Ed backfilled the main house foundation today. I put up the second row of MiraDrain 5000 (Foundation Drainage Panel), as he backfilled.
Also started doing the basement floor prep work:
1) Pulling out the hay that lined the footer to protect it from last winter's frost. Ripping out all the grass/weeds that grew in there.
2) Leveling out the ground, about 3 in below the top of the footer. Excavator had to scrape the ground down in some spots, and add dirt to other spots.
3) Dumping in 3 inches of gravel base for the basement slab floor.
Photo album of Backfilling the Foundation
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Main House Footing Drains Approved
Ed worked on the footing drains Aug 11 and 12. The inspector came today and approved them. Ed started to backfill in the afternoon. He tied in 2 standpipes to connect the garage footing drains, which will be about 4 feet above the main house footing drains.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Construction Loan Closing - Ulster Savings Bank !!!
This might be one of the happiest days of the past 2 years. Probably the happiest since the day my wife and I saw this piece of property, and made an offer on it.
I thought I was a financial genious, and if I found the right loan rates, etc., I would have no problem getting my construction loan. Well I am not going to go into the whole sorted story, but after literally going through a nightmare with 3 separate loan companies (Countrywide, Amerifund, and Flagstar), I finally found a great, no fantastic contruction loan company:
Ulster Savings Bank
The loan originator that I dealt with was Margaret O'Conner. She was extremely knowledgable and helpful. I was refered to this bank by the guy I bought the property from. He is a builder and finances his new construction houses this way. His own personal home too.
The best thing about Ulster Savings Bank was everything I guess. Great loan originator. Honest and upfront. Low interest rates, and very low construction loan fees. Everthing they told me in the beginning was true. They didn't spring any surprises on me. Very little paperwork/documentation compared to the other lenders I dealt with. I sent Ulster Savings Bank a small stack of paper, maybe 3/4 of an inch high. They told me what they needed, I sent it, and the loan was aproved, I closed. The closing took 25 minutes. Those people really have their act together. They don't waste time on useless paperwork. Just the facts.
I must have sent a stack of paper 3 or 4 inches high, to other lenders. Day after day, week after week, they would come up with some more documents I needed. Until eventually I gave up, or they wanted something else, which I could not provide. One bank told me, after 3 months of faxes, that I needed to liquidate my 401k account, then my loan would be approved. What a joke. I said screw them.
Boy did I make some mistakes with the financing. But I think I'm golden now.
I thought I was a financial genious, and if I found the right loan rates, etc., I would have no problem getting my construction loan. Well I am not going to go into the whole sorted story, but after literally going through a nightmare with 3 separate loan companies (Countrywide, Amerifund, and Flagstar), I finally found a great, no fantastic contruction loan company:
Ulster Savings Bank
The loan originator that I dealt with was Margaret O'Conner. She was extremely knowledgable and helpful. I was refered to this bank by the guy I bought the property from. He is a builder and finances his new construction houses this way. His own personal home too.
The best thing about Ulster Savings Bank was everything I guess. Great loan originator. Honest and upfront. Low interest rates, and very low construction loan fees. Everthing they told me in the beginning was true. They didn't spring any surprises on me. Very little paperwork/documentation compared to the other lenders I dealt with. I sent Ulster Savings Bank a small stack of paper, maybe 3/4 of an inch high. They told me what they needed, I sent it, and the loan was aproved, I closed. The closing took 25 minutes. Those people really have their act together. They don't waste time on useless paperwork. Just the facts.
I must have sent a stack of paper 3 or 4 inches high, to other lenders. Day after day, week after week, they would come up with some more documents I needed. Until eventually I gave up, or they wanted something else, which I could not provide. One bank told me, after 3 months of faxes, that I needed to liquidate my 401k account, then my loan would be approved. What a joke. I said screw them.
Boy did I make some mistakes with the financing. But I think I'm golden now.
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