It's been quite an adventure for us! I'm glad your nephew spotted that issue. I'll do a lot more vetting the next time we need a home inspector. The particular one we hired just came recommended by our real estate agent. We were in a hurry to get it done, so the seller didn't move on to the next buyer, so we agreed. There was a long list of things the inspector missed—expensive things that we could have used to negotiate a lower price.

It's good to have contractors you know and trust because it's a total crapshoot dealing with any individual or company for the first time. Online reviews are basically useless now as so many companies hire services that will write them hundreds of positive online reviews for a fee.

Most days I take this all in stride. Occasionally it feels as if it's too much, depending on my general mood and patience level. Thankfully, we've had both the time and money to deal with it. I tell my wife all the time that I'd have no idea what we'd have done if we had to work outside of the home. I don't think there's an FMLA clause for a troublesome home. : )

We just about have the house renovated as we wanted it, aesthetically. We only have the master bath to renovate and we plan on waiting another couple of years to do that.