FortKnox's Journal: Marvin Lewis, Steelers, and Why I'm So Grouchy

Marvin Lewis is an idiot. That, or he's under the 'Mike Brown' bubble like all Cincinnati Coaches have been. The news around town is Carson Palmer is the choice for the #1 pick. What a terrible idea. They should follow suit with the Chargers last year. I don't believe in Palmer. He had average years, except a great senior year. I think Leftwich is also a bad pick for the same reason. What should the Bengals do? Pick up Terrance Newman, a damn good shutdown corner, easily a starter on the first day, and will make a difference on the D, then second round picking up Dave Ragone, who had a great first three years, and an average senior year (due to the fact that he was behind a piss-poor O-line). That would give them a good QB to groom, and have a great D.

What will the Steelers do on draftday? The only real need is Strong Safety, and from the pre-draft press conferences, it looks like they will move Mike Logan from backup FS to SS. So will they look for a young QB to groom? I don't think so, they have Charlie Batch sitting on the pine waiting his chance. I am totally boggled as to who they will pick up.

Why I've been a grouch: My wife and I are looking for a house (actually, we've been looking for the past month). We were leaning towards a new home, but it was at the upper-bounds of our limit, and we wouldn't have the extra 10grand to buy window hardware and other stuff you need with a new house. So we are looking around for a good starter home. We found one in a REALLY nice neighborhood. Unfortunately, the houses in that neighborhood are sold within a week or two. The house went on the market on Wednesday last week, and we've been antsy to see if before it was sold. We saw it last night ant it was the only house we really loved. It has everything and is well within our budget. We're going to look at it again tonight, and may write up a contract to put in a bid. I'm nervous in a two-fold way.
1.) I hate doing this fast. Its a major purchase and I hate making the decision so aggressively (yes, we are getting an inspector and making sure there isn't any problems with the house, but its only had one owner (33 year old house) and the husband is a carpenter and kept REALLY good care of everythign).
2.) I don't want to go too slow and have to get into a bidding war with someone else...

From what I can tell it is an older couples house, and they are moving into a condo (they are leaving -all- the appliances and the entertainment center).

So cross your fingers for us, and I'll deliver the news when I hear it...

Things to note

[dalassa]

If they are leaving furniture and appliances make sure they are named specifically in the contract. When we bought our house the seller who really didn't want to sell in the first place kept coming back and saying that he owned things like the extra bricks.

Housebuying

[Iamthefallen]

The situation sounds familiar, we're also looking to buy a house in our area. About two weeks ago we found the house of choice, great neighbourhood with large well maintained lots and houses, the one we're looking at hasn't been taken care of and looks kinda rough. However the price is a bargain when compared to what it'd sell for if it just was cleaned up a bit. So, big decision, but right now it feels like a race against other potential buyers with us trying to get a loan and bid before someone else stea

There's never been a better time to buy!!!

[Keith Russell]

Dept. of Housinge: When I was house-hunting, I saw a wonderful house on the first day I went touring with my agent. About the same time I was snapping pictures of the back yard, somebody else was submitting their bid. It was then that I realized that, in a hot market, you've gotta go with your instincts, and move fast. Especially if you fall in love with a house right away. Yeah, it feels like you're riding a whirlwind. But if you've found something you really like, you're better off if you just go for it.

Watch out for contingencies...

[dmorin]

Worst thing in the world for new home buyers is when the seller agrees "on contingency of us finding a new home we like." Which means that everything can go perfectly, up until it's time to close, and they say "Oh, we haven't found a house yet, give us another 90 days..." and so on, and meanwhile you're screwed because odds are you've already had to get out of your own place. Even if it works out, it's still not worth feeling nauseous for every day of the closing period hoping to god that they don't call

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Good luck with the older house

[superflippy]

We bought one last year and even though the previous owners didn't take good care of it I still think we're much happier than we would've been with a new house. I felt much better about sinking a lot of money into a house that's been standing for 50 years than a brand-new structure that hasn't stood the test of time. And it seems my fears might have been well-placed: I saw on the news last night that many of the houses built in our area during the drought of the past few years are having problems with flood

I hope you get that house.

[eugene ts wong]

I sort of understand what it means to look for a place. That's 1 of the reasons why I wanted to join the military. With room & board available, it would ease my transition.

I'll be sure to say a prayer.

House Shopping

[glh]

Good luck on the house bid. It sounds like you're in the same boat we were when looking for a house. We hooked up with a realator (awesome service, well worth it). We told him the criteria we were looking for, and he did a search for us just about every day of the week. We would get listings before they were on even on the market which was nice (using the ML listings). Additionally, we have something in Toledo called "Aires Online" which allows you to look up EVERY little detail about the house you're

houses

[gmhowell]

Be careful of cars previously owned by mechanics, and houses previously owned by carpenters, contractors, etc. If you spend 70 hours/week working on other peoples' houses/cars, you might have your house/car *just* barely good enough. No, not the majority of time, but frequently.

When we bought our house, I accepted the asking price (which was fair, but luckily at the bottom of a market dip) but *only* if they were out within about 30 days. Maybe 25, can't remember. The contingency was a home inspection and