Do it yourself

Quote: Evenbob

I had central air for years. It broke down 10 years ago and the cost to repair it was so astronomical and because I basically only use two rooms in the house, why was I cooling the whole thing. So I got window units for my bedroom and my office and the cost difference in electricity is mind-blowing. And I'm in the unconditioned part of the house such a short amount of time that who cares.

People can talk themselves into blithely accepting anything if their situation so warrants.

Did you put a big tarp over your roof when it started leaking in order to save the expense of a new roof?

Whatever, adding window AC units and not repairing your on site HVAC system will NOT help you with resale value.

Quote: missedhervee

Whatever, adding window AC units and not repairing your on site HVAC system will NOT help you with resale value.

This house has been in my family for 62 years. It was built in 1854 and has a totally unusable floor plan for modern families. The area the house is in is so upscale now that all these old houses are being torn down when sold with new houses built on the property. That's what will happen to mine. There is a 15-foot wide creek that runs through this property which about doubles its value over a property that has no water. If I ever sell whoever buys this will tear down the house for sure.

Quote: Evenbob

This house has been in my family for 62 years. It was built in 1854 and has a totally unusable floor plan for modern families. The area the house is in is so upscale now that all these old houses are being torn down when sold with new houses built on the property. That's what will happen to mine. There is a 15-foot wide creek that runs through this property which about doubles its value over a property that has no water. If I ever sell whoever buys this will tear down the house for sure.

My parents live in a house that is 30 years old and they say it is already a teardown. People today just want property in a desired location and are willing to tear down a $500k house to get exactly what they want.

Quote: DRich

My parents live in a house that is 30 years old and they say it is already a teardown. People today just want property in a desired location and are willing to tear down a $500k house to get exactly what they want.

In the Vancouver west side 2 and 3 million dollar homes are tear downs. Even in Surrey (as suburb of Vancouver) my sister just sold her house for $1.4 million and it was torn down. People want the location but want a new house. Who would want to live in a used house ;-)

Quote: kenarman

I People want the location but want a new house.

Where I live location is everything. In the daytime the road I live on is extremely busy. Right now it's 10:30 at night and I might hear three or four cars an hour go by. After midnight I won't hear any. What I'm saying is these people live in expensive homes have good jobs and go to work everyday. They are not out at night running around. They can't afford to. After 9 at night they're in for the evening. So many of the houses that were here 60 years ago are gone now replaced by McMansions. The closer you get to the city the more things stay the same all the time. They get more run down and are never replaced. It's sad because I've lived here so long off and on that I don't appreciate it anymore because I don't really see it. Sometimes a friend will come over in the summer and we'll sit at the picnic table down by the creek and it's like a park down there. And it blows them away and they say things like, you don't even know what you have here. And they're right. Because I'm used to it. So yeah, they would turn my house down in a heartbeat.

Quote: DRich

My parents live in a house that is 30 years old and they say it is already a teardown. People today just want property in a desired location and are willing to tear down a $500k house to get exactly what they want.

The USA might become like Japan in that regard. There they tear stuff down after 30 years or so. It will get bigger as time goes on. Houses made 1890-1940 or so are way more solid than modern so lots of people prefer to restore them than to tear them down. But when post-war houses start getting 80+ years old the teardowns will increase as there is nothing special about them. They were built on the cheap. They will get to where repairing is more complex than a teardown.

In Buffalo there is this one section of road where they tore down lots of old homes and put up small but modern places. It looks so weird, 100 years old homes then a block away homes built in the 1990s, probably pre-cut. It is lower income, but you can see it will make sense if you want a driveway and more modern layout but be close to downtown. Buffalo has no commute problem, but cities that do this will take off in time.

I spent a couple hours today doing what real men do on beautiful Saturday's in November. Getting ready for next spring by going around with my bypass cutter and taking down branches and small trash trees, just clearing stuff up so it can lay on the ground all winter and rot and I won't have to deal with it next spring. There is something very satisfying in a real man way about using this tool. It has extendable handles and will cut down just about anything like going through butter.

Quote: Evenbob

I spent a couple hours today doing what real men do on beautiful Saturday's in November. Getting ready for next spring by going around with my bypass cutter and taking down branches and small trash trees, just clearing stuff up so it can lay on the ground all winter and rot and I won't have to deal with it next spring. There is something very satisfying in a real man way about using this tool. It has extendable handles and will cut down just about anything like going through butter.

We had a hydraulic powered push button one at work. You could make more mess in 15 minutes that you wanted to pick up in an hour. Fun.

I've said before that a job provides a lot more than just a paycheck. This is one of them, the feeling that you've actually done something. Yeah, great feeling. Keep it Bob.

Quote: petroglyph

I've said before that a job provides a lot more than just a paycheck. This is one of them, the feeling that you've actually done something. Yeah, great feeling. Keep it Bob.

It's true, you feel like you've actually accomplished something. Maybe it's because you permanently changed things. You didn't just move them around but you got rid of them.

I enjoy reading how people that are not comfortable with themselves try to portray themselves as real men. A real man would never try to convince others that they are a real men.