I'm a home owner!

[mke]

Here's a picture of the house:



And advice sought: how do you distinguish a charlatan from a good plumber/electrician/roofer/etc.?

[hornplayer]

Congratulations!

advice on finding a legit and competent craftsperson... ask your friends or neighbors who they use and recommend.

[Jazzooo]

That's terrific, mke! Congrats.

You really should pick up a copy of Dave Barry's book: Homes and Other Black Holes. Funny stuff...and a little too true! They tend to keep sucking money out of your wallet, but it's worth it.

[clinthopson]

Waytago mke.

One of the best ways to find out about competent tradesmen is to check with your realtor. If the realtor has been in the area for a while, he/she should know which tradespersons are competent and reliable.

Also, if you know anyone in the constructyion business, they should be able to help.

[Al in NYC]

Nice house!!

I second Clint's opinion, although I'm not sure if things work the same way in Belgium. Our local realtors have been invaluable in helping us obtain competent renovation help for our new house in Brooklyn.

[Brian Olewnick]

Charlatans usually wear a long, pointy hat with tassels.

Great looking place. Good luck!

[Chris D]

Congratulations! There's no feeling like being able to come back to your own home.

[Erik Lund]

So I take it you're *not* moving in with me this summer?....Can I move in with you?


Congrats Mwanji - Go get some nookie.

[Douglas]

Some friends in Brussels told me that there is a Swedish firm operating there which has a very good reputation. Only problem is that they are booked for up to 18 months in advance. Good luck!

[Ron Thorne]

Congratulations, Mwanji.

Isn't it interesting to see that Mssr. Lund is offering advice? And on what subject?

Owning your own home is probably the first step toward independence as an adult, with or without "problems". It's so easy to underestimate or take-for-granted the thrill of "ownership".

You've received some good advice with respect to contractors/craftspersons, so keep your eyes and ears wide open and trust your instincts as well as your neighbors.

Best of luck.

[mke]

Thanks for the advice. What's a realtor?

Speaking of neighbours, we're moving to a relatively small village outside of Brussels. The atmosphere there is completely different: we haven't even moved in yet (doing so this week-end) and yet we already know more of our neighbours than we know after 1.5 years in Brussels...

I had actually posted this on the old board (without the photo, obviously), but I guess some of you didn't see that thread. So here's some more info:

We bought the house on the 12th of february. It's an old house (built in mid-1910s) and therefore needs a lot of work (electricity, heating, plumbing, bathrooms, windows...).

Yes, those are pink-tinted windows... I'll post some pictures from the inside, there are some, um, spectacular sights to behold...

[mke]

Originally posted by Erik Lund
....Can I move in with you?

That would be awesome! As long as you don't play any of that infernal racket you call music. :-))))

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Originally posted by mke


And advice sought: how do you distinguish a charlatan from a good plumber/electrician/roofer/etc.?

It's not possible since they are one and the same thing.

[Jazzooo]

Lol, Jimmy!

[Tanager]

I dunno if this advice applies to Belgium, but if you had bought a house here, I'd have told you:

One your block, there is one guy who seems to run an equipment rental out of his garage. Whatever power tool you might conceivably need, he owns it. Identify this person and make very good friends with him.

[Al in NYC]

Realtor = real estate agent (or, in Britain, I guess, just plain "estate agent," don't know the French or the Flemish).

[clinthopson]

mwb,

We own a 40 year old house in a mild climate area. We are constantly pouring money into it. It goes with the territory.

I would imagine that if you have a house close to 100 years old in Europe the problems only compound.

Houses, like human beings, wear out. And like human beings the wearing out isn't just on the surface. Plumbing, heating and electrical issues will arise. Structural problems like roofs and windows are common.

But in spite of that, congratulations on your new pad. It's an opportunity to make a house a home that reflects who you are.

And find that guy in the naighborhood who has all those tools. Jimmy's right, there's always one of them within hailing distance. If you have any luck, he'll know how to use them and can be hired with the promise of a couple of bottles of beer.

[Alain]

Originally posted by Al in NYC
Realtor = real estate agent (or, in Britain, I guess, just plain "estate agent," don't know the French or the Flemish).

realtor = agent immobilier.

[mke]

Originally posted by clinthopson
mwb,

Houses, like human beings, wear out. And like human beings the wearing out isn't just on the surface. Plumbing, heating and electrical issues will arise. Structural problems like roofs and windows are common.

Actually, we've already budgeted on replacing all of those (apart from the roof, which only needs minor work).

As for the power tools, in between my father and Iris's, we'll probably be the ones people come running to!



realtor: that's what I thought, but I wasn't sure.

[mke]

Welcome!

[mke]

And on the right, we have the Red Room, aka the "Versailles" Room. The really crazy thing (apart from the fact that humans actually lived with this wallpaper) is that there's matching linoleum!

Actually, some of the layers of wallpaper hidden underneath are actually worse...

(nota: the colours are kind of off, the red is deeper in reality)

[Erik Lund]

Wow - what a strange and great house!

I just moved into a new place with my roommate Tian Bei. It's pretty neat - but your place looks fuckin' loopy! Nice spot for parties if you're still young enough to have those.






Of course I don't play any of that weird music anymore. Nothing but non-weird shit now....


....


....



.....

[clinthopson]

That red room has a kinda 60's ski-ka-del-ic feel to it. No doubt the decorator dropped some acid whilst designing it.

Like they say: It has possibilities.

Congratulations, mke, I look forward to seeing the "after" photos.

[mke]

Despite what Moné thinks, being a house-owner is hip! Ever since I bought it, I've had access to a higher quality of female than most of you could imagine and have moved several steps closer to the GQ lifestyle we all aspire to.

I can only imagine what will happen when we actually have a kitchen, a bathroom, heating, hot water, non-antiquated electrical wiring, rooms with more than one socket in them, double-glazing, non-pink tinted windows, a decent front door and modern plaster on the walls downstairs (ie plaster without straw in it). We did get the roof fixed, that's a start.

At the moment we're trying to find a way not to have to rent out the first floor.

"After" pictures... how patient are you?

[mke]

Since monday, workers have been taking care of the ground floor, substantially opening up spaces that seemed too cramped. They haven't quite finished yet, but it's already a lot better.

An electrician is coming friday and saturday.

I'll scan some "before" pictures, if I can find them.

[Jazzzoline]

A good plumber?
When he bends for reaching under the sink, you can see at least 4 inches of butt crack.

[Jazzooo]

mke, here's a ridiculous question--do you know a young couple (late 20s, early 30s) named Erika (American) and Lode (Belgian) with a two year old?

These small world things don't work out very often, but then again--sometimes they do.

[walto]

Congrats, Mwanji! That place is too nice to ever need a plumber or electrician. What are you worrying about?

[mke]

Originally posted by Jazzooo
mke, here's a ridiculous question--do you know a young couple (late 20s, early 30s) named Erika (American) and Lode (Belgian) with a two year old?

These small world things don't work out very often, but then again--sometimes they do.

Sorry, no. Where do they live?