:15 PM	#87
kimmyfrmtx Rising Sun Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 16	Glad to hear things are ok there. I know how great it is to be home, even if it stinks. At least the weather is fairly nice to air things out. Many people are just taping up the offending fridge and dumping it at the curb, must be nice to have that kind of money. I cleaned mine out right after I got home, it was just start to grow mold and didn't stink to bad. Damn shame it doesn't work, I just had it repaired right before the storm hit....time for a new one.

09-27-2008, 04:19 AM	#89
Razamataz Rising Sun Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 15	Have you tryed Baking soda.. Leave a few open boxies in it for a few days. then scrub the inside out with bleach let air 12 hours unpugged then see how it smells.......

09-27-2008, 10:52 AM	#90
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	I think that will be our next attempt. Melva did some experiment with cleaning it with baking soda as well as some cleaners, but with no discernible results. Then she experimented with some plastic bowls that were in the refrigerator by soaking them in a vinegar solution, which seemed to get rid of most of the odor. Her next try will be to wash out the whole refrigerator with vinegar. The first three tries were with an alkaline solution. Vinegar is an acid, so that might be the thing that does it. __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

09-28-2008, 03:24 AM	#91
Crystal Addicted Anjafan Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 160	Did she try the vinegar yet? Did it work?

09-28-2008, 04:01 AM	#92
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Yes, the vinegar worked. There's still some residual odor but it's not the holy horror we encountered when we got back on Thursday night. At least that means our landlord shouldn't have to trash the refrigerator. Tomorrow we're going to do a final walk through the new house and if all goes well, we'll close on it on Tuesday next week. Then we'll get ourselves moved as quickly as we can. __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

09-28-2008, 01:23 PM	#93
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	I finally got my big machine set up so I can show you some amusing pictures of my neighborhood after Ike went through. Our house made it through the storm with near zero problems. Nearly everyone in the neighborhood was lucky; there was very little damage to the houses. However, the storm did take its toll on the trees. Two houses down by the lake did get flooded; I'm sure they are of a different opinion about the lucky part. Members of the local Mormon church turned out in force to help clear the debris from yards and stack it by the road, so by the time we got home, our place was all cleaned up. Welcome to Deadfall Canyon Block after block, the only openings in the piles of debris were the driveways. This is across the street from our house, looking north. Some folks lost whole trees. A huge tree came down, targeted right on our house, but it got hung up on another tree before it got to where it thought it was going. I expect that firewood will be pretty cheap this winter. Tallow and live oak; good stuff for the fireplace. Looking out our driveway It was the same all over El Lago. The house we are planning to buy (next Tuesday!) is a block away at the other end of the street that runs right into our driveway. We're going up there today to check it out. Just a week before the storm, our landlord had a tree taken out that was right on the driveway. It would be to your left as you look at this picture, and surely would have taken out either our house or our neighbor's. Not exactly Happy Valley When I got home from work on Friday, there was a huge open truck blocking the road and backed up onto our driveway. They were clearing the debris just north of us on our street. They picked up the debris in front of our place yesterday. __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know? Last edited by Greg : 09-29-2008 at 01:46 AM. Reason: inserting typos

09-28-2008, 10:42 PM	#94
kimmyfrmtx Rising Sun Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 16	They are picking up debris on my street today, been out there about 4 hours already and only about 3/4 done. I was out roaming around today for a bit, it is amazing and uplifting to see people getting back to regular day to day activities. There were even some boats out on the bay today. Well tomorrow is Monday, back to normal life and the hunt for the (almost) perfect job.

09-29-2008, 01:48 AM	#95
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Yeah, it's great to see things kind of back to normal. I drive past a marina that's a total wreck (huge pile of boats, roof caved in) and of course right past the now-famous Hilton hotel, but once I get to the office, everything seems like it was before the storm. We checked out the new house today and we're GO for closing on Tuesday morning! __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

10-01-2008, 10:00 AM	#96
Bucket Brigade Rising Sun Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Other Manhattan Posts: 23	Wow! Kimmy and Greg, I'm glad you're all right! Did you close on your new house, Greg? I was very lucky with mine; got off the mortgage ladder before the bubble burst. __________________ *Bucky*

10-04-2008, 01:52 AM	#97
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Bucky, as a matter of fact, yes, we did close on our house! Just this evening! Gosh, it feels good to be a homeowner again! Of course, now we have to face the moving part of it! Ack! The crazy inflation in house prices never happened down here in Houston, so you didn't have people trying to ride the escalator. I've heard that out many places (especially southern California) people would buy a house that they couldn't make the payments on, but as the price of houses went up, they'd count on taking a loan on the equity to make the payments. __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

10-05-2008, 10:51 PM	#98
Crystal Addicted Anjafan Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 160	Yay!!!! You finally got into your new house!! Those pictures of your neighborhood are really neat too. It looks like its not too bad because there are lots of good trees. Buying a house and then borrowing more money to pay the mortage sounds kind of crazy.

10-06-2008, 02:51 AM	#99
Greg Da Guy Wut Owns Dis Joint Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 3,566	Thanks, Crystal! Now we just need to get motivated to move! Yeah, it was a crazy scheme. The bubble was bound to burst eventually. People were betting that they would be able to get onto the escalator and off again before that happened, but of course it was inevitable that for every house in that situation, somebody would get caught holding the bag. Erm... maybe I should add that we have a conventional FHA mortgage on a home that we can afford by the traditional rules and there's nobody named Fannie or Freddie anywhere in sight! __________________ Who are all these people and what do they know?

10-07-2008, 05:18 PM	#100
Crystal Addicted Anjafan Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 160	Yeah that does sound crazy. Is that what you meant Bucky about getting off the mortgage ladder? Greg of course you got a responsible mortgage!! Your a responsible person!!