# House hunting and steep driveways.



## paratrooper

We've been house hunting now for well over three months. We are looking at both new and used homes. Recently, we've been considering having one built.

We were out again today in the 102 degree heat looking. We stopped by a couple of open houses as well. We were in an area today that commands higher prices. One thing I noticed again, were the driveways. Many were crazy steep. Some were so short that once you backed out of the garage, the driveway immediately began it's decline. Some were so long, that you couldn't see the end of it, or the house it lead to.

I have to assume that around here, there isn't any code that regulates the incline of a driveway. Some were so steep, that they had steps off to either side and had a handrail. I've owned 4x4 vehicles in the past, and I'm a damn good driver. But, some of the driveways were so insanely steep, they boggled the mind. I'm talking inclines of well over 45 degrees. Maybe as much as 60 degrees?

We've looked at homes that were nice and met our needs. But, they either had an incredibly short driveway, or one that was crazy steep, or a combination of both. For me a driveway is important. It needs to be wide and flat as possible. I use it to work on vehicles, as well as wash them. Bad driveways have been a deal breaker in regards to the house.

We've seen some driveways that were so long, it had to have cost over $30K or more to make. Both concrete and paver bricks. Anyways, it's crazy as can be to see some of the steep driveways that people put up with. We do get snow here. It must be a real challenge to keep them clear when it snows.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

Where are you?


----------



## paratrooper

Slowalkintexan said:


> Where are you?


N. AZ.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

We're having a problem, here on our island: Vacation Rentals (VRs).
Evidently, the same problem is now cropping up in Arizona (I've just recently read about it in Sedona).

These are homes which were purchased by investors, to be used exclusively as B&B rentals, either through the AirB&B system or privately advertised.
Nobody lives in them. All visitors are short-term, noisy, and careless of the neighborhood (since they have no investment in it).
These VRs end up driving their neighbors out, or, for those homeowners who stay, making life unpleasant in the extreme.

When you're looking at houses, and even when contemplating building anew, watch out for VRs in the vicinity. Ask the potential neighbors about their experiences with transient visitors. Ask the realtor with whom you're dealing.
As if the mere presence of VRs weren't bad enough, they tend to raise the cost of housing because VR investors take over much of the existing stock in a desirable area, leaving the few remaining houses to be fought over by real home-buyers.


----------



## RK3369

Makes the driveway pretty worthless, IMO.

Regarding the STVR’s. We’re also having a lot of problems in our city with them. Heard of an incident a little while ago where a VR guest parked in a clearly marked no parking private driveway owned by the next door neighbor, and when the neighbor went out to tell the renter to move his car the renter pulled a gun on him. Also lot s of complaints about noise late at night, garbage, destructive behavior (because most of the renters don’t care and figure they’re paying for it, and lots of out of town investors trying to skirt local regulations on STVR’s in general. Getting pretty bad locally from what I hear and read.


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> We're having a problem, here on our island: Vacation Rentals (VRs).
> Evidently, the same problem is now cropping up in Arizona (I've just recently read about it in Sedona).
> 
> These are homes which were purchased by investors, to be used exclusively as B&B rentals, either through the AirB&B system or privately advertised.
> Nobody lives in them. All visitors are short-term, noisy, and careless of the neighborhood (since they have no investment in it).
> These VRs end up driving their neighbors out, or, for those homeowners who stay, making life unpleasant in the extreme.
> 
> When you're looking at houses, and even when contemplating building anew, watch out for VRs in the vicinity. Ask the potential neighbors about their experiences with transient visitors. Ask the realtor with whom you're dealing.
> As if the mere presence of VRs weren't bad enough, they tend to raise the cost of housing because VR investors take over much of the existing stock in a desirable area, leaving the few remaining houses to be fought over by real home-buyers.


Thanks for the tip. That can be a problem in cities like Phoenix and Tucson. But, up here, not so much.

Truth-be-told, our community isn't a vacation destination. Towns like Sedona certainly are. I know it rather well, as it's part of one of my favorite loops to ride.


----------



## paratrooper

RK3369 said:


> Makes the driveway pretty worthless, IMO.
> 
> Regarding the STVR's. We're also having a lot of problems in our city with them. Heard of an incident a little while ago where a VR guest parked in a clearly marked no parking private driveway owned by the next door neighbor, and when the neighbor went out to tell the renter to move his car the renter pulled a gun on him. Also lot s of complaints about noise late at night, garbage, destructive behavior (because most of the renters don't care and figure they're paying for it, and lots of out of town investors trying to skirt local regulations on STVR's in general. Getting pretty bad locally from what I hear and read.


My thoughts exactly. About a month or so ago, we looked at an open house. It was in a nice area, all homes were newer and very well maintained. Inside, it pretty much met our needs.

But......the driveway was ridiculous. It was in very good condition, except that it was crazy steep and it leveled off for about 3', just prior to the garage door.

Using that driveway required the use of a parking brake at all times. If for some reason your car rolled down the driveway, it would end up in the front room of the house across the street. It was just that steep. No way could you come home from grocery shopping and leave your car parked on it. No way that you could keep your car doors open.

The driveway was wide (which I loved), and it even had RV parking, as long as your RV had four-wheel drive. The RV portion was gravel. No way you could back up a full-sized RV w/o four-wheel drive on that gravel. It would been a monumental task just trying to back up a travel trailer with a pick-up truck.

We've passed up a lot of homes just because of the driveway being too steep and/or short.


----------



## pic

With tooo steep of a driveway , I would ask (red flag) why is the Driveway that steep?
I know you must have asked? What was their response?


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> With tooo steep of a driveway , I would ask (red flag) why is the Driveway that steep?
> I know you must have asked? What was their response?


A lot of houses are being built on steep slopes. It's kind of funny. We've been in a lot of new areas being developed and on one side of the street, the driveway is level or close to being level. On the other side of the street, the driveways are steep.

We've looked at some houses that were about 20' below the street level. You have to drive down a steep driveway, and then make a hard turn to get into the garage. That's fine & dandy, if you're driving a compact car. Me in my 2002 Chev. crew-cab? No way!

One house we looked at had some real potential. But.......it was way below the street level and it didn't have a lot of room in which to maneuver when it came to getting a car in or out of the garage. It was crazy! And yet, someone decided to build it there. 

That picture you posted is a perfect example of what we have seen. And, to make matters worse, some of the driveways are so short, you'd be lucky if you parked an average size car on the drive and the rear didn't hang over the sidewalk.

I haven't had a chance to speak to a builder as of yet. Only real estate agents. They try and not dwell on the negative aspects of what they are showing.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Downhill side of the street?
In a desert-flood rain?
No, thank you.

That may be the why of the steep driveways.
.


----------



## desertman

pic said:


> With tooo steep of a driveway , I would ask (red flag) why is the Driveway that steep?
> I know you must have asked? What was their response?


My God! That can't be for real? Who the hell would ever buy a house with a driveway like that? Never mind the driveway, just having a house perched like that on top of a hill?

I wonder why they didn't just excavate the ground to a reasonable level and built a retaining wall in the back? At any rate I doubt those houses will sell. Somebody's gonna' lose a lot of money.


----------



## pic

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Downhill side of the street?
> In a desert-flood rain?
> No, thank you.
> 
> That may be the why of the steep driveways.
> .


Plenty of mountain ranges. 
We better talk to the developer, get some straight answers, lol


----------



## paratrooper

desertman said:


> My God! That can't be for real? Who the hell would ever buy a house with a driveway like that? Never mind the driveway, just having a house perched like that on top of a hill?
> 
> I wonder why they didn't just excavate the ground to a reasonable level and built a retaining wall in the back? At any rate I doubt those houses will sell. Somebody's gonna' lose a lot of money.


Oh believe me, they sell. No problem there! Which begs the question. Why would someone buy a house with a driveway like that?

Like I mentioned previously. Some drive ways are very steep and long. So long, you can't see the top of them. You have to assume that maybe they get level, more-or-less, at the top.

We've seen some, that are so steep and long, you literally cannot see the house they lead to.


----------



## desertman

paratrooper said:


> Oh believe me, they sell. No problem there! *Which begs the question. Why would someone buy a house with a driveway like that?*
> 
> Like I mentioned previously. Some drive ways are very steep and long. So long, you can't see the top of them. You have to assume that maybe they get level, more-or-less, at the top.
> 
> We've seen some, that are so steep and long, you literally cannot see the house they lead to.


Which begs another question. As to why anyone would ever vote for a Democrat, but they do?

The other thing that I could never understand is why some homes are built right on a major highway? It's literally in some of their backyards.

I feel for you though my friend, finding and buying a house that suits your needs can be a major pain in the ass. Unless of course money is no object. Myself, I'm pretty much happy with where we are and the house we have. I live in an older neighborhood in a 43 year old home. Would I love to have a nicer one, with awesome views and all the modern amenities? You're damn straight I would. But it is what it is. It's not a dump or Buckingham Palace, it's a warm place to sh*t, keeps the occasional rain off my head and my vehicles dry. What more could I ask for?


----------



## paratrooper

desertman said:


> Which begs another question. As to why anyone would ever vote for a Democrat, but they do?
> 
> The other thing that I could never understand is why some homes are built right on a major highway? It's literally in some of their backyards.
> 
> I feel for you though my friend, finding and buying a house that suits your needs can be a major pain in the ass. Unless of course money is no object. Myself, I'm pretty much happy with where we are and the house we have. I live in an older neighborhood in a 43 year old home. Would I love to have a nicer one, with awesome views and all the modern amenities? You're damn straight I would. But it is what it is. It's not a dump or Buckingham Palace, it's a warm place to sh*t, keeps the occasional rain off my head and my vehicles dry. What more could I ask for?


I'm happy right where we are, for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. But, my wife wants something new(er). She's lost some of the initial drive she had when we first started looking.

She wants to spend more and I want to spend less. There's got to be a happy medium, but it's just that we haven't agreed on what that is as of yet.

I've got an ace in the hole! It's called time........and it's on my side!


----------



## pic

Maybe , add a room, knock down a wall . Build an addition over the garage
Finish the basement.


----------



## desertman

paratrooper said:


> I'm happy right where we are, for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. But, my wife wants something new(er). She's lost some of the initial drive she had when we first started looking.
> 
> She wants to spend more and I want to spend less. There's got to be a happy medium, but it's just that we haven't agreed on what that is as of yet.
> 
> I've got an ace in the hole! It's called time........and it's on my side!


At least for my wife and I the most important thing is to not have any debt. We both worked for the same company and lost our jobs when they relocated to Virginia. We thought that we'd always have a career and retire with benefits with that company. Fortunately our house was paid off at the time and we were able to work a lot of overtime for about two years before they moved. That and severance pay gave us enough to live on while we worked on starting a home based business. Our biggest expense was paying for our own health insurance.

We were living like paupers for awhile. But since we never spent beyond our means and had no debt we didn't have to sell or lose anything. In spite of having to start all over from scratch.

I hate to think of what our situation would've been like if we still had a mortgage, equity or car loan? Some of our former co-workers did. They hadda' have more than and out do the Joneses. A few packed up and moved with the company. Others had to work two or three jobs, either that or lose everything.

Well before that I went to a trucking school and learned to drive tractor trailers and we had considered doing that as a husband and wife team. After 20 weekends of driving a truck I realized that was not a good way to make a living. The truck becomes your home and you have very little free time. I did like driving them though, for me it was the ultimate driving experience. But living out of one, not so much. Not too mention all of the idiots you have to share the road with and being out on the highway in all types of weather at all hours. But if I had to at least it was something else I could do. So I have no regrets.

Auto mechanics and working on guns I've done for most of my life as a hobby. I suppose I could have done that too? It's one thing working on your own cars when you feel like it or have to out of necessity. Quite another when you've gotta' do it day in and day out.

Indeed as you say you've gotta' have "an ace in the hole". You never know what curves life can throw at you.


----------



## desertman

pic said:


> Maybe , add a room, knock down a wall . Build an addition over the garage
> Finish the basement.


One of my friends did that. He first bought a small one room bungalow. As a car guy the most important thing for him was the garage. His garage was bigger than his house. Then he got married and there was no way in hell they could live in that house for the rest of their lives. We often laughed about his house being half the size of his 24X24 two car garage.

But he was smart about it. He bought the worst house in the best neighborhood. Over the years they added on to the house and now have a lot to show for it, including a 5 car garage. If he ever did have to sell there would be no way that he'd lose any money on it. He's a workaholic. When he's not working his full time job he's restoring other people's cars.


----------



## paratrooper

desertman said:


> At least for my wife and I the most important thing is to not have any debt. We both worked for the same company and lost our jobs when they relocated to Virginia. We thought that we'd always have a career and retire with benefits with that company. Fortunately our house was paid off at the time and we were able to work a lot of overtime for about two years before they moved. That and severance pay gave us enough to live on while we worked on starting a home based business. Our biggest expense was paying for our own health insurance.
> 
> We were living like paupers for awhile. But since we never spent beyond our means and had no debt we didn't have to sell or lose anything. In spite of having to start all over from scratch.
> 
> I hate to think of what our situation would've been like if we still had a mortgage, equity or car loan? Some of our former co-workers did. They hadda' have more than and out do the Joneses. A few packed up and moved with the company. Others had to work two or three jobs, either that or lose everything.
> 
> Well before that I went to a trucking school and learned to drive tractor trailers and we had considered doing that as a husband and wife team. After 20 weekends of driving a truck I realized that was not a good way to make a living. The truck becomes your home and you have very little free time. I did like driving them though, for me it was the ultimate driving experience. But living out of one, not so much. Not too mention all of the idiots you have to share the road with and being out on the highway in all types of weather at all hours. But if I had to at least it was something else I could do. So I have no regrets.
> 
> Auto mechanics and working on guns I've done for most of my life as a hobby. I suppose I could have done that too? It's one thing working on your own cars when you feel like it or have to out of necessity. Quite another when you've gotta' do it day in and day out.
> 
> Indeed as you say you've gotta' have "an ace in the hole". You never know what curves life can throw at you.


My wife and I have always been very responsible when it came to debt and not living beyond our financial means.

I retired @ age 55 1/2. We had our house paid for 9 months prior to that. When I retired, my wife did the same.

We've been in the same house now for 31 years. It's a good decent house. Nothing fancy or elaborate. We're in the process of having a new roof put on it, as well as all new rain gutters and fascia coverings.

I suspect that she just wants something new and different. Something larger and more-up-to-date. She likes the open concept and a modern kitchen. I don't mind house hunting all that much. It gets me out of the house for a while and usually lunch out. 

Sure, I'd like a bigger garage. My current garage is right at 527 sq. feet. I've seen some closer to 800+ and they are nice! Lots of room!

But, I am seeing my wife back off somewhat. She's frustrated that we can't seem to find that house that is just right. I just kind of give her the time and effort she wants to put in to house hunting. She spends a lot of time hunting on the computer. She's actually become quite good at it.

Her adult son is only a few weeks away from getting his real estate license again. He gave it up way back in 2005 or so. Once he gets it again, he'll be looking for us as well. We've been resisting all the agents that keep telling us they'll work for us.

Anyways, I'm holding out hope that we'll end up staying right where we are. We've discussed adding on a room and such. So far, it's just talk.


----------



## desertman

paratrooper said:


> My wife and I have always been very responsible when it came to debt and not living beyond our financial means.
> 
> I retired @ age 55 1/2. We had our house paid for 9 months prior to that. When I retired, my wife did the same.
> 
> We've been in the same house now for 31 years. It's a good decent house. Nothing fancy or elaborate. We're in the process of having a new roof put on it, as well as all new rain gutters and fascia coverings.
> 
> I suspect that she just wants something new and different. Something larger and more-up-to-date. She likes the open concept and a modern kitchen. I don't mind house hunting all that much. It gets me out of the house for a while and usually lunch out.
> 
> Sure, I'd like a bigger garage. My current garage is right at 527 sq. feet. I've seen some closer to 800+ and they are nice! Lots of room!
> 
> But, I am seeing my wife back off somewhat. She's frustrated that we can't seem to find that house that is just right. I just kind of give her the time and effort she wants to put in to house hunting. She spends a lot of time hunting on the computer. She's actually become quite good at it.
> 
> Her adult son is only a few weeks away from getting his real estate license again. He gave it up way back in 2005 or so. Once he gets it again, he'll be looking for us as well. We've been resisting all the agents that keep telling us they'll work for us.
> 
> Anyways, I'm holding out hope that we'll end up staying right where we are. We've discussed adding on a room and such. So far, it's just talk.


Damn, we sure have a lot in common!

We lost our jobs while we were in our 40's. Went out and bought a computer, taught ourselves how to use it, then figured out how we could earn a living with one. That's how we ended up starting our own business working from home.

Fortunately for us we had a 15 year mortgage and the house was paid off by that time. If we had a 30 year we probably could have bought a nicer house? But it was more important for us to have a lessor home and own it quicker. Our home is a 2000 sq. ft. 3bdr 2bth with a family room that used to be an attached garage. We use the family room for work. We have a detached 1100 sq. ft. oversized 3 car garage. Plenty of room for the vehicles and workspace. This is our 2nd home. Our first was only 1100 sq. ft. the same size as our current garage. It too had a 3 car garage, but not as big as our current one.

We've had a good real estate agent when selling our first home and a bad one buying our next home. I guess it's a roll of the dice? The second real estate agent had my wife in tears. She wanted us to sign a contract for our next home before the closing of our first. If for some reason the deal fell through on our original home we'd be stuck owning two homes. She just kept on pestering us until our real estate agent basically told her where to go. We were paying cash from the sale of our first home and didn't have to deal with getting a mortgage. After that not a peep outta' her.

I've owned the antique cars since I was in my 20's and still living at home with my parents. When it was time to look for a house at least a 3 car garage was paramount as those cars weren't going anywhere. I had three antique cars at one time but sold one when we bought a new truck. The car I sold I had no personal connection to as I did with the other two. One of which my wife and I dated in and drove all over God's creation in. Eventually I did a full restoration on that car which took 3 years and every spare minute I had. Weekends, vacations, holidays, after work, EVERYTHING. My wife too got down and dirty.

The other is a true "Classic Car" as recognized by the Classic Car Club of America. It was a drivable car, but It did need a lot of work. The price was right and worth whatever I had to put into it. It is a real traffic stopper though. It's over 20 ft. long and weighs 3 tons. There are only about 20 of them left out of the 2473 that were made at a cost of around $4,000 new. That was during the depression!

One of my friends told me that I was dabbling in a rich man's hobby with that particular car. I spent about $10,000 in parts and materials alone for that car but did all of the labor. As things started to go I kept on fixing them. Tires, brakes, exhaust, suspension, cooling, electrical, fuel and ignition systems and eventually the engine. It had an older paint job and was cracking in spots, some area's looked like alligator skin. I ended up re-painting about one third of the car, all of the areas where the paint was cracking and lifting. To do a full paint job would mean laying the car up for too long and the rest of the car is not that bad. Not only that but I can take it anywhere and it's just too much fun to drive.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

OK, OK, don't keep me in suspense...
What Classic Car is it?
A Jordan Playboy? A Duesenberg? An Edsel? An Austin 7?
Well...?


----------



## desertman

Steve M1911A1 said:


> OK, OK, don't keep me in suspense...
> What Classic Car is it?
> A Jordan Playboy? A Duesenberg? An Edsel? An Austin 7?
> Well...?


The CCCA's definition of classic refers to cars that were made between 1925 and 1948. All are limited production and were very expensive when new.

Is there a way to send you a private message?

The car I have is rare, registered and on the road, I do not want to mention the make and model on-line for obvious reasons. The same reason why I and others blur or cover the serial numbers on firearms when posting their pictures. Sorry.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

desertman said:


> ...Is there a way to send you a private message?...


Click on: [email protected]

(The "Edsel" crack was meant to be wise-ass.)
Were it my own choice, it'd be either this 4.5-liter blower Bentley with an exhaust cut-out...









...or a Bugatti Type 55...


----------



## Slowalkintexan

I have seen a smiling picture of that driveway,,, I just don’t understand the builders thinking,, and what about the houses on the other side of the street?? What are their driveways like?


----------



## paratrooper

Slowalkintexan said:


> I have seen a smiling picture of that driveway,,, I just don't understand the builders thinking,, and what about the houses on the other side of the street?? What are their driveways like?


We've seen driveways exactly like those in the picture. Crazy steep......and short.

On the other side of the street, the driveways can be quite level and normal. Some may have a slight decline, but not too bad.


----------



## desertman

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Click on: M191[email protected]
> 
> (The "Edsel" crack was meant to be wise-ass.)
> Were it my own choice, it'd be either this 4.5-liter blower Bentley with an exhaust cut-out...
> View attachment 17347
> 
> 
> ...or a Bugatti Type 55...
> View attachment 17348


The Bentley and Bugatti is way outta' my league. If I could have my choice it would be a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ or any Duesenberg for that matter. Pre-war American cars (1929-1940) have always been my thing. I've never gotten into the car hobby based on speculation of what a cars future value may be or as an investment. Investing in cars is a fools errand and a crap shoot at most. Especially if you've gotta' pay someone to do all the work.

I like the body styles of the pre-war cars whether they go up in value or down in value is irrelevant to me. I have no intention of ever selling mine. I put a lot of time and effort into them and they are part of my heart and soul.

What's collectible and desirable today may not be in the future. Those televised auctions in my opinion haven't done the car hobby any good. Now everyone who has a run of the mill late 60's early 70's Chevelle think they're sitting on a gold mine. All it takes are for two wealthy people with more money than brains trying to out bid each other for a mass produced car that they made hundreds of thousands of. Okay maybe its got a numbers matching big block engine in it but it's still a Chevelle. One actually sold for $1.15 Million. Go to any car show and they're a dime a dozen. I'm just using the Chevelle as an example. You can substitute Mustang, Nova, Impala, Camaro, Firebird etc.

My choice for a muscle car would be a '61 Chevy 409 "bubble top" or even better yet a '67 Shelby G.T. 500 with inboard lights like the one Jim Morrison had. After that a '67 Corvette Fastback 427/435 Goodwood Green, tan leather interior, lake pipes with the white "Stinger" hood stripe.

But most of all I'd want one of these, not to make a living with. Just for the hell of it:


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Naaa...

Too hard to find a parking space.
And the bathroom is too cramped.
.


----------



## paratrooper

Speaking of garages, I could make do with this. 

Problem is, our budget couldn't.


----------



## paratrooper

So far, my wife and I have sort of come to an agreement that we focus on having a new house built, rather than try and find an existing one.

We already have a builder in mind that has a floor plan that we like. My wife wants to tweak it just a bit though, to take it from the standard 1777 sq ft. to right about 2000 sq. ft. The builders don't like to deviate from their standard floor plan, but have agreed to do it if we come up with a modest, non-refundable deposit.

My current garage is 527 sq. ft. The garage in the new home will be 949 sq. ft.  My wife wants to bump out one of the bedrooms to make it larger, as well as one of the two bathrooms.

The house will sit on a 1/2 acre lot, and we already know exactly where the lot will be. My wife spotted the lot before the builders did, but we weren't quick enough to bid on it. The lot is in a good part of town and closer to all the stores we patronize. And, the lot is about as level as level can get. Nothing to have to deal with in regards to making it house build ready. Just installing the utility runs is all.

Anyways, we've made some progress and hopefully, this will work out for us in the end. It will be a single level home. No stairs to deal with.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Having recently read a horror story or two, I have to advise that you do not sell your old home until your new one is completely finished and ready for occupancy.


----------



## pic

Sounds great, 
Check out the two person walk in tubs. Instead of your standard tub. 
I know I won't be living there, but that's what I want, lol.


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Having recently read a horror story or two, I have to advise that you do not sell your old home until your new one is completely finished and ready for occupancy.


*Exactly!* Our current home is paid for, and has been for several years. We don't plan on moving out of it until we buy something and are completely moved into it.

Once we are in our new (or new to us) home, we will then begin the moving out process on our terms and time schedule.


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> Sounds great,
> Check out the two person walk in tubs. Instead of your standard tub.
> I know I won't be living there, but that's what I want, lol.


Both my wife and I aren't tub people. Tubs take up too much room and I've never been a fan of just sitting in water. Can you actually get clean taking a bath? How in the world do you rinse the soap / dirt off? The last time I took a bath was back in 1978. That was at my g/f's house, who is now my wife. She had a cast iron claw foot tub.

We are though, going to have a very large master walk-in shower that won't utilize a shower door. Instead, you walk in, take a hard right or left turn and then take another full step or two. I think the term is called a snail shower.

Anyways, it will be a bigger shower than we actually need. The extra expense for one in negligible.

I'm still pumped over the real possibility of a 949 sq ft. garage / shop / man cave. Even thinking about having a small 1/2 bath installed in it. It will also have a utility sink in it for sure, as it's standard. I'll think I died and went to heaven..........


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> Both my wife and I aren't tub people. Tubs take up too much room and I've never been a fan of just sitting in water. Can you actually get clean taking a bath? How in the world do you rinse the soap / dirt off? The last time I took a bath was back in 1978. That was at my g/f's house, who is now my wife. She had a cast iron claw foot tub.
> 
> We are though, going to have a very large master walk-in shower that won't utilize a shower door. Instead, you walk in, take a hard right or left turn and then take another full step or two. I think the term is called a snail shower.
> 
> Anyways, it will be a bigger shower than we actually need. The extra expense for one in negligible.
> 
> I'm still pumped over the real possibility of a 949 sq ft. garage / shop / man cave. Even thinking about having a small 1/2 bath installed in it. It will also have a utility sink in it for sure, as it's standard. I'll think I died and went to heaven..........


I don't take baths either, but i do love a hot tub set at hundred n four degrees Fahrenheit to soothe away those arthritic pains or muscle aches.
There may be benefits to the circulatory system also.
It's the therapeutic benefits , I should have been more specific , lol.
Just thought if you were building new, nows the time. You are going into your final turn in life. Haha


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> I don't take baths either, but i do love a hot tub set at hundred n four degrees Fahrenheit to soothe away those arthritic pains or muscle aches.
> There may be benefits to the circulatory system also.
> It's the therapeutic benefits , I should have been more specific , lol.
> Just thought if you were building new, nows the time. You are going into your final turn in life. Haha
> View attachment 17369


Yes, like it or not, we are firmly in the grasp of our golden years. Never thought I'd live long enough to be in my mid 60's. And, I was okay with that.

Now that I'm here, I'm not sure what to think about it. Guess I'll just let it play out and see what happens.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Watch out!
The bad stuff seems to start at around age 70.

Enjoy your 60s for as long as you can.
.


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Watch out!
> The bad stuff seems to start at around age 70.
> 
> Enjoy your 60s for as long as you can.
> .


Thanks for the head's up.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

pic said:


> I don't take baths either...


Aha!
I wondered what the source was, of that whiff of corruption which accompanies your posts.

Thanks for, um, coming clean about it!


----------



## paratrooper

I could use some opinions and advice. My wife and I have pretty much come to the conclusion that we are going to have a house built.

We've looked at close to 70 homes so far, both new and existing. The used homes are commanding prices that new homes cost.









We have a builder in mind that has some floor plans that would suit us well. We are going in on Monday to talk about having the plans tweaked just a bit. We've seen some of their builds that have been sold and they are good to go. We happened across one today that is still being built. We were able to go in and nose around until our hearts were content.

We were very pleased with the build quality. The one we looked at though, was much smaller than the one we have in mind, and it was on a very small, uneven lot.

The floor plan we are looking at is over 3000 sq. ft. The three-car garage is a total of 949 sq. ft., but I don't have it's dimensions. The house will be built on 1/2 acre of perfectly flat land. No trees, bushes, or anything. It's build ready.

I'm now thinking about having a secondary garage built on the back of the lot. I know a standard two- car garage is 20x20 (400 sq. ft.) That would be okay, as it will initially be used for storage. But.....I'm thinking larger for better resale way down the road.

I want a side entry door and a large window on each side of the garage. I'm just not sure how large I want it. Something like 24x28 (672 sq. ft.)? I'm thinking that would be a pretty good size to go with.

Anyways, I'd like some input from you all. Also, if any of you have any other garage ideas, I'd like to hear um. Not sure yet if I want it completely finished inside, or maybe do that later down the road? I will have power run to it though.

TIA!​​


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Put a toilet and sink in the garage.
Maybe put the clothes washer there too, so you don't have to take dirty clothes into the house. (Our house has an outside door into the laundry room.)

If the land is flat, look carefully at drainage, and at nearby sources of fast-flowing water during a torrential storm. (We live on a hogback ridge. Everything drains down and away.)

Buy the best roof that you can afford. Never skimp on the roof. Make sure that the empty space under it is very well ventilated, and screened against critters. (Once we got a rat's nest. Then we got carrion flies feeding on the dead rats. The flies found a way into the house.)

Make sure that your under-house crawl space is well ventilated, and screened against critters. (We had a dead raccoon down there. Not good.)

Make sure that they put the wallpaper up before they remove the outside scaffolding. (That was my mother's favorite joke.)


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Put a toilet and sink in the garage.
> Maybe put the clothes washer there too, so you don't have to take dirty clothes into the house. (Our house has an outside door into the laundry room.)
> 
> If the land is flat, look carefully at drainage, and at nearby sources of fast-flowing water during a torrential storm. (We live on a hogback ridge. Everything drains down and away.)
> 
> Buy the best roof that you can afford. Never skimp on the roof. Make sure that the empty space under it is very well ventilated, and screened against critters. (Once we got a rat's nest. Then we got carrion flies feeding on the dead rats. The flies found a way into the house.)
> 
> Make sure that your under-house crawl space is well ventilated, and screened against critters. (We had a dead raccoon down there. Not good.)
> 
> Make sure that they put the wallpaper up before they remove the outside scaffolding. (That was my mother's favorite joke.)


The house we are thinking of having built will have a concrete slab for the foundation. No crawl space.

It has a dedicated laundry room in the house, but we are thinking of having the garage plumbed and wired for a washer / dryer as well. The garage will also be wired for 220V. It will have a slop (utility) sink in it too.

It looks as if the furnace will be in the attic. I still need to confirm that. Most are often in the garage taking up space.

We checked to see if the lot was anywhere near a flood plain. It is not. No hilly areas anywhere nearby.

My wife found another floor plan of theirs that is a bit larger still. And, she seems to like the flow and lay-out of it even better.

The garage in it has tandem parking (one behind the other) on one side and a double car (side by side) parking on the other side of the garage, for a total of four cars. That I really like!! Total space of 1022 sq. ft.

So, now we are looking at two floor plans. She's already tweaking it as well.

I've done some research on a detached, free-standing, two car garage that appeals to me. Nothing fancy, but clean and simple. A 24x24 or a 24x28 is appealing to me.

This one is supposedly a 24x24.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

You mention that your wife is ‘tweaking’ floor plans,, You are aware that every ‘tweak’ from the standard costs money,


----------



## paratrooper

Slowalkintexan said:


> You mention that your wife is 'tweaking' floor plans,, You are aware that every 'tweak' from the standard costs money,


Oh yeah......I'm well aware! But, they're small tweaks and we have them built into our overall budget. We have a good solid budget to work from. But.....that doesn't mean we're going to throw money around just for the sake of doing it.

We're not using a realtor in dealing with the builder. That will save us a good chunk of additional money.........for tweaking. 

This is going to be our forever home. I want my wife to be happy. A happy wife means a lot bigger garage for me, as well as a detached 2nd one.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

paratrooper said:


> ...I want my wife to be happy. A happy wife means a lot bigger garage for me, as well as a detached 2nd one.


My wife's previous father-in-law took me aside and told me the secret to a happy marriage.
He said that the secret was just two words: "Yes, dear."
And, you know, he was right!

(It's a shame that his own son never internalized that lesson. He lost a superb wife because he kept insisting that he was always right.)
.


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> My wife's previous father-in-law took me aside and told me the secret to a happy marriage.
> He said that the secret was just two words: "Yes, dear."
> And, you know, he was right!
> 
> (It's a shame that his own son never internalized that lesson. He lost a superb wife because he kept insisting that he was always right.)
> .


I realized early on in our marriage that it was a 50/50 proposition. I have no problem with that what-so-ever.

A neighbor across the street from us is a devout member of The Potter's House. He's probably in his early 50's. He is a bit different. He's very devoted to his church. He and his wife has I think three sons and a daughter. They are all grown and married now. They all married within the church.

His wife became a good friend of my wife. They eventually separated and then divorced. She wasn't _into _the church like he was. He was very much in control of the finances and very controlling in regards to his wife.

Not quite a year ago, he remarried to a gal that wasn't involved in religion. She and my wife became friends as well. She ended up dealing with the same issues and problems that his first wife dealt with. She left him about a month or so ago. They are filing for divorce.

My wife helped her a lot in helping her prepare to leave him. "Iris" didn't have any family or friends locally. Anyways, now the neighbor in question is mad at my wife, thinking she helped to facilitate the situation.

Both of his former wive's have told my wife, that he thinks he has been _touched by the Lord _and that he is special and can do no wrong. As long as we've known him, he's been a handy man, as he does not want to work for anyone. He's pretty good at what he does, compared to me, but he's far from being perfect in his trade.

He and I get along okay, but he's shown a side of himself that has me on alert. Anyway, I hope that things improve for him quickly enough. Too bad that his religion has gotten in the way of him being more down to earth and not so quick to judge others.

Oh yeah, he also thinks that if you don't go to church, you won't get into heaven. Both of his wives had issues with that. And, of course, he believes that his religion is the only right one.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

• "I've been touched by the Lord. I'm special. I can do no wrong."
• "If you don't go to church, and best would be my church, you'll go to Hell."
• "My own religion is the only right one."

These strongly held opinions indicate to me that the guy may have serious psychological problems.
I suggest that he is very insecure about himself, and also insecure about his religious beliefs.
I think that he also believes that every bad thing that happens to him is somebody else's fault.
Further, he may have a very guilty conscience over something that he did in the past.

I think that it is possible that some day he's going to "lose it," and become a serious danger to himself and to others.
.


----------



## BackyardCowboy

Steve M1911A1 said:


> • "I've been touched by the Lord. I'm special. I can do no wrong."
> • "If you don't go to church, and best would be my church, you'll go to Hell."
> • "My own religion is the only right one."
> 
> These strongly held opinions indicate to me that the guy may have serious psychological problems.
> I suggest that he is very insecure about himself, and also insecure about his religious beliefs.
> I think that he also believes that every bad thing that happens to him is somebody else's fault.
> Further, he may have a very guilty conscience over something that he did in the past.
> 
> I think that it is possible that some day he's going to "lose it," and become a serious danger to himself and to others.
> .


Sounds like Scientology to me.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

BackyardCowboy said:


> Sounds like Scientology to me.


Naaah...
Scientology seems, like Islam, to hold that your choice is either to convert, or to be killed.
(Actually, Islam is nicer than Scientology. Islam only requires that the "unbeliever" be taxed to death.)


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> • "I've been touched by the Lord. I'm special. I can do no wrong."
> • "If you don't go to church, and best would be my church, you'll go to Hell."
> • "My own religion is the only right one."
> 
> These strongly held opinions indicate to me that the guy may have serious psychological problems.
> I suggest that he is very insecure about himself, and also insecure about his religious beliefs.
> I think that he also believes that every bad thing that happens to him is somebody else's fault.
> Further, he may have a very guilty conscience over something that he did in the past.
> 
> I think that it is possible that some day he's going to "lose it," and become a serious danger to himself and to others.
> .


You hit on some good points. What I failed to mention, is that his church no longer wants him there. They gave him notice a couple of weeks ago. They don't even want him playing on their soft ball team any longer. He always put Saturdays aside for that.

My wife and I were talking about the possible reasons why, other than his two failed marriages, and she told me that his first wife told her, that he can be demanding in ways that it puts the church off.

It's gotta be bad when your church no longer wants anything to do with you.


----------



## paratrooper

I found out that the four-car garage I spoke of above, (post #41) has a total of 1022 sq. ft.


----------



## Goldwing

That would make it a tad under 32x32 feet if it were square. that is an ample size for two vehicles and some storage. (Or man cave necessities)


----------



## paratrooper

Goldwing said:


> That would make it a tad under 32x32 feet if it were square. that is an ample size for two vehicles and some storage. (Or man cave necessities)


Although it would technically be called a garage, it wouldn't be used to park cars or trucks in. That's a big ole no no. My street bike and two dirt bikes would have an exemption of course.

It would definitely be a man cave. My wife is okay with that as well. She's a keeper!!


----------



## Steve M1911A1

paratrooper said:


> ...his church no longer wants him there. They gave him notice a couple of weeks ago. They don't even want him playing on their soft ball team any longer...It's gotta be bad when your church no longer wants anything to do with you.


Watch out!
He may be nearing an explosion.

Being forcefully separated from "his" church could push him over the line, especially after the most recent divorce.
Watch your six!


----------



## Slowalkintexan

paratrooper said:


> I realized early on in our marriage that it was a 50/50 proposition. I have no problem with that what-so-ever.
> 
> A neighbor across the street from us is a devout member of The Potter's House. He's probably in his early 50's. He is a bit different. He's very devoted to his church. He and his wife has I think three sons and a daughter. They are all grown and married now. They all married within the church.
> 
> His wife became a good friend of my wife. They eventually separated and then divorced. She wasn't _into _the church like he was. He was very much in control of the finances and very controlling in regards to his wife.
> 
> Not quite a year ago, he remarried to a gal that wasn't involved in religion. She and my wife became friends as well. She ended up dealing with the same issues and problems that his first wife dealt with. She left him about a month or so ago. They are filing for divorce.
> 
> My wife helped her a lot in helping her prepare to leave him. "Iris" didn't have any family or friends locally. Anyways, now the neighbor in question is mad at my wife, thinking she helped to facilitate the situation.
> 
> Both of his former wive's have told my wife, that he thinks he has been _touched by the Lord _and that he is special and can do no wrong. As long as we've known him, he's been a handy man, as he does not want to work for anyone. He's pretty good at what he does, compared to me, but he's far from being perfect in his trade.
> 
> He and I get along okay, but he's shown a side of himself that has me on alert. Anyway, I hope that things improve for him quickly enough. Too bad that his religion has gotten in the way of him being more down to earth and not so quick to judge others.
> 
> Oh yeah, he also thinks that if you don't go to church, you won't get into heaven. Both of his wives had issues with that. And, of course, he believes that his religion is the only right one.


Paratrooper,,,,Sorry, I just can't help myself....Didn't you tell me a few posts ago, when I was telling how happy we are with no neighbors,,,,that you really 'liked' having neighbors or at least you didn't mind them??


----------



## paratrooper

Slowalkintexan said:


> Paratrooper,,,,Sorry, I just can't help myself....Didn't you tell me a few posts ago, when I was telling how happy we are with no neighbors,,,,that you really 'liked' having neighbors or at least you didn't mind them??


Well.......there are neighbors........and then........there are neighbors. The neighbor in question hasn't been a problem as of yet. He may never be one. He's going thru a rough time in his life and believe me, I can and do understand.

Although he is on my radar screen, I really don't feel he's going to be any kind of a problem for us. I'll give him his space and some time.

After all, that's what good neighbors do.......right?


----------



## Slowalkintexan

paratrooper said:


> Well.......there are neighbors........and then........there are neighbors. The neighbor in question hasn't been a problem as of yet. He may never be one. He's going thru a rough time in his life and believe me, I can and do understand.
> 
> Although he is on my radar screen, I really don't feel he's going to be any kind of a problem for us. I'll give him his space and some time.
> 
> After all, that's what good neighbors do.......right?


I agree, We do have neighbors, though none closer than a mile....The county is replacing a bridge over our creek, so every evening one or more neighbors come to check on the progress. It's on the public road out front.
And we help neighbors in time of need, and vice versa,,, however, we can't see any of them from our home and I only need to open my garage door to use my range.


----------



## pic

Slowwalkentexan, 
That's nice, that's a garage 'Paratrooper'
Put that in your Zillow search preferences, lol


----------



## pic

Don't even need a tall fence. Lol,


----------



## Slowalkintexan

Right, I can shoot any time I want, and at any distance......worth it, for sure.


----------



## paratrooper

We went and took a look at the house yesterday that our builder had built about 4 yrs. ago. It's the floor plan with the 4 bedroom and 4 car garage.

The owner's were nice and gracious to allow us to see their home. Two of the four bedrooms were small. So small, that we would have to forgo one and take that space to make the other one larger.

The garage was gorgeous, and I don't use that term often to describe a garage. The floor had an epoxy finish on it. The one and only window in the exterior wall was too high and too small. It had a door on the rear which was handy.

According to the owners, they don't park their cars in it. I said I could relate.

After we returned home, I could tell my wife was a bit disappointed. I told her that it was a very nice house, but I wasn't over-whelmed by it, even with the garage. She looked at me and said the same thing.

We both felt that it just felt crowded and not enough of an open concept. She was very disappointed by the size of the bedrooms. She also said that the laundry room was situated a bit awkwardly.

She was so sure that the four bedroom floor plan was going to be just right. We are supposed to meet again with the builder by the end of the week. We both agreed that we are going to pass on building this particular house. That brings us back to a three bedroom floor plan of theirs that we had been considering earlier.

At least by deciding not to go with the 4 bedroom, we don't need to put a hefty deposit down to get the home building process started.

So, here we are, not quite back to square @1, but close enough. We're going to go look at some more newly listed existing homes, both new and used today. That means lunch out.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

Consider a manufactured house. Ours is 1200 sf, however hey come as large as 3,000 SF. You can do all the tweaking you wish, at no extra charge. We combined two bedrooms into one very large one, with two walk-in closets,,,main bath has a real jacuzzi, walk-in shower, two sinks,,second bath also has walkinshower,,,,exercise room,,,,very large living room with fireplace,,,, large kitchen with lots and lots of counter space,,slider out onto covered deck..
And the best thing of all is that it was never exposed to the elements during construction,, no rain, no wind, no animals or birds, nothing...It was built indoors, delivered and we were living in it within a week of delivery.
Separate large two car garage, with large workshop, gun room, extra secure.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Slowalkintexan said:


> Consider a manufactured house...


I partly agree.
As noted, there are many advantages to a manufactured house.
But we have found a few disadvantages, too.

Ours is on a crawl-space foundation, which allows easy access to utilities' in-and-outs.
But manufactured houses can be, well, a little too flexible. Ours has developed a very slight tilt or twist, which shows up mostly at our kitchen stove: It can never be completely levelled. (This may not apply to a slab foundation. I dunno 'bout that.)
Also, our house's original roof was not sloped enough, so its original owners added a second, steeper roof over it. Well, we don't get any leaks. That's for sure.
It is very difficult (read: expensive) to do interior remodelling. Every interior wall is significantly structurally important.
Significant loads-for instance a large, cast-iron wood stove-requires additional under-house bracing. I have to keep an eye on those braces, in case one or more starts to want to fall.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

Steve, perhaps some side effects, However, we have lived in ours for over 13 yrs, and no settling or shifting, whatsoever... even the slider is perfectly level and works well., We ordered a steeper slope on the roof to alleviate any problems with snow. Ours is on a crawl space with a poured concrete floor, which has NOT developed any cracks at all,,, I get under a couple times a year on a mechanics dolly I leave under there, just to check things outl. We do not use that area for storage,,,it’s nice and clean.
We’ve had no need to do any interior remodeling,,We spent months planning and figuring, and my wife is very happy, EXACTLY as it is.
Don’t need a heavy wood stove because the fireplace works wonderful, and when we had power outages, it kept us nice and warm. So I haven’t found any disadvantages yet....We had a great builder,,,,the cement man and the bulldozer were fantastic,,,,When they brought it in, it only had to be adjusted less than 1/2”. they knew what they were doing.

True I have seen some manufacturer homes that have problems,, but not ours..


----------



## paratrooper

We're still house hunting. We went to look at one today that just came on the market. We did a walk around the property. 1/3 acre and the house is close to 4K sq. ft.

It has a three car garage up top and a single car garage down below. It's a two level house. No damn bushes or trees to put up with. It's mostly just gravel and concrete. It was built in 2006.

My step-son just received his real estate license. We're now waiting for him to sign up with an agency. My wife is anxious to go take a look at the inside, as am I. There's a possibility it could happen this weekend.

I think and feel it's more than we need in a forever home. My wife says we can handle the size of the house and it's price. It's a very nice looking house. Very modern and contemporary.

It has a huge *LEVEL* driveway. Very wide and paved all the way to the street. There's plenty of room on the one side of the house to have another driveway installed down to the lower 1 car garage.

My wife says it seems to check off all the boxes on our want list. I'm sure that it does, but I'm still nervous about buying such a large house.

Anyways, this particular house isn't all that far away from our current home. It's only about 2-3 miles at most. We feel good about that and both agree it's in a nicer (more upscale) neighborhood.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

A Mustang (car) collector built a home somewhat near us, perhaps 10 years ago.
It has a four-door, eight-car garage on its ground floor, and also the entrance to the house.
Above that, there's the rest of the house, on two more floors (which is as high as one is allowed to build, here'bouts).
In any case the architect made it very obvious that the whole point of the house is that four-door, eight-car garage for the Mustang collection.

We're glad that it's way around the back of the hill to the north of us, and somewhat hidden on the hillside among the trees.
.


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> We're still house hunting. We went to look at one today that just came on the market. We did a walk around the property. 1/3 acre and the house is close to 4K sq. ft.
> 
> It has a three car garage up top and a single car garage down below. It's a two level house. No damn bushes or trees to put up with. It's mostly just gravel and concrete. It was built in 2006.
> 
> My step-son just received his real estate license. We're now waiting for him to sign up with an agency. My wife is anxious to go take a look at the inside, as am I. There's a possibility it could happen this weekend.
> 
> I think and feel it's more than we need in a forever home. My wife says we can handle the size of the house and it's price. It's a very nice looking house. Very modern and contemporary.
> 
> It has a huge *LEVEL* driveway. Very wide and paved all the way to the street. There's plenty of room on the one side of the house to have another driveway installed down to the lower 1 car garage.
> 
> My wife says it seems to check off all the boxes on our want list. I'm sure that it does, but I'm still nervous about buying such a large house.
> 
> Anyways, this particular house isn't all that far away from our current home. It's only about 2-3 miles at most. We feel good about that and both agree it's in a nicer (more upscale) neighborhood.


4000 square ft !! 
I thought we started downsizing as we got older, you're going in the opposite direction. 
Our wives usually out live us guys and remarry, lol.


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> 4000 square ft !!
> I thought we started downsizing as we got older, you're going in the opposite direction.
> Our wives usually out live us guys and remarry, lol.


Yeah, we're definitely not down-sizing, that's for sure. We went to another open house today. It was a 2 1/2 level house. Small double car garage, so it's not a contender.

It's 109 here today. Too darned hot to be out and about.


----------



## paratrooper

We were able to schedule a walk-thru of the house today. It's big! We were disappointed with the flooring on the main level. Cheap imitation wood laminate. And there was a lot of it. 

The kitchen had all black appliances. Wife not a big fan of that. But, it did have acres and acres of counter space. It had both an island and a peninsula. Wife loved that! 

Master bath had a jetted tub. We're not fans of that, or a big tub in particular, if you don't use it. The walk-in shower was big enough for two persons and had two shower heads.

Lots of room downstairs. There was a dedicated fitness room, fitted with free weights and 5-6 machines. All that stays with the house. Being a former weight lifter, I was impressed. Good quality stuff too.

The one car garage on the lower level was closer to a 1.5 car garage. Even with a full-sized vehicle in it, there would still be room for a work bench or two and room for storage. 

The three car garage up top was huge. I kind of got starry eyed for a moment or two. I felt that I was getting light-headed, but quickly took control of my senses and played it cool. 

All in all, a very nice house. All the six bedrooms had carpeting, as well as the great room down stairs. The carpeting was in good condition, but would be replaced sooner or later. 

We were both a bit overwhelmed by the house. It's tough to take it all in on the 1st visit and know how you feel for sure. My step-son is days away from hooking up with a real estate agency. 

The agent that we met with did say that there were two offers on the house, but both had not yet met the required financial criteria to be considered as serious offers. I'm not really sure exactly what that means, but my wife's son will fill us in soon enough. 

Bottom line for us is, it's a wait and see situation. We're not going to make an offer until my wife's son has set up shop and is ready to roll. If that means losing out on the house, so be it. I feel better about that than my wife does, but essentially, we're still on the same page.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

The Mustang guy up here has a couple of 'em for sale...

They'd give all those garage stalls something to do.
.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

Laminate flooring to be replace, appliances to be replace, tub to be changed, Carpet needs replacing,,,,Hmmm, lots of stuff to think about and figure costs....How much to heat or cool that much space.

I’ve been to several open houses this summer, just come away shaking my head at what people will pay for. Guess I’m out of touch,,,Wife always comes home to her ‘piece of Heaven”.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

Paratrooper,,,I apologize,, I always seem to be a wet blanket on your house hunting,,,it’s your money, your house,,, so I won’t make an y more comments..


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Heating and Cooling...

We just had a ductless heating-and-cooling system installed in our three most important rooms.
We got a really good deal from our local electric utility: They financed the whole thing at 3% interest! We have 10 years to pay it off, and the payments are just added onto our monthly electric bill.

We've just been through our first monthly billing cycle. We're using a whole lot less electricity, thanks to the new system, so even including the monthly installment to pay off the loan, our bill is the same as it's always been.

The new system will keep the house at about 70°-72°F, all the way down to an exterior temperature of 13°F. And, of course, it will cool the house if we ever need it to.
We don't see temperatures lower than about 25°F here, but if it should ever happen, or if the electricity would ever go out during the winter—and, yes, that does happen—we still have our wood stoves and a couple of cords of seasoned wood.

So we're quite happy and very satisfied (so far), and we recommend the system to you.
Ours happens to be by Mitsubishi, the people who brought you WW2's Pearl Harbor attack. The Trane system is also made by Mitsubishi. But there are others, as well.


----------



## paratrooper

Slowalkintexan said:


> Paratrooper,,,I apologize,, I always seem to be a wet blanket on your house hunting,,,it's your money, your house,,, so I won't make an y more comments..


Not a problem! I value the views and opinions of others. My wife and I have been talking about the house, and even she has cooled her heels a bit.

The house has a lot of what I'd like in garages and the amount of land it's on. 1/3 acre around here is pretty good. We've looked at some houses what were squeezed in so tight, you'd pretty much have to walk sideways to walk between the house and the neighbors.

I figure the more I know about something, the better chance I have at coming out ahead. Lots of and lots of smart and knowledgeable people on this forum. More than once, I've picked their brains and experience when needed.

My skin is about as thick as it can get. It takes a lot to insult me or hurt my feelings. Even if that were to happen, I recover pretty damn quickly.


----------



## pic

Slowalkintexan said:


> Paratrooper,,,I apologize,, I always seem to be a wet blanket on your house hunting,,,it's your money, your house,,, so I won't make an y more comments..


I try to rattle paratrooper all the time. Doesn't work.
He's cool as a cucumber.


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Heating and Cooling...
> 
> We just had a ductless heating-and-cooling system installed in our three most important rooms.
> We got a really good deal from our local electric utility: They financed the whole thing at 3% interest! We have 10 years to pay it off, and the payments are just added onto our monthly electric bill.
> 
> We've just been through our first monthly billing cycle. We're using a whole lot less electricity, thanks to the new system, so even including the monthly installment to pay off the loan, our bill is the same as it's always been.
> 
> The new system will keep the house at about 70°-72°F, all the way down to an exterior temperature of 13°F. And, of course, it will cool the house if we ever need it to.
> We don't see temperatures lower than about 25°F here, but if it should ever happen, or if the electricity would ever go out during the winter-and, yes, that does happen-we still have our wood stoves and a couple of cords of seasoned wood.
> 
> So we're quite happy and very satisfied (so far), and we recommend the system to you.
> Ours happens to be by Mitsubishi, the people who brought you WW2's Pearl Harbor attack. The Trane system is also made by Mitsubishi. But there are others, as well.


I'm aware of those systems and the brand. Can't do much better than Mitsubishi.

One good thing about a two level home and walk-out basements, is that the basement is easy to heat or cool.

My parents had a two level house with a walk-out basement. Cool in the summer and warm enough in the winter. They had a big ole heavy plate steel Schrader wood stove in the basement. It had the capacity to warm the entire house if needed.

When they had it fired up, you had to regulate the Hell out of it to keep it from heating up the down stairs too much. My father always kept a good two cords of wood on hand at all times on the lower concrete patio in the winter.


----------



## pic

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Heating and Cooling...
> 
> We just had a ductless heating-and-cooling system installed in our three most important rooms.
> We got a really good deal from our local electric utility: They financed the whole thing at 3% interest! We have 10 years to pay it off, and the payments are just added onto our monthly electric bill.
> 
> We've just been through our first monthly billing cycle. We're using a whole lot less electricity, thanks to the new system, so even including the monthly installment to pay off the loan, our bill is the same as it's always been.
> 
> The new system will keep the house at about 70°-72°F, all the way down to an exterior temperature of 13°F. And, of course, it will cool the house if we ever need it to.
> We don't see temperatures lower than about 25°F here, but if it should ever happen, or if the electricity would ever go out during the winter-and, yes, that does happen-we still have our wood stoves and a couple of cords of seasoned wood.
> 
> So we're quite happy and very satisfied (so far), and we recommend the system to you.
> Ours happens to be by Mitsubishi, the people who brought you WW2's Pearl Harbor attack. The Trane system is also made by Mitsubishi. But there are others, as well.


Sounds like a great deal. 
How were you informed of such a system ?


----------



## Steve M1911A1

pic said:


> ...How were you informed of such a system ?


Our electric utility got government money, to be used to reduce electricity use throughout the county.

They decided to offer low-cost loans to anybody with a good payment record, if those customers would install heat-pump systems, including house heat and hot-water heaters.

The utility did a really good job of publicizing both the heat-pump systems and the low-cost loans, and they also lined up heating contractors who would do high-quality, quick work to install the systems that were recommended.
If you buy in, you get a package deal: Loan, system, and contractor.

There were very informative newspaper ads, and flyers enclosed with every electricity bill.
Our juice is very expensive here, and if you don't heat with wood, you probably heat with that very expensive electricity.
So the utility has had lots of takers. The chosen contractors are busy, so lots of workers have been hired, trained, and are being well paid. It really has been a win/win for everybody here.
And we are very satisfied with the package we received: heat pump, loan, and installation.

We'd just gotten too old to move 100 pounds of wood, every day.
.


----------



## paratrooper

My step-son got hired on by a real estate agency of his choice. It was his 1st pick actually. He's going to contact the listing agent of the house we did a walk-thru with. My wife and I decided to take a really good 2nd look at the house.

We got all of our loan pre-approval papers in order, as well as all of the required financial statements that are necessary. Not sure yet exactly how soon we'll go back to take that 2nd look. It could be sometime next week.

It sounds as if it might be a few weeks yet before my step-son will be on his own and able to show property on his own.

Anyways, unless we're told that some other offer has been submitted and accepted, we will move forward on this particular property.


----------



## pic

Realtors around my neck of the woods ask for 6%.
The listing agency is guaranteed 3% for the listing ,another 3% if they sell the house Also. 
If another realtor comes in with a buyer they make 3%.
The broker of the agency gets 1.5% and your son would get the other 1.5% minus any other fees


----------



## pic

If you deal directly with the listing agency , you may be able to negotiate a few percentage points off the accepted bid


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> If you deal directly with the listing agency , you may be able to negotiate a few percentage points off the accepted bid


I did just that when I put my parents home up for sale back in July of 2016. The listing agent only lived a few miles from my parent's home, so he knew the area well and that it wasn't going to be a chore to sell their house.

If memory serves me, I think his rate was 5%. He dropped it down to 3.5% w/o any balking.


----------



## paratrooper

Well......that didn't take long. The listing agent called and told my wife the house is pending and looks as if it will go to contract. 

My wife gets emotionally involved in these houses we look at. So, she's a bit down right now. It's a crazy buyer's market right now, and people are snapping up houses like there's no tomorrow. 

We have a lot of people leaving CA. and coming to AZ. They have money to spend and ain't afraid to do it. Prices here probably look like a bargain compared to what they're used to. 

My step-son has suggested a back-up offer. He's going to do some more checking and get back to us.


----------



## pic

Back up offer. Offer more money,lol
Sounds like you were gonna give the son a little boost, knowing It'll cost you a couple dollars, makes everyone ( the wife ) including you happy. 

You just better keep talking about your contingency plan she can fall back on, when house hunting is done , it should make everyone happy ( the wife ). 
You don't tell us everything. ,lol. 
You're wearing her down to eliminate the new house distraction, and get back to retirement, lol.
You've got a brand new garage door opener, lol.
Bump her out an extra playroom.


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> Back up offer. Offer more money,lol
> Sounds like you were gonna give the son a little boost, knowing It'll cost you a couple dollars, makes everyone ( the wife ) including you happy.
> 
> You just better keep talking about your contingency plan she can fall back on, when house hunting is done , it should make everyone happy ( the wife ).
> You don't tell us everything. ,lol.
> You're wearing her down to eliminate the new house distraction, and get back to retirement, lol.
> You've got a brand new garage door opener, lol.
> Bump her out an extra playroom.


As I stated previously, I'm very happy right where we are. It's more of a thing (different house) with her than it is with me.

The garage I currently have is okay. Yeah, it would be nice to have more room, but it's not a deal breaker for me. We have a budget in mind, and she tends to exceed that by a good margin if a house should come up for sale, but it's more than what we originally agreed to spend. At least she tends to self-correct more often than not.

There is a certain amount of psychology involved in all of this house hunting. I'm going back to when I was in college and pulling up some stuff that I learned, as well as practical experience during my career.

I'm playing my cards very carefully. I'm keeping an open mind as well. I figure the more options I have at my discretion, the better the position I'm in. 

*BTW......I'm still loving my new garage door opener. I should have got one years ago.....*


----------



## paratrooper

House hunting update:

My step-son is now a state licensed real estate agent. We had him take us back to see the house we looked at a week or so ago. It was the 1st time he had been inside it. My wife took him over a few days ago and they walked around the outside of it.

Anyways, it's had two offers on it, and I'm not sure of the status of either. Here in AZ. there is a 10 day due diligence period extended to a buyer.

We did another walk thru and took an even closer look this time. We spent 1.5 hrs. checking it out. It's move in ready as it sits.

The weight-room downstairs has some good equipment in it. Although I'm not familiar with the brand, it is very good quality. I figure there's approx. $5-6K worth in there, and it's all in exceptional condition.

It has three bedrooms downstairs and three upstairs. The three car garage has a hose bib in it. I've never seen a garage with one it in. I looked it over very well, and the concrete floor is in superb shape. No cracks or oil stains. Both garage door openers work fine. It has two large windows on each opposing wall. Plenty of light and cross ventilation.

The 1.5 car garage down below is equally clean and oil / crack free. It has a single door to the rear patio. The driveway to the main garage is huge and level as can be. It too is is great condition.

My wife is in love with the kitchen. Lots & lots of counter space and the appliances are newer.

We are going to present a back-up offer. We decided to come in $5K over the list price. I never thought that would be necessary, until now. It will be presented tomorrow.

We both know this particular house is more than we need. But, because of it's size and location, we feel it will be a safe investment. We've looked at enough houses by now, so as to have a pretty good feel for what is a good bargain and what isn't.

Two level houses just have more room than a single level house does. And, they fit much better on your typical sized lot. This lot has room to spare on the garage side for another driveway to be installed down to the lower garage. That will be easy to have done.

My wife and I have discussed this and we are both prepared if the offer does not go anywhere. We have all of our financial ducks in a nice tidy row, so we are ready to proceed if given the chance. If we don't get that chance, we will continue our search.

Now that we have our own personal real estate agent, we feel like we're in a pretty good zone to be in. He knows us as well as anyone could, and will be able to sift thru the stuff that comes on the market and weed out the ones that wouldn't appeal to us.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Does one of those many "spare" bedrooms have its own bathroom?
If so, Jean and I could spend a little vacation time with you, and _finally_ get in some live-fire practice.
We're about five years overdue!

(The incoming Californicators have bought-up just about all of the available space, on this small island, and they don't cotton to our little "assault pistols." Or anything else, I guess.)


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Does one of those many "spare" bedrooms have its own bathroom?
> If so, Jean and I could spend a little vacation time with you, and _finally_ get in some live-fire practice.
> We're about five years overdue!
> 
> (The incoming Californicators have bought-up just about all of the available space, on this small island, and they don't cotton to our little "assault pistols." Or anything else, I guess.)


It does indeed! But, it doesn't have a live fire range. If you have a suppressor, I suppose we could work something out.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

paratrooper said:


> ...But, it doesn't have a live fire range...


Oh, that's OK...
You live near open country, and we have a 4WD.
And I promise not to shoot at saguaros.
...Or neighbors. (Unless you want us to, of course.)


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Oh, that's OK...
> You live near open country, and we have a 4WD.
> And I promise not to shoot at saguaros.
> ...Or neighbors. (Unless you want us to, of course.)


Give me a little time to get to know our neighbors, that is if we get the house. I figure that within a few months, I'll know whether or not the neighbors are going to work out or not.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

Why,,,,,,,,Mmuummmmbbblle......I said I wan’t going to comment.


----------



## paratrooper

Slowalkintexan said:


> Why,,,,,,,,Mmuummmmbbblle......I said I wan't going to comment.


You are more than welcome to comment on anything at anytime. My mother always told me that if you don't have anything good or nice to say, then don't say anything.

That still didn't stop me..........

BTW......my wife came across a new build on two acres of land. About 2400 sq ft., and an over-sized three car garage. *An over-sized three car garage you say?* 

We are going to several open houses tomorrow with her son. Wife says she has about 5-6 on the list. The new build will be one of them.


----------



## pic

Garage n sq footage sound nice, two acres.


----------



## paratrooper

We're supposed to have some pretty crappy weather tomorrow. High winds, rain, and possible hail.

Oh well, that'll separate the tire kickers from those seriously looking. It'll also maybe give me an idea of just how bad that dirt road to the new build can get when it's wet.


----------



## paratrooper

We got some more house hunting in today and no bad weather. It's gonna hit later tonight.

We did go see a two level house and my step-son was able to get us into it via his smartphone and a real estate agent app.

Anyways, we checked it out pretty good. One thing that impressed me greatly about it, was that it had a safe room. This particular room was on the lower level and was pretty good sized. I'm thinking maybe 15' x 20' or so? All that it had in it was a water heater and a small gas furnace.

No windows at all and solid concrete walls. No drywall or cinder block walls. It was completely finished as in painted. A nice smooth concrete floor too. I'm not sure what it was initially intended for, but it came as close to any safe room as I've seen so far.

I've seen some interesting rooms on the lower level of two level houses. This was was by far, the nicest. Some 1/4" steel plate on both sides of it's solid wood door and you have a very secure room. The ceiling had to have been about 10'-12' tall, and it too, appeared to be concrete.

The rest of the house was okay, but didn't spark any real interest for us. The three car garage wasn't very deep, no windows at all, not even in the garage doors. It was very dark and depressing inside.

I can't get my mind off that safe room downstairs. I'd love to have something like that in the house we do end up in. I'd love to know the story behind it. That was a storage room that all others storage rooms need to be judged by.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Maybe the garage was a "safe garage," just like the basement room.
It's where you'd keep your armored assault vehicle.

Do you get tornadoes? Uncontrollable fires? Alien invasions? Triffids?
.


----------



## paratrooper

We do get some very large locusts from time to time. I swear, you could throw a saddle over them and ride them to town.

Other than that, just your run of the mill obnoxious door to door religious zealots.


----------



## pic

Cool, mysterious. Maybe they used it when Trump was elected. You can scream as loud as you want. Lol

Did you notice any type of ventilation ?


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> Cool, mysterious. Maybe they used it when Trump was elected. You can scream as loud as you want. Lol
> 
> Did you notice any type of ventilation ?


Other than the small furnace and water heater in it, I don't recall seeing any kind of a vent. The air intake for the furnace was in the hallway.

The house had ceiling vents for the heat and a/c. I just assumed that the small furnace in the room was for the downstairs. Now, that's not making any sense to me.

There was also another windowless room just down the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. It was just about the same size, but had carpeting on the floor and a small bathroom vanity with a sink in it. No toilet or bathtub though. This room was on an exterior wall, well below ground level. It too, would make a great gun vault / valuables room.


----------



## pic

is the whole foundation concrete? Concrete is an alternative to a block foundation


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> is the whole foundation concrete? Concrete is an alternative to a block foundation


I'm not really sure. The house was all stucco. I have to assume that part of the foundation was cinder block.

The house had too many quirks about it, and it was priced reasonably, but then the seller / agent raised it over $100K. No idea as to why.

It also had a steep driveway, but it was parallel to the house. It was on a large lot, but over 1/3 of the lot was in the rear and it was almost all downhill. Too steep to do anything with.

Quirky houses don't turn me away, as I find them somewhat interesting. But, you do have to draw some kind of a line and say no way.


----------



## paratrooper

It was a good day today. We went back to take a 2nd look at a house we'd looked at about a month or so ago. We particularly hadn't planned to, but we drove by it while on the way to look at another house. My wife's son was with us to show us the houses on our list.

For whatever reason, the 1st time we looked at this house, it really didn't resonate with us cause we felt the asking price was too high. That, and the fact, that we are now better prepared people, house hunting wise.

This is the house on 1/2 acre, a large three car garage, with it's own 3/4 bathroom, *IN THE GARAGE. *How very cool is that? And, it's not just a utilitarian type bathroom. It's finished inside every bit as nice as the ones in the house. It's not cramped at all. It has a window in it, a full vanity, and a good sized shower and tile on the floor.

The house is 2400 sq. ft., three bedroom, and two baths. It also has a dedicated office room as big as the guest bedrooms.

Back to the garage (man cave). Both garage doors are in great shape and are insulated. Both have an opener. It's wired for cable, telephones, and a 220V outlet. Large windows on both sidewalls. The floor is free of any cracks or stains. The furnace, water heater, full house water softener, and filtered water system, is set back within the back wall inside a large recess in the wall. None of the equipment takes up any floor space. And yet, it's very accessible and at a great height to work on. No bending over! It also has a central vacuum system. It also has a side entrance near the restroom.

This house is being sold by the original owner. He has it listed with the same real estate agency my step-son now works for. It has two good-sized storage buildings and plenty of space on the garage side for another driveway if needed. The lot is level as well.

The price has been reduced to a point that we feel that has good value. I think my wife said it was built in 2005 or 6. It's now been on the market for a couple of months. I think we will come in with an offer just a bit below the asking price. That could happen as soon as tomorrow. My step-son feels that is acceptable.

Anyways, the garage is to die for. It's all that I could ask for, and then some. It was very well thought out. Most garages don't get that kind of consideration. The garage doors are 8' tall. I think the ceiling is 10' tall. The garage doors themselves don't have windows in them, but it still feels open and airy inside. Not at all claustrophobic. Some feel like a dark and damp dungeon inside.

I'm trying not to get too pumped up. My wife has already crossed that line. The kitchen has an island in it almost the size of a full bed. Appliances are new enough so there's no need to change them out. The stove is electric, but it is plumbed for gas.

The front room has a corner floor to ceiling rock fireplace that has a gas insert in it. She loves that! All the windows appear to be of high quality. It also has very nice window blinds that can be drawn up from top or bottom, or both.

It's in a good part of town, and much closer to the businesses we tend to patronize. This could be our forever home. It's not perfect or brand-new, but it still checks off a whole lot of the boxes we have on our want list.

Just think! My very own bathroom.......*in the garage. *If we happen to have an argument and she banishes me to the dog house (garage), I'll be okay with that.


----------



## pic

Sounds nice,

http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com/mortgage/home-inspection-contingencies-for-buyers/


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> Sounds nice,
> 
> http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com/mortgage/home-inspection-contingencies-for-buyers/


Thanks for the link. It is very informative and made me think about a couple of things to make sure is included in the home inspection.


----------



## paratrooper

Remember how I went on and on about steep driveways, and how crazy they were, and how I would never have one?

Well, we went to look at a house today. It had an insanely steep & long driveway. At the top of that driveway though, was a beautiful house.

We had one Hell of a rainstorm today. A real gully washer! Darkest storm clouds I've ever seen. That limited our ability to walk the property, all 8/10th of an acre. We're going back tomorrow if the weather is decent. That 8/10th of an acre is 100% landscaped. Oddly shaped as well.

Anyways, I don't want to say much more about it at this time. It could be one of those......If it sounds too good to be true......then maybe it is......situations.

I'll know more tomorrow.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

You could always have the driveway scooped out, and given a different slope. Maybe with a curve?
All it'd take would be what a friend of mine used to call "cubic money."


----------



## high pockets

If it's long enough, put in a switchback, then it won't seem as steep.


----------



## paratrooper

My wife and I discussed this particular house last night and today. She's really pumped up about it. Because of the rain yesterday, we couldn't take as close a look at the outside as we would have liked. So far today, no rain. It's just cloudy and damp feeling.

The driveway in question is for the most part, pretty straight. When nearing it's top, you can pull to the right and it's level and quite long. That's where you'd park if you had no intention of pulling into the garage. If you did want to park in front of the garage doors, you can, as it's kind of level. There's also some space off the the left of the garage where is currently occupied by a large tree.

The three car garage itself is "different". From inside the house, if you want to go to the garage, you go up a curved flight of stairs to the upper level, down a hallway and in thru a door. Once thru the door to the garage, you are now on a landing overlooking the garage. You are now looking down into the garage. You then go down a flight of stairs to the garage itself.

That landing above the garage floor has to be at least 10' or more. It's kind of weird. The garage has two windows and a side entrance door. It is well lit inside.

When we go back later today, I'm taking a 100' measuring tape with me. Myself, this house is kind of intimidating. It looks like a lot to care for. It's also a bit on the fancy side, as in luxurious. That's not my personality. My wife thinks it would be fun to live in it for a few years, do a little of this and & some of that, and then maybe resell and turn a decent profit.

The last I heard, the older you get, the more difficult it becomes to move from one home to another. I ain't getting any younger. Neither is she.

Anyways, the sellers are motivated to sell. We'll be taking a much closer look at it when we go back today. The kitchen has already been remodeled. It's quite impressive. That's a huge plus for my wife.

Wish me luck with the driveway. We're taking my Chev. Crew-cab pick-up to go back to see it.


----------



## pic

What happened to the other house? Is it off the list.


----------



## pic

Did she catch you cheating with another woman? 
Kidding ,lol. 
From someone who waits in the car while the wife shops, you've come a long way. 
Make sure she's not spiking your Coca Cola!!!


----------



## Steve M1911A1

We're never gonna move again.
We're gonna die here.
We've both moved just once too often. It's enough.


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> What happened to the other house? Is it off the list.


You mean the one with the bathroom in the garage? If yes, it's pretty much off the list......for now. If for some reason, the one we are currently interested in doesn't pan out, the one with it's own john in the garage could still be a contender.

We'd like it to be in a nicer area, but it is what it is. That was one of the reasons that we took it off the list.


----------



## paratrooper

We submitted an offer today on the house we looked at yesterday. We spent over 2 hrs. looking it over very well. We walked the property line and although some of it is not as accessible as we would like, it is landscaped.

The house above the one we are looking at, is a $2M home. So, we would be neighbors if our offer is accepted.

The garage is 140 sq. ft. larger than the one I have now. That is an upgrade, but I do wish it was larger still. I'll make do with it.

My memory failed me thinking I had to be on the 2nd level to access the garage from within the house. It isn't. It's just a short walk down a hallway from the kitchen. The laundry room and a guest bathroom is in that hallway, right outside the door to the garage. That makes it all very handy. The laundry room has a large utility sink in it for me to wash up in.

We drove the neighborhood, and there were a lot of homes with steep drives. Some worse that the one we are looking at. We do get some snow here in the winter. My financial officer (wife) has approved the purchase of a 4x4 ATV with a snow plow. On garbage days, you have to have your garbage can(s) on the road. That would be quite a hike on foot. The mailbox is also at the end of the long and steep drive. You are not allowed to keep you garbage can on the road. It has to be retrieved and taken back to the house. So, I'd have to come up with a logistics plan in regards to taking it down to the road, and then back up after it was emptied. I'll work that 4x4 ATV into it somehow.

Anyways, like I stated, we have submitted an offer. My step-son said the house has been on the market for over 100 days. It's been on a reduced sales agent commission. According to my step-son, that isn't all that uncommon, but it does reduce sales agent motivation. He also said that it appears that no other offer is currently on the table. And, the owners are highly motivated to sell it, as they don't want it sitting empty during the winter. The owners had a family emergency of some kind, and had to move out and leave the state.

So now, it's just a case of wait and see what happens. My wife is a nervous wreck. But, you all know me well enough by now. I'm cool as a cucumber.


----------



## paratrooper

My wife just literally told me the sellers received our offer and it looks as if they might counter offer within an hour or so.

Now, I'm not so cool.............

*UPDATE: *It looks as if we are going to buy a long, steep driveway with a house attached to the end of it. Our initial offer was politely turned down, but the sellers came back with a counter-offer. We decided to accept their counter-offer, as we kind of thought that's where the final price might end up at.

We still have our 12 day due diligence period. My step-son put that in the offer. Now we just need to get a home inspector and have him do his thing. My step-son knows of several that are very thorough and sticklers for going the extra distance.

Truth-be-told, I'm a little on the anxious side of all this. The last time we bought a house, was in 1988. Houses were a bit cheaper priced back then.


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> My wife just literally told me the sellers received our offer and it looks as if they might counter offer within an hour or so.
> 
> Now, I'm not so cool.............
> 
> *UPDATE: *It looks as if we are going to buy a long, steep driveway with a house attached to the end of it. Our initial offer was politely turned down, but the sellers came back with a counter-offer. We decided to accept their counter-offer, as we kind of thought that's where the final price might end up at.
> 
> We still have our 12 day due diligence period. My step-son put that in the offer. Now we just need to get a home inspector and have him do his thing. My step-son knows of several that are very thorough and sticklers for going the extra distance.
> 
> Truth-be-told, I'm a little on the anxious side of all this. The last time we bought a house, was in 1984. Houses were a bit cheaper priced back then.


 Alrighty, !!!
Sounds like you will be a new home owner,,,,,and maybe a home seller ??
You're stressing me out. I was very comfortable with a new garage door opener. Who's going to move all the junk to the new house. 
Better call American Pickers to get rid of some crap. Lol. 
Uh oh.
When in doubt, throw it out


----------



## desertman

paratrooper said:


> We submitted an offer today on the house we looked at yesterday. We spent over 2 hrs. looking it over very well. We walked the property line and although some of it is not as accessible as we would like, it is landscaped.
> 
> The house above the one we are looking at, is a $2M home. So, we would be neighbors if our offer is accepted.
> 
> The garage is 140 sq. ft. larger than the one I have now. That is an upgrade, but I do wish it was larger still. I'll make do with it.
> 
> My memory failed me thinking I had to be on the 2nd level to access the garage from within the house. I don't. It's just a short walk down a hallway from the kitchen. The laundry room and a guest bathroom is in that hallway, right outside the door to the garage. That makes it all very handy. The laundry room has a large utility sink in it for me to wash up in.
> 
> We drove the neighborhood, and there were a lot of homes with steep drives. Some worse that the one we are looking at. We do get some snow here in the winter. My financial officer (wife) has approved the purchase of a 4x4 ATV with a snow plow. *On garbage days, you have to have your garbage(s) can on the road. That would be quite a hike on foot. The mailbox is also at the end of the long and steep drive. You are not allowed to keep you garbage can on the road. It has to be retrieved and taken back to the house. So, I'd have to come up with a logistics plan in regards to taking it down to the road, and then back up after it was emptied. I'll work that 4x4 ATV into it somehow.*
> 
> Anyways, like I stated, we have submitted an offer. My step-son said the house has been on the market for over 100 days. It's been on a reduced sales agent commission. According to my step-son, that isn't all that uncommon, but it does reduce sales agent motivation. He also said that it appears that no other offer is currently on the table. And, the owners are highly motivated to sell it, as they don't want it sitting empty during the winter. The owners had a family emergency of some kind, and had to move out and leave the state.
> 
> So now, it's just a case of wait and see what happens. My wife is a nervous wreck. But, you all know me well enough by now. I'm cool as a cucumber.


I don't know? That may get old after awhile. Family emergency? They could just be telling you that. I can see why the owners are motivated to sell it. You also have to question why there are no other offers? For any number of reasons I certainly would not want to deal with that. Not the least of which is if you or your wife ever got injured. Not too mention you may have trouble trying to sell it if things don't work out.

I would never buy a home that is close to a highway either. I know of a few people that did that and it was one of the worst mistakes they ever made. The noise never goes away, forget about sitting outside. Want to have family and friends over for a barbecue? You'll be shouting all over each other.

Unless you're really desperate or have to move I'd keep looking. I hope you didn't sign a contract yet?


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> Alrighty, !!!
> Sounds like you will be a new home owner,,,,,and maybe a home seller ??
> You're stressing me out. I was very comfortable with a new garage door opener. Who's going to move all the junk to the new house.
> Better call American Pickers to get rid of some crap. Lol.
> Uh oh.
> When in doubt, throw it out


Our current home is paid for. I'll have plenty of help on hand to help us move. We have some sprucing up to do with our house before we put it up for sale. We will make the move into our new to us house and then concentrate on selling ours.

That way, there is no pressure to hurry the move. We can take our time and do it on our time schedule. Winter here for the most part, is pretty mild. We usually don't see any snow until after the start of a new year.

The distance from our current house to the one we are buying is approx. 8-9 miles. A short trip! A good portion of that is highway as well.

I ain't gonna lie. Getting things up that driveway is gonna be tricky. I'm thinking a 14' U-Haul box truck would work well. Locally, they're pretty cheap to rent. Put it in reverse and back right up the drive.

So, unless something goes bad and turns south, we bought a house. Closing will be set for late October.


----------



## paratrooper

desertman said:


> I don't know? That may get old after awhile. Family emergency? They could just be telling you that. I can see why the owners are motivated to sell it. You also have to question why there are no other offers? For any number of reasons I certainly would not want to deal with that. Not the least of which is if you or your wife ever got injured. Not too mention you may have trouble trying to sell it if things don't work out.
> 
> I would never buy a home that is close to a highway either. I know of a few people that did that and it was one of the worst mistakes they ever made. The noise never goes away, forget about sitting outside. Want to have family and friends over for a barbecue? You'll be shouting all over each other.
> 
> Unless you're really desperate or have to move I'd keep looking. I hope you didn't sign a contract yet?


It's not close to any highway, and it's far enough up and away from the street it's on, that you don't hear any traffic at all. It has great views that go for miles and miles. We were there today for a couple of hours and it was dead silent.

For whatever reason, the owner's decided to go with a reduced real estate commission. That in and of itself, reduced a lot of interest by the agents. My step-son explained that to us.

We've looked at close to 75+ homes (new and used) for sale since starting our hunt in late April. We learned a lot in that time. We got a pretty good feel for what we wanted.

We feel that this house with a few improvements will only make it more valuable in the future. It's also in an area surrounded by other homes that are very well kept and maintained. My step-son and the listing agent have both said the value is there, just waiting for someone to realize it.

The previous owners spent in excess of $30K remodeling the kitchen and all the bathrooms. By taking a good look at the way the house has been cared for, it was apparent that the owners did not have any plans to leave it.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

I guess that congratulations are in order!

One thing we learned about buying a house is to have an expert look _very_ closely at the roof.
Our appraiser passed the roof of our house, but he shouldn't have. It was in less than optimum shape, and we had to replace it all too soon.
Had the appraiser been more careful, we would have offered less, citing the need for a new roof, and the owners would've had to accept a lower bid.

I think that you are lucking out: You get better work space, and you get to buy a neat-o 4WD utility vehicle, just for going up and down the driveway. How could it be better?


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> I guess that congratulations are in order!
> 
> One thing we learned about buying a house is to have an expert look _very_ closely at the roof.
> Our appraiser passed the roof of our house, but he shouldn't have. It was in less than optimum shape, and we had to replace it all too soon.
> Had the appraiser been more careful, we would have offered less, citing the need for a new roof, and the owners would've had to accept a lower bid.
> 
> I think that you are lucking out: You get better work space, and you get to buy a neat-o 4WD utility vehicle, just for going up and down the driveway. How could it be better?


The roof is all tile. Thick tiles to boot. They had a small leak earlier this year and they called the same roofing company that is coming out the end of this month to completely re-roof our house. Our home owners insurance is paying for it.

I have the two, two-wheeled ATC's, but there's no way to install a snow blade on them. But, they can drag a large wheeled garbage container easily enough, with a little fabrication.

We went over the full disclosure form earlier today. They had both of the furnaces replaced only 4 yrs. ago. Both of the two a/c units outside look new enough. One still has some stickers on the fan blades. I'd be surprised if it's not even 1 yr. old. Each level in the house has it's own furnace and a/c unit.

The carpeting inside the bedrooms are less than two yrs. old. They appear to be clean and well cared for. We'll still have them cleaned though prior to actually moving in.

My step-son will get in touch with a home inspector later this week. Hope to have one scheduled for early next week.

One big thing for us, is the privacy this home will provide. No one walking down a sidewalk right in front of the house. No cars passing back & forth either. I mean they will, but we'll barely see them, but won't hear them.

This house wasn't even on our radar until just yesterday. My wife found it on a real estate site. She was interested enough to put it on her list of possibilities.


----------



## paratrooper

We went back to the house today (in the rain) to take yet another look. I took some pics this time. I'm having some second thoughts about this house. The driveway drives me crazy. And, there's a lot of foliage to be maintained. I'm not a big fan of lots of foliage.

Sorry about the duplicate pics.  The pics of the driveway makes it look less steep than it actually is.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

The green stuff doesn't seem to be the kind that's difficult to maintain.
Am I wrong about this? Please tell me.

The driveway seems to be shared, and your neighbor has an even tougher row to hoe than you do.
That sharp right turn toward his house must be a killer, as one powers up the hill.

I would not like to fetch the mail in the rain!
I don't do well on slippy-slidey any more.
I'd want a railing or banister, all along the length of the driveway.
And a much bigger mailbox.

I also find it interesting that there isn't any sidewalk.
Don't people walk, in your area?
.


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> The green stuff doesn't seem to be the kind that's difficult to maintain.
> Am I wrong about this? Please tell me.
> 
> The driveway seems to be shared, and your neighbor has an even tougher row to hoe than you do.
> That sharp right turn toward his house must be a killer, as one powers up the hill.
> 
> I would not like to fetch the mail in the rain!
> I don't do well on slippy-slidey any more.
> I'd want a railing or banister, all along the length of the driveway.
> And a much bigger mailbox.
> 
> I also find it interesting that there isn't any sidewalk.
> Don't people walk, in your area?
> .


The lawn has a sprinkler system. Lawns here in AZ., are hard and expensive to keep up. Sprinkler systems are money pits.

The driveway isn't shared. It goes straight up to the house, and about 3/4 of the way up, it cuts to the right for additional parking. The driveway is 190' long and 15' wide. The "spur" portion that cuts to the right is 75' long and 22' wide at it's widest point.

The top portion of the drive is off camber as well. Turning around in a small car can be done, but it's somewhat intimidating due to the steepness and the off camber.

Yes, it's a long walk to the mailbox. It feels twice as long walking back up though. My wife says that we can have someone install concrete stairs off to the side of the drive. $$'s!!

The mailbox is standard size. Sidewalks here are not the norm. This house is in an HOA community, but the fees are only $50 a year, and they are pretty relaxed about the regulations.

We are really thinking about passing on this house. We are still in the due diligence period, so we have the option to back out.

We drove the area and found another house that is much newer and has a flat and wide driveway, and the views from the house are spectacular. And, it has a 3-car garage. 

The more I think about it, the more I want to keep looking. My wife is more or less on the same page.


----------



## desertman

paratrooper said:


> The lawn has a sprinkler system. Lawns here in AZ., are hard and expensive to keep up. Sprinkler systems are money pits.
> 
> The driveway isn't shared. It goes straight up to the house, and about 3/4 of the way up, it cuts to the right for additional parking. The drive way is 190' long and 15' wide. The "spur" portion that cuts to the right is 75' long and 22' wide at it's widest point.
> 
> The top portion of the drive is off camber as well. Turning around in a small car can be done, but it's somewhat intimidating due to the steepness and the off camber.
> 
> Yes, it's a long walk to the mailbox. It feels twice as long walking back up though. My wife says that we can have someone install concrete stairs off to the side of the drive. $$'s!!
> 
> The mailbox is standard size. Sidewalks here are not the norm. This house is in an HOA community, but the fees are only $50 a year, and they are pretty relaxed about the regulations.
> 
> *We are really thinking about passing on this house.* We are still in the due diligence period, so we have the option to back out.
> 
> We drove the area and found another house that is much newer and has a flat and wide driveway, and the views from the house are spectacular. And, it has a 3-car garage.
> 
> The more I think about it, the more I want to keep looking. My wife is more or less on the same page.


*Myself, I think that would be a wise idea.* By the looks of those pictures I couldn't deal with that driveway. Especially having antique cars that have standard transmissions. It would be hard on the clutch. It looks as though you could also bottom out before entering into the garage unless you have a high clearance vehicle?

We looked at a house that had a driveway similar to that although not as long, with a real short apron. That was a deal breaker although the house itself was nicer and a lot newer than the one we have now. It also had city water and sewer. We also looked at a house that had awesome views, was on top of a hill but was too small, had a two car garage and no room for another. It also had propane for heat and cooking. Having natural gas was also a must for us.

Our house is on a little over 1/3rd. of an acre. The lawn section is about 15 ft. wide and 75 ft. deep. When we first bought our house we had a real nice lawn with an automatic sprinkler system. The timer was already set by the previous owner. Not knowing any better and because we were too occupied setting up our house we didn't pay any attention to it. Our first months water bill was $432! It has been shut off ever since. A lot of people have decorative gravel lawns and for good reason. Especially in Arizona.

Indeed concrete stairs would be expensive especially going up that distance. I wouldn't want to be in an HOA either even if the fee is low. That could change too as it's just another bureaucracy that you may have to deal with. About the only good thing about an HOA is that you wouldn't have to look at junk piled up in your neighbors yard or homes of those that let them fall into disrepair.

Yeah, I know house hunting can be a real pain in the ass. Unless you're having something built exactly the way you want it and exactly where you want to be. It's unlikely that you'll get everything that you want.

There's a few things that I don't like about our house. It's an older house built in the late 70's. It's in great condition though, I do keep up with it. We don't have any spectacular views, the trees block that. We're up in the pines at about 5,500 ft. elevation. There are some homes in our neighborhood that have spectacular views. Putting up another garage is out of the question. We have city water but are on a septic system. But we are in a desirable neighborhood with a lot of good friends, and far enough away from the highway.

We are outside of city limits yet close enough (10 minutes) to all of the amenities, shopping, medical facilities, gun stores etc. There are hiking trails in our neighborhood and places off of them where I can go shooting and not bother anyone. We're also about an hour's drive from the Sonoran Desert, my favorite place in all of Arizona. If it wasn't for the intense summer heat 4 months out of the year, that's where I'd want to live. It screams ARIZONA.

This was our second house. I wasn't going to buy anything until our first home was sold. This way I'd know exactly what I'd have to spend without going into debt. One of our old neighbors had a house built before their old home was sold. They assumed that they were going to get more for their house than what they'd expected. They ended up coming short by $125,000! They thought that they could just pay off the mortgage on the home that they had just built from the sale of their old home. They ended up having to return to the workforce. This was supposed to be their retirement paradise.

We haven't had any debt for well over 20 years. No mortgage, car loans, credit card, nothing. Except for our original mortgage, and one new truck loan, if we didn't have the money for it we didn't buy it. There's nothing like being debt free.


----------



## paratrooper

desertman said:


> *Myself, I think that would be a wise idea.* By the looks of those pictures I couldn't deal with that driveway. Especially having antique cars that have standard transmissions. It would be hard on the clutch. It looks as though you could also bottom out before entering into the garage unless you have a high clearance vehicle?
> 
> We looked at a house that had a driveway similar to that although not as long, with a real short apron. That was a deal breaker although the house itself was nicer and a lot newer than the one we have now. It also had city water and sewer. We also looked at a house that had awesome views, was on top of a hill but was too small, had a two car garage and no room for another. It also had propane for heat and cooking. Having natural gas was also a must for us.
> 
> Our house is on a little over 1/3rd. of an acre. The lawn section is about 15 ft. wide and 75 ft. deep. When we first bought our house we had a real nice lawn with an automatic sprinkler system. The timer was already set by the previous owner. Not knowing any better and because we were too occupied setting up our house we didn't pay any attention to it. Our first months water bill was $432! It has been shut off ever since. A lot of people have decorative gravel lawns and for good reason. Especially in Arizona.
> 
> Indeed concrete stairs would be expensive especially going up that distance. I wouldn't want to be in an HOA either even if the fee is low. That could change too as it's just another bureaucracy that you may have to deal with. About the only good thing about an HOA is that you wouldn't have to look at junk piled up in your neighbors yard or homes of those that let them fall into disrepair.
> 
> Yeah, I know house hunting can be a real pain in the ass. Unless you're having something built exactly the way you want it and exactly where you want to be. It's unlikely that you'll get everything that you want.
> 
> There's a few things that I don't like about our house. It's an older house built in the late 70's. It's in great condition though, I do keep up with it. We don't have any spectacular views, the trees block that. We're up in the pines at about 5,500 ft. elevation. There are some homes in our neighborhood that have spectacular views. Putting up another garage is out of the question. We have city water but are on a septic system. But we are in a desirable neighborhood with a lot of good friends, and far enough away from the highway.
> 
> We are outside of city limits yet close enough (10 minutes) to all of the amenities, shopping, medical facilities, gun stores etc. There are hiking trails in our neighborhood and places off of them where I can go shooting and not bother anyone. We're also about an hour's drive from the Sonoran Desert, my favorite place in all of Arizona. If it wasn't for the intense summer heat 4 months out of the year, that's where I'd want to live. It screams ARIZONA.
> 
> This was our second house. I wasn't going to buy anything until our first home was sold. This way I'd know exactly what I'd have to spend without going into debt. One of our old neighbors had a house built before their old home was sold. They assumed that they were going to get more for their house than what they'd expected. They ended up coming short by $125,000! They thought that they could just pay off the mortgage on the home that they had just built from the sale of their old home. They ended up having to return to the workforce. This was supposed to be their retirement paradise.
> 
> We haven't had any debt for well over 20 years. No mortgage, car loans, credit card, nothing. Except for our original mortgage, and one new truck loan, if we didn't have the money for it we didn't buy it. There's nothing like being debt free.


If the house were perfect in every respect, except the driveway, I'd put up with it. But it's not.

Even though it sits on 8/10 of an acre, a good portion of that land is useless, due to the steep terrain. The property to it's rear is terraced. The house to the right sits awfully close to the one we were considering. The driveway for it is just as steep, but much longer, as it runs up and around to the rear of the house. But, it does get wide and level out nicely by doing that.

The garage is barely an upgrade. Some of it would be needed for general storage, as the house itself, doesn't have a storage room. I don't like sharing my garage with a bunch of boxes with stuff in them. 

Anyways, for all practical purposes, the house is not gonna happen. We do have a couple of others not that far away from it to see tomorrow.

We do have a friend of sorts that has lived in this HOA community for many years. He says it's okay and they don't bother him. As far as HOA's go, he says this one is a decent one.


----------



## desertman

paratrooper said:


> If the house were perfect in every respect, except the driveway, I'd put up with it. But it's not.
> 
> Even though it sits on 8/10 of an acre, *a good portion of that land is useless,* due to the steep terrain. The property to it's rear is terraced. The house to the right sits awfully close to the one we were considering. The driveway for it is just as steep, but much longer, as it runs up and around to the rear of the house. But, it does get wide and level out nicely by doing that.
> 
> The garage is barely an upgrade. Some of it would be needed for general storage, as the house itself, doesn't have a storage room. I don't like sharing my garage with a bunch of boxes with stuff in them.
> 
> Anyways, for all practical purposes, the house is not gonna happen. We do have a couple of others not that far away from it to see tomorrow.
> 
> We do have a friend of sorts that has lived in this HOA community for many years. He says it's okay and they don't bother him. As far as HOA's go, he says this one is a decent one.


But it does look real nice! And its less to take care of that's a plus. The landscaping is very well done. The house is real nice too. If it wasn't for that driveway, and HOA I'd certainly buy it. Not being in an HOA was one of our criteria.

My neighbor's house has a lot of ornamental trees and plants, in fact too many. Somebody spent a lot of money on them and her landscaping. They look great but require a lot of maintenance and are on a drip system. She has a landscaper taking care of them. She also has a coy pond, but the raccoons got ahold of the fish. They've gotta' eat too.

We had looked at that house when it was on the market. She has a nice 3 car garage, not nearly as big as ours but it has one 12 foot high door and could accommodate a lift. Ours is built with trusses, hers has joists. If I was to put in a lift I could only get the cars about 4 feet off the floor. We were seriously considering that house but it was sold 2 weeks before we could make an offer.

Her house is smaller than ours but has a fully upgraded kitchen with granite countertops. We still have the original cabinets and newer formica countertops. Hers is a 3 bedroom 2 bath. Ours is a 3 bedroom 2 bath with a large family room that used to be an attached 1 car garage it has a 12 ft. high ceiling. Our master bedroom has an 8x12 walk in closet. We also have a beamed vaulted ceiling in our living room with a brick fireplace. Her house does not have any of those features.


----------



## paratrooper

desertman said:


> But it does look real nice! And its less to take care of that's a plus. The landscaping is very well done. The house is real nice too. If it wasn't for that driveway, and HOA I'd certainly buy it. Not being in an HOA was one of our criteria.
> 
> My neighbor's house has a lot of ornamental trees and plants, in fact too many. Somebody spent a lot of money on them and her landscaping. They look great but require a lot of maintenance and are on a drip system. She has a landscaper taking care of them. She also has a coy pond, but the raccoons got ahold of the fish. They've gotta' eat too.
> 
> We had looked at that house when it was on the market. She has a nice 3 car garage, not nearly as big as ours but it has one 12 foot high door and could accommodate a lift. Ours is built with trusses, hers has joists. If I was to put in a lift I could only get the cars about 4 feet off the floor. We were seriously considering that house but it was sold 2 weeks before we could make an offer.
> 
> Her house is smaller than ours but has a fully upgraded kitchen with granite countertops. We still have the original cabinets and newer formica countertops. Hers is a 3 bedroom 2 bath. Ours is a 3 bedroom 2 bath with a large family room that used to be an attached 1 car garage it has a 12 ft. high ceiling. Our master bedroom has an 8x12 walk in closet. We also have a beamed vaulted ceiling in our living room with a brick fireplace. Her house does not have any of those features.


I'm getting older by the day. The last thing I want to do at this stage in my life is to become a full-time grounds keeper. I'm looking for clean & simple.

And, the driveway concerns me for a lot of reasons. One being my m/c. The first time I lost my balance on that driveway and my bike fell over on me, I would be pissed. It only takes one time. I'm a very good and well experienced rider. I don't go out of my way though looking for challenges to test my skill level. Each & every time I decided to go for a ride, I would be doing just that by negotiating that driveway. Who needs that?

Funny thing! We are going to look at some more houses today. The weather is much nicer than it was yesterday.

One of the houses on our list, is literally right across the street from the one with the too steep driveway. Single level with a walk-out basement, and an over-sized two car garage facing sideways, not facing the street.

It's on a much smaller lot, but the driveway is wide and flat. The back of the lot backs up against a golf course. And no, I'm not a golfer. Never will be either.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

paratrooper said:


> ...One of the houses on our list...backs up against a golf course. And no, I'm not a golfer. Never will be either.


Neither am I a golfer. ("Golf: A good walk spoiled.")
But we, too, live directly on a golf course.
The good news: Somebody else keeps our back lawn in really good shape.
The bad news: Occasionally a golfer loses his ball(s) at our house, and comes onto our property to look for them. Almost all of them are polite and careful, and the ones who aren't get watched, "up close and personal."
(Steve grabs shotgun, looks directly at golfer, and yells, "Fore!")


----------



## paratrooper

We went and looked at two more houses today. Weather was great and one house really checks off all of our boxes.

It's basically in the same area as the house we backed off of. Maybe a mile away at most. It has a 50 mile view from the entire back side of the house. It's on the end of a cul-de-sac.

Three car garage, and big windows on each side wall. The driveway is *wide and level. *The house is approx. 3500 sq. ft. on two levels. Tons of storage space rooms down stairs. Lots of natural foliage that I won't have to tend to. The main door to the house is very private and you can't see it from the street. I suppose you could call it a side entrance.

The walk to the mail box takes about 20 seconds. It's right off the side of the driveway. It's priced just a tad more than the house we decided not to proceed with. Hopefully, the price difference will be minimal.

My step-son and his wife leave for Hawaii Sunday afternoon. They will be gone for about 4-5 days. It looks as if we might submit an offer as soon as sometime tomorrow.

This particular house is so much more practical. The kitchen has a commercial-grade range and fridge. Viking SS gas range and a Sub Zero SS two door fridge. It's huge! It also has a big island with a prep sink. Both floors have ceramic tiles thru-out. Bedrooms have newer carpeting. The roof is concrete tiles.

It's location is tucked away from any main road traffic, but yet easily accessible to get to it. Only traffic will be the local residents.

So, it looks as if we're going to start the offer paperwork all over again.


----------



## desertman

paratrooper said:


> We went and looked at two more houses today. Weather was great and one house really checks off all of our boxes.
> 
> It's basically in the same area as the house we backed off of. Maybe a mile away at most. It has a 50 mile view from the entire back side of the house. It's on the end of a cul-de-sac.
> 
> Three car garage, and big windows on each side wall. The driveway is *wide and level. *The house is approx. 3500 sq. ft. on two levels. Tons of storage space rooms down stairs. Lots of natural foliage that I won't have to tend to. The main door to the house is very private and you can't see it from the street. I suppose you could call it a side entrance.
> 
> The walk to the mail box takes about 20 seconds. It's right off the side of the driveway. It's priced just a tad more than the house we decided not to proceed with. Hopefully, the price difference will be minimal.
> 
> My step-son and his wife leave for Hawaii Sunday afternoon. They will be gone for about 4-5 days. It looks as if we might submit an offer as soon as sometime tomorrow.
> 
> This particular house is so much more practical. The kitchen has a commercial-grade range and fridge. Viking SS gas range and a Sub Zero SS two door fridge. It's huge! It also has a big island with a prep sink. Both floors have ceramic tiles thru-out. Bedrooms have newer carpeting. The roof is concrete tiles.
> 
> It's location is tucked away from any main road traffic, but yet easily accessible to get to it. Only traffic will be the local residents.
> 
> So, it looks as if we're going to start the offer paperwork all over again.


Damn! I'm envious, I hope this one works out for you. I wish you luck my friend!


----------



## desertman

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Neither am I a golfer. ("Golf: A good walk spoiled.")
> But we, too, live directly on a golf course.
> The good news: Somebody else keeps our back lawn in really good shape.
> The bad news: *Occasionally a golfer loses his ball(s)* at our house, and comes onto our property to look for them. Almost all of them are polite and careful, and the ones who aren't get watched, "up close and personal."
> (Steve grabs shotgun, looks directly at golfer, and yells, "Fore!")


Does he have a high pitched voice? That will give him away.


----------



## high pockets

I hope it wasn't too difficult to get out of your other deal. My wife and I backed out of a house deal one time and it ended up costing us almost $1,000 in attorney's fees, and loss of earnest money.

Ps: A lost golf ball was how I got to meet Bart Starr many years ago. I hit a ball that landed in his swimming pool. Fortunately he was very nice about it. He said he and his wife had purchased on that side of the fairway because almost no one hits a hook that radical.


----------



## paratrooper

high pockets said:


> I hope it wasn't too difficult to get out of your other deal. My wife and I backed out of a house deal one time and it ended up costing us almost $1,000 in attorney's fees, and loss of earnest money.
> 
> Ps: A lost golf ball was how I got to meet Bart Starr many years ago. I hit a ball that landed in his swimming pool. Fortunately he was very nice about it. He said he and his wife had purchased on that side of the fairway because almost no one hits a hook that radical.


We had given the title company a good faith check for $2K. They called today and said that it will be refunded via the mail.

We had ordered an inspection of the house we were thinking of buying, but we called today and cancelled it. We told them that we will call them back for an inspection if this other house comes thru.

I'm very happy about the cul-de-sac thing. It's a wide one as well, so pulling my large cargo trailer to move things in won't be an issue. Plenty of space to maneuver.

We are going to drive back out tonight after dark to see what it's like there. We'll get dinner out and then go check it out. I've never lived in a house with a "view". The view this house provides will make up for all those missed years. Beings that it sits up high, it overlooks the whole community. If you look, you can actually see the house we decided not to buy.

Anyways, we are still a ways off in regards to making it ours. It had sold back in June, but the deal fell thru for whatever reason. It's been on the market ever since.

I'm doing my best to keep my wife somewhat corralled. She's getting all pumped up again. She's just not as cool a cucumber as I am.


----------



## pic

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Neither am I a golfer. ("Golf: A good walk spoiled.")
> But we, too, live directly on a golf course.
> The good news: Somebody else keeps our back lawn in really good shape.
> The bad news: Occasionally a golfer loses his ball(s) at our house, and comes onto our property to look for them. Almost all of them are polite and careful, and the ones who aren't get watched, "up close and personal."
> (Steve grabs shotgun, looks directly at golfer, and yells, "Fore!")


I've hit many houses on golf courses, especially the house that are in range of the tee box, I live in a golf community but NY house doesn't back up to the course. I couldn't handle hearing the sound of a golf ball hitting the house, possibly breaking a window, denting the gutter. 
When I'm teeing off I see plenty of house using plexiglass on the more vulnerable windows. 
The golfer in most situations of any damage is the responsible party. 
But the golfer is usually long gone by the time you notice any damage.


----------



## BackyardCowboy

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Neither am I a golfer. ("Golf: A good walk spoiled.")
> But we, too, live directly on a golf course.
> The good news: Somebody else keeps our back lawn in really good shape.
> The bad news: Occasionally a golfer loses his ball(s) at our house, and comes onto our property to look for them. Almost all of them are polite and careful, and the ones who aren't get watched, "up close and personal."
> (Steve grabs shotgun, looks directly at golfer, and yells, "Fore!")


https://www.amazon.com/Toilet-Pract...rds=potty+putting+green&qid=1569684557&sr=8-3


----------



## Steve M1911A1

BackyardCowboy said:


> https://www.amazon.com/Toilet-Pract...rds=potty+putting+green&qid=1569684557&sr=8-3


Yup. Seems very useful. If you golf. Which I don't.
But putting isn't the problem.

(If you really need to, um, putt on our golf course, there are porta-potties scattered here and there.)

But the problem is driving. And not only with golf clubs.
Some of these idiots let their very-minor children drive their golf carts. The kids are reckless.
And the adults hook and slice in every possible direction.

When we moved into this house, there was a neat round hole in one of our windows...and a golf ball embedded in the opposite wall.
(The seller paid to have it repaired.)

Steve, pointing shotgun: "Fore!"
.


----------



## paratrooper

Some very good news. We submitted an offer on the house we looked at with the 50+ mile views.

Although you have to drive thru an HOA community to get to it. it's not subject to any rules, regulations, or stipulation, set forth by the HOA. The house is in it's own community on the far end of the HOA. No fees!

It has city water (no well), city sewer (no septic tank) and it has natural gas. My stepson contacted the HOA secretary to verify. She did so.

The house had an inspection in late June that was part of another offer. We got word that nothing serious came up on the report. The inspector that did that job, said that he would walk thru the house with us, and do a re-inspection of important items and issues for a nominal fee. That will satisfy our insurance company.

Anyways, the process is moving forward. Another potential buyer is coming to see the house today. We should know more by later today if our offer was accepted or outbid.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Go for it!


----------



## paratrooper

It looks as if our house hunting day are now over. Our offer was accepted and we went down to the title company today and gave them $2500.00 as earnest money.

We were thinking about financing a portion of the price. We are now going to pay cash for it so we won't have a mortgage to deal with. Once our existing home sells, we will rebuild our savings.

From this point on, things will most likely get a little crazy. My step-son and his wife are due back from Hawaii sometime next Monday. He helped facilitate the negotiations from Hawaii.

They say in real estate, it's all about location, location, location. If that's true, we did really well. This house sits on the fringe of the HOA. Ours is on the center end of a cul-de-sac and the street that runs above it is a dead end. That means local resident traffic only.

We have one house somewhat close to us on one side, and the other house on the other side is far enough away. The lot is .63 acres. But, most of it is on a hillside, making it pretty much useless. It is steep and very brushy. I might thin some of that out in due time.

But, no steep driveway. It's wide and flat, and still some room off to one side to expand it more. Paver bricks would be easy and quick.

No houses blocking our panoramic views. They go on for miles & miles. The window over the kitchen sink has the same view.

I'll post up some pics soon. Thanks to you all for the support, advice, tips, and suggestions. It all was very much appreciated.


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> It looks as if our house hunting day are now over. Our offer was accepted and we went down to the title company today and gave them $2500.00 as earnest money.
> 
> We were thinking about financing a portion of the price. We are now going to pay cash for it so we won't have a mortgage to deal with. Once our existing home sells, we will rebuild our savings.
> 
> From this point on, things will most likely get a little crazy. My step-son and his wife are due back from Hawaii sometime next Monday. He helped facilitate the negotiations from Hawaii.
> 
> They say in real estate, it's all about location, location, location. If that's true, we did really well. This house sits on the fringe of the HOA. Ours is on the center end of a cul-de-sac and the street that runs above it is a dead end. That means local resident traffic only.
> 
> We have one house somewhat close to us on one side, and the other house on the other side is far enough away. The lot is .63 acres. But, most of it is on a hillside, making it pretty much useless. It is steep and very brushy. I might thin some of that out in due time.
> 
> But, no steep driveway. It's wide and flat, and still some room off to one side to expand it more. Paver bricks would be easy and quick.
> 
> No houses blocking our panoramic views. They go on for miles & miles. The window over the kitchen sink has the same view.
> 
> I'll post up some pics soon. Thanks to you all for the support, advice, tips, and suggestions. It all was very much appreciated.


If you qualify for a 3 % mortgage rate, you'll probably do better keeping some cash to invest in a return better then 3.1, 3.2 %. Not sure what you would qualify for. Over a 15 year period you'll make significantly more money investing that cash.

It depends how much cash you finance, you'll want your payments at an affordable amount obviously.

I would talk to a financial advisor.

A house is an investment, sounds like you may be putting all your eggs in one basket.

Sounds like you have good cash flow. Make sure you aren't missing out on a potential money making opportunity


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> If you qualify for a 3 % mortgage rate, you'll probably do better keeping some cash to invest in a return better then 3.1, 3.2 %. Not sure what you would qualify for. Over a 15 year period you'll make significantly more money investing that cash.
> 
> It depends how much cash you finance, you'll want your payments at an affordable amount obviously.
> 
> I would talk to a financial advisor.
> 
> A house is an investment, sounds like you may be putting all your eggs in one basket.
> 
> Sounds like you have good cash flow. Make sure you aren't missing out on a potential money making opportunity


I hear what you are saying. In order to purchase this house, we are liquidating a good portion of our investment portfolio.

We really don't want a mortgage hanging over our heads, if it can be avoided. We've given it a lot of thought, and for us, we feel this is the right way to go about it.

We have a savings account, and we had to go online over a couple of years ago to find a bank that paid a decent amount of interest. Local brick & mortar bank rates are a joke.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

paratrooper said:


> ...We really don't want a mortgage hanging over our heads, if it can be avoided...


Jean and I agree with you.
We're getting too old to have to carry a mortgage.

We did take on a huge debt to install a heat-pump HVAC system this year, but our electric utility paid for it, is charging us 3%, and is merely adding the monthly payment to our electric bill.
Funny thing: With the reduced electricity use attributed to the heat pump, and even including its monthly payment, our electric-power bill has stayed the same, and soon will be going down!

Not only that, but now we don't have to buy three cords of wood each year. That saves us another $800.00, and we don't have to move 80 pounds of wood every winter day.
We keep a cord of seasoned wood for our island's usual power outs, and another cord seasoning for the next year, but we don't really believe that we'll use that much.

We heartily recommend heat pumps!
.


----------



## paratrooper

It's been about three months or so now that we've been in our new to us home. We bought a home warranty program with American Home Shield. So far, we've used them twice and the results have been good. Once for a furnace issue and the other for some dripping faucets. All were addressed correctly.

I called an electrician today about having my garage wired for 230V / 20A service for my air compressor. He quoted me $125.00 to have it installed, parts & labor. I felt that was pretty reasonable and he'll be out Tuesday morning to get it done. My garage is about 90% done, organization wise. I love the room a three-car garage provides. A place for everything, and everything in it's place.

We're really liking the peace & quiet a short cul-de-sac off of a dead end street provides. No traffic, other than those who live here. Most here are older and retired. Super friendly as well. It's a very safe area in which to live. If you happen to forget to lock your house or car door, it's not a big deal.

Anyways, I've been waiting long enough for the air compressor electrical outlet. I feel kind of lost w/o having it to use.


----------



## pic

Found another home you may be interested in. Lol


----------



## paratrooper

There's a lot of homes around here that have an RV garage. Some are quite elaborate.

One house comes to mind. He has a huge RV garage and a three-car garage, all on it's own lot, right across the street from his house. The lot itself must be close to 1/2 acre, if not a bit larger. Fully fenced with a nice driveway.


----------



## nrd515525

A family friend of ours has not only a super steep driveway, it's just wide enough that a larger car has just enough room to get between the house and the wall corner next to it. A pickup can't make it in without damage. They don't use the driveway at all from Oct to about April, the previous owners put a concrete pad on the other side of the house, because their son's girlfriend slid down the ice covered driveway one night, went through the back wall, and almost ended up in the river, which is deep there. I don't even understand why they bought the house and how the plans were approved for the original construction. It's a nice house, on a weirdly shaped riverview lot that looks like a cliff from the road. Another friend of mine had to spend a ton of money to get his house plans approved and the hangup was only because the setback wasn't the same as the other homes was, so how the other place got approved is a total mystery.


----------



## paratrooper

The house with the insanely steep driveway that I mentioned, is still for sale. We first took a look at it back in late July of last year.

We pass by it every time we leave our house. It's only about a mile or less from where we live. And, it's on one of the the main roads that leads in and out of our community.

Every time we pass by it, I think to myself.......we really dodged a bullet on that one. 

Odd thing is, the house at the bottom of the insanely steep driveway and directly across the street, is also, still for sale. We looked at it too, but it was on the small side, and it had a very small double-car garage.

The two driveways almost line up directly. Makes you wonder if potential buyers for the house below are concerned about a run-a-away car from the house above?


----------



## paratrooper

Our former house is finally ready to go on the market. We've been doing this & that to it, making sure it's clean and ready for someone to move into. We spent some more time there today. My step-son dropped by and told us the market is very good. He's a real-estate agent.

It took us longer than I had thought it would, to get it ready to be sold. My wife is a stickler and wanted to make sure all was good and presentable. My step-son sold a house just around the corner and got the full list price for it, in two days. 

We've been stopping by the house almost on a daily basis, to check on it and feed / water our two remaining cats that are still there. We hope to bring them to our new house by this weekend. We had to fabricate a cat pen for them, as we have wild pigs and coyotes in the area. It will be a while before we feel that we can let all four of our cats run around like they did at our former house. 

Anyways, we are anxious to get the house sold and get some more money back into our savings account. It may get listed as soon as Monday.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

I hope that you get a good price.
Trump and the corona virus seem to have done you a favor: The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates, so that mortgages will be cheaper. This means that home buyers will be able to pay more for whatever they buy, if they so choose.
It amazes me, what a mere half-percent drop in the prime rate will do.


----------



## high pockets

paratrooper said:


> ...
> The two driveways almost line up directly. Makes you wonder if potential buyers for the house below are concerned about a run-a-away car from the house above?


or runaway water

We once lived at the bottom of a not very steep incline, and whenever it rained hard we could get as much as a foot of water standing in our side yard, until it would run off.


----------



## paratrooper

high pockets said:


> or runaway water
> 
> We once lived at the bottom of a not very steep incline, and whenever it rained hard we could get as much as a foot of water standing in our side yard, until it would run off.


That is true. When we were house hunting, we saw a lot of driveways that were steep (as in downhill) and we had to wonder what happened when all that water was run up against the garage doors.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

paratrooper said:


> That is true. When we were house hunting, we saw a lot of driveways that were steep (as in downhill) and we had to wonder what happened when all that water was run up against the garage doors.


I can tell you!

Our entryway garage door (we have an exit door at the other end) is at the bottom of a fairly sharp downhill slope.
We have dug, and have to continually maintain, drainage channels to redirect the rain-water away from the door. These channels work very well indeed.
This includes a fairly deep ditch across the front of the garage door itself. We drive over it very slowly, so as not to damage either the car or the ditch.
The re-directed flow of rain-water passes around the north side of the garage, through a gravel bed upon which our "homeless lady" tenant has parked her derelict RV, across the flat exit driveway, and downhill onto the neighboring golf course.

It's a lot of work, to maintain the ditch system. We can't do it any more, but there are lots of people here who will do it for us, for not a lot of money.
.


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> I can tell you!
> 
> Our entryway garage door (we have an exit door at the other end) is at the bottom of a fairly sharp downhill slope.
> We have dug, and have to continually maintain, drainage channels to redirect the rain-water away from the door. These channels work very well indeed.
> This includes a fairly deep ditch across the front of the garage door itself. We drive over it very slowly, so as not to damage either the car or the ditch.
> The re-directed flow of rain-water passes around the north side of the garage, through a gravel bed upon which our "homeless lady" tenant has parked her derelict RV, across the flat exit driveway, and downhill onto the neighboring golf course.
> 
> It's a lot of work, to maintain the ditch system. We can't do it any more, but there are lots of people here who will do it for us, for not a lot of money.
> .


I do recall seeing some driveways with a "French Drain" right in front of the garage door(s).

Odd thing is, they were the exception, and not the rule.


----------



## paratrooper

Our former house is still up for sale. But.....we received an offer today that sounds promising. It's not the full asking price we were hoping for, but it's close enough. 

With the CoronaVirus stuff going on, the housing market has been difficult. Not so sure that it's going to get any better, anytime soon. 

We're going to sleep on it overnight, and my wife will let her son (our realtor) know tomorrow. My wife suggested that we come back with a counter offer. We're not talking about a whole lot of money, but rather, it would be splitting the difference in half. 

I told her that I'm okay with whatever her and her son decide. All I know, is that I want it to be sold and that we can then take it off our minds.


----------



## paratrooper

Well......it looks as if the sale of our former house is going to proceed. The buyer's are going FHA, rather than a conventional mortgage. 

I'm not all that familiar with FHA and it's guidelines. The buyer's ultimately agreed to paying our full asking price, and we agreed to up to a 2% concession. 

My step-son and my wife seem to be okay with the stipulations. That's good enough for me. The closing date has been set for June 16th.


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> Well......it looks as if the sale of our former house is going to proceed. The buyer's are going FHA, rather than a conventional mortgage.
> 
> I'm not all that familiar with FHA and it's guidelines. The buyer's ultimately agreed to paying our full asking price, and we agreed to up to a 2% concession.
> 
> My step-son and my wife seem to be okay with the stipulations. That's good enough for me. The closing date has been set for June 16th.


Congrats, 
tell the buyers you'll throw the cats in for free, lol


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> Congrats,
> tell the buyers you'll throw the cats in for free, lol


There's only one cat that is still an issue. She's extremely skitterish and we simply cannot get hold of her. We've been going over to the house almost on a daily basis to insure that she has food / water.

We have neighbor's watching for her, and they say they'll try to catch her.

The other cat in question, was brought back to our new home. She got out of her enclosed area and disappeared. She's been gone now for well over a week.


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> There's only one cat that is still an issue. She's extremely skitterish and we simply cannot get hold of her. We've been going over to the house almost on a daily basis to insure that she has food / water.
> 
> We have neighbor's watching for her, and they say they'll try to catch her.
> 
> The other cat in question, was brought back to our new home. She got out of her enclosed area and disappeared. She's been gone now for well over a week.


My wife came home with two cats years ago.
I don't have them anymore, they got old , passed away peacefully.

After the cats were gone awhile , I started hearing household chatter, lol.
~Let's get another cat~ 

I quickly went into action,,,,brought home a purebred TOY Poodle.

No more cat Hair, and poodles don't shed hair. Lol

Wife said " I never realized I was a dog lover ".


----------



## pic

Son should be taking you out to a nice fancy dinner . 
You were very loyal, great job


----------



## paratrooper

Yeah baby!!









We go in on Monday to close on our former house. The inspection went well, only a handful of things that the buyer's wanted addressed. I handled all but one issue. And, that one issue turned out to be a big nothing burger.









Anyways, it's all but a done deal. Glad to have it _almost_ behind us.


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> Yeah baby!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We go in on Monday to close on our former house. The inspection went well, only a handful of things that the buyer's wanted addressed. I handled all but one issue. And, that one issue turned out to be a big nothing burger.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anyways, it's all but a done deal. Glad to have it _almost_ behind us.


Good Deal,


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Congratulations!


(Remember to remove the cat.)
.


----------



## paratrooper

If I should happen to mention that we might move again, would someone please give me a swift kick to my butt?


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Congratulations!
> 
> 
> (Remember to remove the cat.)
> .


We've done everything possible under the sun to get our hands on the cat in question. It looks as if it just ain't gonna happen.

Since we've moved, she's become ever more skittish. The neighbors say that they still see her from time to time, but we haven't for the last 4 weeks or so.

We keep going over to put out food and water for her, and she's eating the food. At least we think it's her. It could be a stray for all we know.

The mother cat we brought back disappeared over two-three weeks ago. She got out of the enclosure we built for the cats. We had hopes that she might return. It doesn't look like it.

We don't know what to do about the female cat ("blackie") still at our old house. We have a Hav-A-Hart trap set up, but she's probably too wise to it.

Even when we were still at our former house, she was skittish. You couldn't pick her up, and on a good day, she _might_ let you brush her a bit.

So.....it is what it is, and we'll continue to try and get her. My wife is placing the food and water at our neighbor's house, in an old tin storage shed. At least that way, we can still care for her as best we can.


----------



## paratrooper

It's been a long and sometimes frustrating journey when it came to selling our former house.

The title company called today and told us that the buyers were in and had signed all of their share of the paperwork. There's just one more form to sign, and the title company is going to email it to us to be signed electronically. 

The house was suppose to close on June 16th. It's gonna end up being June 24th. But, at least it's gonna close after all.

We still haven't got our hands on our last cat. We're still putting out food & water for it at the neighbor's house. But, we can't continue to keep doing that on a daily basis. So, I'm not yet sure what we will end up doing about that. 

Anyways, we'll pick up our check tomorrow. Gotta make some phone calls to cancel the homeowner's insurance, as well as all the utilities. 

Glad to have it all almost behind us...............


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Bravo!


----------



## paratrooper

As luck would have it, nothing happened today. We're not real impressed with the buyer's choice of title company. Disorganized comes to mind. 

Anyways, the title company did send my wife an email message stating that our copies of the sale of the house and the check will be ready Thursday.

So, it is what it is. Tomorrow, all this should be behind us. 

Is there an echo in here?


----------



## Steve M1911A1

paratrooper said:


> ...Is there an echo in here?


What? What? What? What?


----------



## paratrooper

Well.....it really is a done deal! We picked up our check, stopped by the bank to deposit it in savings, and then drove by our former house.

The new owners are already in the process of moving in. We haven't spoke to or met them. My wife is a very social person, so I don't put it past her to stop by some day and introduce herself. Myself? Think I'll take a pass, unless some reason to happens along.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Don't spend it all in one place.


----------



## pic

Find a nice pyramid investment portfolio. Add some stress to your life, lol.


----------



## paratrooper

Gonna look for another online savings account. That won't be til later this summer though. The wife has some plans for some of the money to redo some stuff in the house we bought. 

What is it about females and the need to redo things?


----------



## pic

paratrooper said:


> Gonna look for another online savings account. That won't be til later this summer though. The wife has some plans for some of the money to redo some stuff in the house we bought.
> 
> What is it about females and the need to redo things?


It's a continuous ongoing thing females are born with, lol.
It's an endless list, even though they'll promise, this is the last thing that we really should do ,lol. 
Faucets, sinks, tilel floor, carpeting, back splashes, wallpaper ,new paint. 
Handles on the cupboards, new counters. etc, The list is ENORMOUS


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> It's a continuous ongoing thing females are born with, lol.
> It's an endless list, even though they'll promise, this is the last thing that we really should do ,lol.
> Faucets, sinks, tilel floor, carpeting, back splashes, wallpaper ,new paint.
> Handles on the cupboards, new counters. etc, The list is ENORMOUS


Wow.......I was thinking that I had the only wife in the world that wanted to do all this stuff,


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Why, some of 'em even try to redo their husbands!


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Why, some of 'em even try to redo their husbands!


I've heard that, but I just assumed it was an old wive's tale.


----------



## Slowalkintexan

My friend’s wife wanted to sell their house and buy a condo, so he did...He loves it, not having any yard work,,,she hates it and wants to buy a house.
I think she enjoys complaining.


----------



## paratrooper

My wife and I are on the same page, when it comes to a condo. *NO!*

I can't imagine not having a good-sized garage. And, a work bench, and plenty of space for all my tools, and an air compressor. Gotta have a place to park my m/c inside as well.

Some things in life are not negotiable.


----------



## pic

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Why, some of 'em even try to redo their husbands!


They finally achieve their goal in changing their husbands,,,,then they divorce them because they've changed to much, lol.
You're not the same man I married.


----------



## paratrooper

*GREAT NEWS!!*

We were able to get hold of our last cat. The Hav-A-Hart trap worked. Got her back to the new home and trying to get her settled in.

We gave her some canned food and she scarfed it all up. She's only had dry food for the last couple of weeks. We did some more modifying of the cat's enclosure to make it more secure.

I never thought that we'd be able to get her over here. And, now that she's in an enclosure, she now let's us pet and brush her. At the former place, she had the run of the place, so she didn't make any attempt to let us get all that near her.

No telling though if she'll get loose. Time will tell. We've done all that we can do to provide her a good and safe home. We let the other two cats out to mingle with her, and they all did okay. Our large all gray cat is her brother.

Anyways, it's a really good feeling to now know that she's here, and we no longer need to make trips back to our former house to see that she was fed and watered. Making those trips on an almost daily basis was getting really old.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Way cool!
Nicely done.

Keep her inside for a few weeks, to acclimate to where the food is, and she should be able to stay around without a fuss.


----------



## pic

V


paratrooper said:


> *GREAT NEWS!!*
> 
> We were able to get hold of our last cat. The Hav-A-Hart trap worked. Got her back to the new home and trying to get her settled in.
> 
> We gave her some canned food and she scarfed it all up. She's only had dry food for the last couple of weeks. We did some more modifying of the cat's enclosure to make it more secure.
> 
> I never thought that we'd be able to get her over here. And, now that she's in an enclosure, she now let's us pet and brush her. At the former place, she had the run of the place, so she didn't make any attempt to let us get all that near her.
> 
> No telling though if she'll get loose. Time will tell. We've done all that we can do to provide her a good and safe home. We let the other two cats out to mingle with her, and they all did okay. Our large all gray cat is her brother.
> 
> Anyways, it's a really good feeling to now know that she's here, and we no longer need to make trips back to our former house to see that she was fed and watered. Making those trips on an almost daily basis was getting really old.


very cool, thought she was gone for good


----------



## paratrooper

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Way cool!
> Nicely done.
> 
> Keep her inside for a few weeks, to acclimate to where the food is, and she should be able to stay around without a fuss.


We have a lot of coyotes, fox, lynx, feral hogs and such around these parts. Everyone says to keep your pets indoors. None of the cats are allowed to roam around outside. We've modified our upper deck so that they can go out on it in the early evening.

The _enclosure_ I speak of, is on the lower patio. It is a chain-link type enclosure. It's large enough for them to move around in and enjoy some fresh air.


----------



## pic

W


paratrooper said:


> We have a lot of coyotes, fox, lynx, feral hogs and such around these parts. Everyone says to keep your pets indoors. None of the cats are allowed to roam around outside. We've modified our upper deck so that they can go out on it in the early evening.
> 
> The _enclosure_ I speak of, is on the lower patio. It is a chain-link type enclosure. It's large enough for them to move around in and enjoy some fresh air.


watch out for the sky predators, lol.
Maybe one of the mid level decks will be safer


----------



## paratrooper

pic said:


> W
> 
> watch out for the sky predators, lol.
> Maybe one of the mid level decks will be safer


The enclosure is covered as well. Cats can jump quite high, and we've taken precautions to prevent them scaling the fence and going over it.

We've really tired to consider all options to insure they don't get out. The only cat to escape, was "momma cat", and she got loose a few weeks ago. She was able to get out, and we're still not sure how she did it. So far, she hasn't been seen, and we fear she's suffered the worst fate.


----------

