[audio-pals] Re: Older Houses

  • From: Thomas McMahan <shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx>
  • To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 10:01:24 -0500

Go for it.  

I still keep original copies, it will be interesting to see what she says.  She 
actually may agree with it.  Or maybe not.  

> On Mar 13, 2015, at 9:00 AM, Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> I’m going to have to tell Amanda you called her salty *LOL*.
>  
> From: audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
> [mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On Behalf Of Thomas McMahan
> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2015 9:18 AM
> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>  
> I think a garage is for storing your car away whether you get wet in the 
> process of getting inside or not.  They are very handy up here whether 
> attached or detached.  We have neither, it’s hard on a car sitting outside 
> all winter up here, shortens battery life at least, not good for the belts 
> either.  
>  
> Maybe Danny will let you park the car in his tree, but maybe then again you 
> won’t like to do that because he might drive it around and thats kind of 
> scary.  
>  
> At this point i would consider all options attached is best but if the place 
> is good enough a little rain once in a while on you won’t melt you.  Maybe 
> Amanda but not you, salt just lumps up with a little water thats all *lol*.  
> On Mar 13, 2015, at 7:40 AM, Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx 
> <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>  
>> Talking about a detached garage, Amanda had a couple of houses on her list 
>> that were detached garages, but I ruled them out before ever going to them. 
>> I think a detached garage is useless. The main reason I would want a garage 
>> in the first place is to stay out of the elements when they are bad and if I 
>> had a detached garage well then I am still going outside at some point in 
>> order to get in the house. Now, that the criteria has changed and shifted a 
>> bit so that we have more options though it may be that we reconsider 
>> detached garages at some point. After all we are now considering houses with 
>> carports whereas before we were not.    
>>  
>> From: audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>> [mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On Behalf Of Thomas McMahan
>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 2:37 PM
>> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>>  
>> No he couldn’t, we he won’t once the property tax comes around.  Not in 
>> Chicago.  Detroit maybe though.  
>>  
>>> On Mar 12, 2015, at 1:19 PM, BethAnn LaPresta (Redacted sender 
>>> "bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx>" for DMARC) 
>>> <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>>  
>>> Actually for $120K, he could probably buy an entire block in Chicago...
>>>  
>>> From: Thomas McMahan <thomas.mcmahan@xxxxxxx 
>>> <mailto:thomas.mcmahan@xxxxxxx>>
>>> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 11:08 AM
>>> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>>>  
>>> Why didn’t you tell us you lived in Chicago?  Sounds very much the same as 
>>> it is up there.  
>>>  
>>> Hey Josh, I just thought of another option.  There are lots of houses 
>>> available in Detroit.  Heck you can probably buy yourself a school building 
>>> there.  That would be a big house for you.  Utilities might be a little 
>>> high though.  
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>>> On Mar 12, 2015, at 11:57 AM, BethAnn LaPresta (Redacted sender 
>>>> "bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx>" for DMARC) 
>>>> <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>>>  
>>>> My house is in a neighborhood that is definitely considered "the hood".  I 
>>>> refinanced in January at $130K and my payment is about $800/mo.  My 
>>>> property taxes are spendy though, over $2K per year, so that adds almost 
>>>> $200/mo right there.  They tossed 26 of my cottage style single detached 
>>>> homes on little 3900 sq ft. lots, so our cul-de-sac is very busy with all 
>>>> of us stacked up right against each other.  But, living out west, things 
>>>> cost much more, it is shocking actually.
>>>>  
>>>> I could've purchased a 100 yr. old home where Heather lives in Ohio with 
>>>> about the same size lot for $60K, just to give perspective.  The guy who 
>>>> got himself into trouble with my house paid $263K for it in 2006 when real 
>>>> estate prices were obscene out here.  Because he was short selling the 
>>>> home, I was able to get it for just $110K in 2011.  A house on my street 
>>>> has just gone up for sale and they're asking $200K for 3 bedrooms (and 
>>>> they are tiny), 2 baths with one car detached garage.  So, if I need to 
>>>> sell, I should still be able to make a little.
>>>>  
>>>> Thought I should explain my monthly payment since I was saying I didn't 
>>>> think the $600/mo. seemed like enough.
>>>>  
>>>> From: Thomas McMahan <shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx 
>>>> <mailto:shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx>>
>>>> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 9:23 AM
>>>> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>>>>  
>>>> Oh mine btw was $162, because we’re cheap!  *lol*.  Then it went down to 
>>>> $150 then down to $128, but again we’re cheap and live in a piece of s— 
>>>> house, but as Pat used to say, “it’s our piece of S— *lol*.  
>>>>  
>>>> 
>>>>> On Mar 12, 2015, at 10:12 AM, BethAnn LaPresta (Redacted sender 
>>>>> "bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx>" for DMARC) 
>>>>> <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>>>>  
>>>>> I am not sure that $600/month figure is accurate.  I just refinanced at 
>>>>> 3.25% and my payment is $800/mo. (this does include property taxes and 
>>>>> insurance though).  
>>>>>  
>>>>> From: Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>>
>>>>> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 4:44 AM
>>>>> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>>>>>  
>>>>> Amanda did some figuring using a mortgage calculator online and the 
>>>>> 120,000 house was going to run us roughly 600 something a month for I 
>>>>> want to again say it was 1700 sq. ft. We currently live in a 1100 sq. ft. 
>>>>> apartment and pay 714.00 a month. So, given the differences there and the 
>>>>> fact that we have nothing to show for it at the end of the year is a 
>>>>> little much in my book. So, if the 120,000 was going to be 600 something 
>>>>> it would go to reason that the 112,000 would be less money than that. 
>>>>> Now, as far as utilities go, Knoxville Utilitiy Board (KUB) will give us 
>>>>> high and low figures for the last 12 months. The last 12 months is a good 
>>>>> thing providing there has been someone living in the house, but if the 
>>>>> house has sat empty then the numbers that KUB quotes are not in the least 
>>>>> bit accurate. I really like the idea of rolling insurance and taxes into 
>>>>> the monthly payment so that way at the end of the year or whenever land 
>>>>> taxes are due we are not hit with a big lump sum of money to pay. Sure it 
>>>>> would be nice to think that I could just put that money back each month 
>>>>> and not touch it, but the minute something needs to be paid for guess 
>>>>> where the land tax money goes that was being put bac into an account. If 
>>>>> it is figured into the monthly payment then for the most part the 
>>>>> majority of it will be paid throughout the year. The thing that really 
>>>>> sucks is that stinking PMI payment each month.   
>>>>>  
>>>>>  
>>>>> 
>>>>> From: audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>>>>> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>>>>> [mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>>>>> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On Behalf Of Thomas McMahan
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 4:58 AM
>>>>> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>>> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>>>>>  
>>>>> I accidentally hit the send before cleaning up that mail darn it.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> Here’s another little exercise to work on.  Lets say you guys decide to 
>>>>> go for this house.  You should have a ballpark of the monthly payment.  
>>>>> Sit down and plot out a budget around it on one paper, as well as a list 
>>>>> of possible repairs to do on another list and their costs.  Yes a house 
>>>>> payment can be cheaper than rent, but their are other realities such as 
>>>>> the taxes, and insurance.  Are you going to escrow your insuranc and tax 
>>>>> payments into your house payment?  Most people do that and it usually 
>>>>> works out well until they assess your house taxes up and then you have to 
>>>>> make up the short fall.  Of course if they assess them downward you get a 
>>>>> chunk of money back in the mail like my sister-in-law has done the past 
>>>>> two years.  I didn’t escro my other payments.  I deal with insurance as I 
>>>>> would any other utility, and we would do our taxes on our own.  Because 
>>>>> of that I now pay my insurance once a year and it’s cheaper, and once the 
>>>>> house was paid for there was less entanglement with the bank.  I even 
>>>>> removed the automatic withdraw for house payment because they double 
>>>>> dipped us a couple of different months, and didn’t have a very good 
>>>>> explanation as to why.  So it put us into over draw land, which isn’t a 
>>>>> place you want to be.  They did the same to my sis-in-law too and she 
>>>>> went in and practically threw a fit because she wasn’t working at the 
>>>>> time and didn’t have income yet.  They refunded her money on that one, 
>>>>> but as she asked them, “now how am I supposed to pay the rest of my 
>>>>> bills?  You think you guys are my only bill to pay?”  Banks and their 
>>>>> computers can be sloppy sometimes.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> Now when you do your budget here’s another game to play which may be 
>>>>> beneficial.  Can you run your whole budget on one income?  Everybody that 
>>>>> lives as a couple should do this whether renting or paying for a house.  
>>>>> Most of us find we can’t, but it is a nice goal.  The guy we had going 
>>>>> along with us to check out houses etc and sort of pointed and guided us 
>>>>> along through the process gave us that little bit of wisdom.  As he said, 
>>>>> what happens if Pat loses her job and can’t get one very fast?  Can you 
>>>>> live on just your income alone, because if you can get to that point, 
>>>>> then you can start paying extra against your house on it’s principle and 
>>>>> have more paid off faster which is good for the credit rating, but if you 
>>>>> decide to move in 20 years you are carrying less of a load thus will get 
>>>>> more money back to leverage against your next place should you decide to 
>>>>> do that.  Or you can both pay some extra on house and car, then put the 
>>>>> rest in the bank against major repairs which are going to come even if 
>>>>> you buy a house that was built today, in 30 years you will have to had to 
>>>>> replace things, they just don’t build stuff that good anymore and 
>>>>> sometimes that includes homes btw.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> Lots of decisions, but at least it looks like you guys aren’t just 
>>>>> jumping right and grabbing what shines in front of you which is good.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> Btw, I don’t think our budget is currently within the lowest income level 
>>>>> of the house here at this time which would be Patti’s income, although 
>>>>> it’s not way above that amount.  It is a good goal to work for actually, 
>>>>> so we will be able to start seriously working on this place.  Get a lot 
>>>>> of little stuff done over time, then do a loan down the road and fix the 
>>>>> major stuff such as re doing the roof etc.  I don’t think I am going to 
>>>>> lift the house and work on foundation, but it would be nice to do 
>>>>> actually.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> But it’s a good exercise to do.  I would run it on your income Josh 
>>>>> because it is likely to always be there and Amanda’s income is the 
>>>>> variable one, it can be lower if she’s out of work, but can also be a lot 
>>>>> higher should land a great paying job.  Drop in everything, credit cards 
>>>>> the whole deal, then figure out once you get to where you’re going which 
>>>>> angles to cover and get paid off in the budget.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> I am guessing you guys have done some of this already though in preparing 
>>>>> for checking out the housing market and talking to lenders because they 
>>>>> are going to do roughly the same thing when checking your credit etc.  
>>>>> Especially if it’s a conservative bank.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> Now I think I’ve completed all I was going to say.  Took two e-mails, but 
>>>>> if I had been able to clean up the other one first it would have fitted 
>>>>> into one probably *lol*.  
>>>>>  
>>>>> Instead you get two.  
>>>>>  
>>>>>> On Mar 12, 2015, at 3:34 AM, Thomas McMahan <shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx 
>>>>>> <mailto:shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> Wouldn’t worry about a house on market for 5 months.  Most around here 
>>>>>> are on a year or so.  To many deals fall through each time that happens 
>>>>>> that just adds more time that the house is sitting there.  Age, is only 
>>>>>> a problem if the house hasn’t been kept up and modernized over the 
>>>>>> years.  There are people who prefer older houses simply because they are 
>>>>>> more solid.  The house I live in was placed here in 1922.  Yes it came 
>>>>>> from somewhere else.  The house next door is older and was also brought 
>>>>>> in here from another place too.  Fairly common in a town that springs up 
>>>>>> by a railroad.  I wouldn’t worry so much about that as apposed to how 
>>>>>> it’s fundamentally built, there are a lot of newer places that are 
>>>>>> likely to give you just as much trouble if not more.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> Any house is going to have ongoing mantainence of some kind.  Sided 
>>>>>> house are nice but siding fades over the years for example and 
>>>>>> eventually would need replacing.  Wooden houses have their things that 
>>>>>> have to be done, and so would brick, but brick is the best option as far 
>>>>>> as I’m concerned accept maybe when a big earthquake comes, then I would 
>>>>>> favor a wooden house, but what are the chances of that huh?  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> I don’t know the market down there anymore so don’t know if that is a 
>>>>>> low ball figure on that house or not, but I can tell you it is larger 
>>>>>> than mine is and mine is two stories, but so is it’s price too.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> Go through it with a fine tooth comb with the idea of what has to be 
>>>>>> fixed now, and then in the next 5 years and what would be ongoing over 
>>>>>> the years, I don’t think for the long term ongoing it will be much 
>>>>>> different than a 10 year old house verses the 60 year old house, but 
>>>>>> agin it is a matter of what would immediately have to be worked on.  
>>>>>> When was the house last occupied too?  A house that hasn’t been occupied 
>>>>>> for a good while can have problems such as drainage because they haven’t 
>>>>>> been flushed etc.  It sounds like you already have someone with you who 
>>>>>> knows how to examine a foundation well and give you an idea of what 
>>>>>> would have to be done and when which is good.  Same with tuck pointing 
>>>>>> brick etc.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> It may be sitting on market because folks think it’s to high also, but 
>>>>>> you are going to drop in a price and they will take it or leave it, or 
>>>>>> you both the buyer and seller will eventually come up with something in 
>>>>>> the middle, or the seller is going to have an empty house on their 
>>>>>> hands.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> What heating and cooling does it have, and when was it installed too 
>>>>>> that is a factor, a 30 year old furnace is getting kind of old in this 
>>>>>> part of the world, but most of our furnaces are gas and they do have to 
>>>>>> work pretty hard for a good part of the year.  Does it have any 
>>>>>> chimnies, and where do they run through the house.  Ones that run 
>>>>>> through centers of houses on the surface are nice, but when they have to 
>>>>>> be worked on they are a lot more work.  Of course where you live a lot 
>>>>>> of homes are electric heat and electric water heat, which is another 
>>>>>> thing to add to your check list, how old is the water heater and when 
>>>>>> will you be replacing that.  A brand new house obviously you would get 
>>>>>> to wait a while before doing that, but chances are you would have to do 
>>>>>> it eventually, or have your price knocked down when you are selling it, 
>>>>>> or when your descendants are selling it.  But that goes with any house 
>>>>>> again.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> What neighborhood is it in?  How accessible is it to you.  Pretend 
>>>>>> Amanda had to leave town for a Month and start your math, what is easy 
>>>>>> to get to via walking etc.  Maybe that isn’t a problem for you at this 
>>>>>> moment, but life can always hand you changes, and well, next thing you 
>>>>>> know, you are walking to the grocery store if you know what I mean.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> Find out what their highest bills were for each utility in the last year 
>>>>>> it was occupied if you can, you need that in planning a general budget.  
>>>>>> I don’t know your property tax situation anymore, but here they just 
>>>>>> give an estimate from the seller, but the problem is, that if the sell 
>>>>>> lived in the house for a long time you might get a little surprise when 
>>>>>> the annual taxes come.  Our’s wasn’t a surprise because the previous 
>>>>>> owner hadn’t lived or owned the house for to long.
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> So it becomes also a matter of do you get a house that you won’t have to 
>>>>>> do any work or as little work as possible on, verses one that may have 
>>>>>> to have some work done, or one that is a fixer upper.  We bought a fixer 
>>>>>> upper, but when we bought it was a seller’s market, it definitely isn’t 
>>>>>> that nowadays, so we went for a house we knew we could likely get.  Well 
>>>>>> the trade off is that it’s needed work done on it and still does 
>>>>>> actually, but likely we would at least get some money back when we sell 
>>>>>> it.  Maybe not a lot but probably some when all is said and done, and of 
>>>>>> course the sell of this place could be the lverage to getting a better 
>>>>>> place.  It’s probably what you parents did, if not them then your grand 
>>>>>> parents did, that is more the normal thing in history.  Well up until 
>>>>>> recently where you have people who expect to buy a brand new house that 
>>>>>> is larger than what their parents owned as their first house.  Well if 
>>>>>> it can be swung, go for it, but to me it’s a little unrealistic, well to 
>>>>>> my income level it is *lol*.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> What appliances are already there, and how quickly do you think you will 
>>>>>> be having to replace say: stove, washer, or more of a bear dishwasher?  
>>>>>> What about cabinetry etc, is Amanda happy with that, having that done 
>>>>>> can also be expensive unless you have someone who works with you to give 
>>>>>> you a break.  How much stuff will you guys do on your own for 
>>>>>> modifications verses having to hire outsiders.  So yes the advantage of 
>>>>>> a new place is that you won’t have to do that, but I guarantee you will 
>>>>>> pay up front for that, but that is why newer houses don’t stay on market 
>>>>>> long.  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> So then it falls back to degree of work and mantainence that has to be 
>>>>>> done.  
>>>>>>> On Mar 11, 2015, at 9:41 PM, Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx 
>>>>>>> <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>>   We are finding tons of older houses that we absolutely love. When I 
>>>>>>> say older I am talking 1950’s. I am struggling with this a bit though 
>>>>>>> because I am looking ahead, past when I am living there. Or rather to 
>>>>>>> the point that I am ready to not live there anymore. So, when I get to 
>>>>>>> the point of not wanting to live there anymore it could be 10, 20, 30 
>>>>>>> or more years down the road, but I am sure there will come a time that 
>>>>>>> I am ready to move on. If this is not the case and I stay there until I 
>>>>>>> die then it is not a concern, However, a 1950 house that I live in for 
>>>>>>> 20 years will then be 85 years old. I know the specific house that we 
>>>>>>> are looking at has been on the market for right about 5 months. So, 
>>>>>>> what do you all think, do you think I would have trouble selling an 85 
>>>>>>> year old home? It is on the market for 5 months at the age of 65 years 
>>>>>>> old. It is right about 112,000.00 right now without negotiating a lower 
>>>>>>> price. Do you think I would be able to get my money back? If it is not 
>>>>>>> a major concern, the age of the house, then I will not let it sway my 
>>>>>>> decision, but taking into consideration that it is an all brick rancher 
>>>>>>> with over 1700 sq. ft. and it is almost 100,000.00 and still on the 
>>>>>>> market concerns me regardless how beautiful the house seems right now.  
>>>>>>>        

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