(PROJECT) Brady Fairfield Inn by Marriott

[TheArtist]

Not exactly...property taxes and maintenance.

Maintenance can be a huge thing!  Even as we speak, I am planning the next big project - painting the house.  It has been about 16 years and while it still looks good from the curb, it is time.  And it is a bigger project than many people want to mess with.

Gonna have to strip off the old vinyl siding its getting brittle and warping (so much for lasting forever), and do a paint job here.  Couple years ago a water pipe busted under the house/foundation, $3,000.  Just got an estimate for jacking up the foundation because the drought caused the house to settle and crack $7,000 plus right there.  The driveway is also cracked and will have to be replaced some day. Mowing, trimming, weeding, planting, cutting down trees, mulching, watering, etc. always a blast lol. Will need new windows one of these days, and the gutters are going to need replacing.  Water heater and air conditioning units are looking long in the tooth. And yes, even if the house is paid off you will always have property taxes and insurance.  Sometimes an apartment doesn't look so bad lol.  Unfortunately, right now I need a lot of space or would also have to have a very large studio/workspace.


Oh, and yaaay on the groundbreaking for the Hotel!

[dbacks fan]

Gonna have to strip off the old vinyl siding its getting brittle and warping (so much for lasting forever), and do a paint job here.  Couple years ago a water pipe busted under the house/foundation, $3,000.  Just got an estimate for jacking up the foundation because the drought caused the house to settle and crack $7,000 plus right there.  The driveway is also cracked and will have to be replaced some day. Mowing, trimming, weeding, planting, cutting down trees, mulching, watering, etc. always a blast lol. Will need new windows one of these days, and the gutters are going to need replacing.  Water heater and air conditioning units are looking long in the tooth. And yes, even if the house is paid off you will always have property taxes and insurance.  Sometimes an apartment doesn't look so bad lol.  Unfortunately, right now I need a lot of space or would also have to have a very large studio/workspace.
Oh, and yaaay on the groundbreaking for the Hotel!

Yes, but with an apartment, you have some one living above, behind, below or beside you.

[heironymouspasparagus]

When you crunch all the numbers, there's no way home ownership is remotely comparable to an apartment. If you tally all these costs and you manage to sell for way more than you paid, maybe you come out even.

You got:
*Insurance on the structure.

*Property taxes.

*Maintenance (it sure is nice when everybody's worried about ice storm damage or whatever to know you're not gonna be financially screwed by a freak weather event)

*Increased utilities (a small one-bedroom is ridiculously cheap to heat and cool. $100 for a couple of the hottest months. $25 for the cheap months. In an old multi-unit brick building, you barely even need to turn on the heat until it gets really cold)

*Possible addition of a second car to the household and all its assorted expenses. Even the closest Owen Park homes are still two or three times farther from the core of downtown than most downtown apartments.

*Lawn maintenance costs (not huge, but I'm sure they add up).

*Safety/security. In an apartment in a multi-story building, the only real likely point of entry for a criminal is the door. In a house, you have way more points of entry. As someone who very easily broke into my parents house (as a child) multiple times when I forgot the key, that's kind of scary. So I'd probably need an alarm.

*Additional time expenditures. You're always tinkering with something on your house on weekends.

You got it exactly right!! 

And Townsend has been channeling Jay Schaeffer.  One of my favorite places on the web for years!

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

There is no excuse for the excess we see in today's McMansion mentality.  It is a tradeoff of quality for quantity - good quality housing for volume in a box.  If I can remember, I will try to get a picture of Bob Stoop's new place and post it.  It is THE epitome of what is wrong with the collusion between builders, realtors, and county tax assessors in this country!  And just TRY to build a small house and see what happens.

[jacobi]

quote]There is no excuse for the excess we see in today's McMansion mentality.  It is a tradeoff of quality for quantity - good quality housing for volume in a box.[/quote]

here, here.  The idea that we are all supposed to live in a little feifdom complete with moor is rediculous.  Maybe we should resurect surfdom as well.  Contact dick dale at the belarussian consulate!

Yes, but with an apartment, you have some one living above, behind, below or beside you.

this isn't always a problem.  Sure in the smaller older buidlings your neighbours can get to know your morning routine beter than you would hope.  But when I live at central park, I never heard anything (ok one time, I heard my neighbours having sex in time with Bon Jovi's living on a prayer, which wasn't annoying.  It was HILARIOUS!) and certainly couldn't hear anything from my upstairs and downtairs neighbours.  My rent was 950 for including cable (not interwebs, but I think it is now).  My personal preference would be to never, ever touch the handle of a mower ever again, just pay one bill, have the cellar dwellar as my auxilliary living room, and live on bicycle.  And never hear bon jovi again without a big smile on my face. 

[Red Arrow]

quote]There is no excuse for the excess we see in today's McMansion mentality.  It is a tradeoff of quality for quantity - good quality housing for volume in a box.

I don't want a huge house but I want to need a phone to reach out and touch my neighbor.

My personal preference would be to never, ever touch the handle of a mower ever again, just pay one bill, have the cellar dwellar as my auxilliary living room, and live on bicycle.  And never hear bon jovi again without a big smile on my face. 

I'm not real fond of mowing grass but I consider it the price I pay to have some room around me.  My next door neighbor plays his guitar loud enough I can hear it at the carport on the property line.  I can't hear it in the house.   We can let the dogs out in the fenced-in back yard and they have room to run and occasionally catch a rabbit, squirrel, or mole.  I wish he would catch a few more.  The moles make a mess and the squirrels eat my tomatoes.

[heironymouspasparagus]

quote]There is no excuse for the excess we see in today's McMansion mentality.  It is a tradeoff of quality for quantity - good quality housing for volume in a box.

here, here.  The idea that we are all supposed to live in a little feifdom complete with moor is rediculous.  Maybe we should resurect surfdom as well. 

Serfdom is the economic model we are pursuing at breakneck speed!!

[nathanm]

I don't want a huge house but I want to need a phone to reach out and touch my neighbor.

Don't punch a hole in your wall and it's not a problem.

[Red Arrow]

Don't punch a hole in your wall and it's not a problem.

Have you seen the Cleartone advertisements?  You obviously cannot hear them.

[nathanm]

Have you seen the Cleartone advertisements?  You obviously cannot hear them.

WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEAK UP!

[Red Arrow]

WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEAK UP!

IS THIS LOUD ENOUGH?

[nathanm]

WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT CROWDS?

[dbacks fan]

Your dentist says you need a crown?

[jacobi]

Clowns? they scare the hell out of me!

[dbacks fan]

Drowns in a stairwell?

[nathanm]

It's not polite to tell people they're going to hell