New Homeowners Asks Previous Owner,

Dear Previous Homeowner:

We love our new house, we really do. After over ten years of renting in the Chicagoland area, it's a joy to have a home of our own. We're enjoying our own little corner of heaven here, but we have to ask you, "Why did you take the cheap way out when you did your home improvements?"

This house has some wonderful features; they're the things we fell in love with when we made you an offer. We appreciated the desirable location, were relieved to see some new windows and the updated kitchen cabinets had so much charm. The fresh coat of paint in every room certainly sold us on buying your house, but we've been here for several months now and the many imperfections are revealing themselves in an unattractive fashion. Covering up problems with cheap, cosmetic fixes may have helped you when you were selling the house, but we're now paying the price.

Why Such Cheap Windows?

We began spring cleaning last week and were disappointed to discover that the windows that looked great from the outside are poorly constructed from cheap parts. Warm weather is here and we're opening and closing the windows more often. The screens are plastic, the corners aren't mitered evenly, the frames aren't sturdy and the sashes wobble. And the bathroom window? That's not really obscure glass, so we always have to worry about who's looking in. Why did you settle for a bathroom window that has an inexpensive, laminate sticker that will no doubt peel and scratch over time? Was the lack of privacy and poor craftsmanship worth it for you? Now we'll have to replace those nearly new windows, with your replacements being recycled or ending up in a landfill. Maybe I could use those junk screens as earring holders, but I doubt it.

Your Cheap Roofing Contractors Left Us With Lots Of Problems

When we looked at your former house and saw the newer roofing, we breathed a sigh of relief. But six months later, we're sighing in disgust. Those pretty shingles are already curling and starting to peel off and when we had our own roofing contractors look at them, we were shocked to learn that you had your new roof installed right on top of the old, damaged roofing underneath. Not only will we have to add new roofing, we'll have to have the older layers of damaged shingles removed so that our roofing contractors (Who have great references, by the way. Did you even ask your roofing contractors for references?) can fix the leaks and remove the water logged wood that has led to leaks in our bedroom. Thanks for that. It was great waking up to water slowly dripping onto our heads last week.

We Understand You Wanted To Sell Your Home Quickly, But…

We get it. Your realtor encouraged you to do some cosmetic fixes so that your house would look better compared to others in the area. We know that this wasn't your "forever home," but we don't understand why you spent your hard-earned money on improvements that won't last. Wasn't that a waste of your time, money and the cost of materials? We're not saying that you had to go with the most expensive versions of everything. All we're saying is that it's a shame that we're going to have to pay roofing contractors and window installers to do the same job now that you did just a few short years ago. That means all of your cheap home improvements will end up in a landfill somewhere, and nobody wants that, do they?

The next time you're doing improvements on the house you're now living in, do everyone a favor and remember that even if it's not your forever home, it might be the next owners' dream home. And keep in mind that the next house you buy might have been updated with the same cheap materials and shoddy installation that you put into our home. When that happens, we're pretty sure you'll be left wondering the same thing we are: "Why bother doing the work at all if they weren't going to do it right?"

Sincerely,

The Owners of Your Old House