271–280 of 440 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right there with you. We sold our 1800sqft single-family for a 1500sqft townhome shortly after the kid flew the nest. And we still have two bedrooms that are seldom used (one is a guest room, used 3-4x/year, the other is an office used never, except by the dog).
awww.. what kind of job does the dog have?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And walls. "Open concept" might look great in photos and provide good "wow" factor, and it's definitely cheaper to build, but it's also a great way to make a lot of square footage feel small when you live in it. Contrast smaller, older houses with lots of smaller rooms, which can often feel as big as much larger, newer houses. Unfortunately, at least in our market, there's not much built in the last 20 years where th…
What would you use all of the extra rooms for? One room for each person to sleep, a laundry room, a couple bathrooms, and a great room with living, dining, and kitchen is all you ever really need right?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't get why you'd want to build an enormous house for your retirement ? If anything, I long for the day my kids leave and I can move to a "simpler" place where I don't need to worry about, or pay for, maintainnig a detatched house. What does a rich older couple do in 7500sq ft/700sq m? I'd run out of ideas for rooms after about 200 sq m, and then I'm left to clean the remaining 500 sq m. anyway...
I'm not saying it's reasonable, but I think these people are designing their house for peak capacity, not average. people with these kinds of houses might fly their entire extended family out for holidays (or several of their friend's families). they don't necessarily care that the place is empty most of the year; it's probably not their only house anyway. obviously they hire people to maintain the place.
On one of my harder-hearted days I would've felt schadenfreude (rich assholes waste obscene amounts of money on tacky shit, get burned, film at 11), but today I feel sorry for them. The whole thing is just sad. On the macro level, such a tragic mis-deployment of resources. And on the micro level, misplacing one's priorities on material things and finding out the hard way that it doesn't bring any meaning to your life…
We have a similar issue in the UK since there are large houses being occupied by older couples whose children have left. Since annual property taxes are low (~4k - we call it council tax) and tax on buying property (stamp duty) is high, there is no incentive to move to a smaller place.
The UK also has Stoke-on-Trent giving away houses for £1 in a desperate attempt to unblight the place. The UK's problem is not so much lack of houses (although the planning system really doesn't help) as a combination of over-financialisation and over-centralisation. People believe that all the high-paying employment, entertainment, and oligarch money is in London. It's also the default destination for immigrants. As…
It really is a lack of houses. It's true that some residential buildings are not being used to full capacity. It's true that we are far too centralised around London in some respects. However, those are still relatively small effects compared to building ~100,000 too few new homes every year for decades as demographic and lifestyle changes are rapidly increasing demand.
You're right that the planning system really doesn't help, nor does the ease with which the big housebuilders routinely manage to bypass it so they can build and sell the high-end, high-profit properties without providing the balancing low-end, lower-profit ones and supporting infrastructure at the same time.
It also doesn't help that our education system has pushed people away from practical trades. There are nowhere near enough good independent tradespeople for individuals to conveniently build, adapt or extend their own homes instead of buying the over-priced, mass-produced junk that big housebuilding firms typically offer these days. In some places elsewhere in Europe, people designing and building unique properties for their own needs happens all the time. In the UK, it's still rare enough to be a conversation starter if you meet someone who's actually done it.
Of course the problem now is that a significant number of people have treated property as an investment vehicle, intentionally or otherwise, and stand to be financially ruined if there is a big crash. Meanwhile, prices have literally become prohibitive in many cities and other relatively popular locations for the younger generations who are flying the nest and looking for their first home or wanting somewhere a step up the ladder to settle down with a partner and perhaps start a family.
The only way I can see to cool the market without causing economic disaster is a slow erosion based on building a more realistic amount of housing stock so market rates naturally fall over time. But of course the big builders and mortgage lenders really don't want that, and the system is stacked against the little guy who wants to go independent for the reasons above, so without disrupting at least one of those groups, nothing changes and the problems just get worse.
On one of my harder-hearted days I would've felt schadenfreude (rich assholes waste obscene amounts of money on tacky shit, get burned, film at 11), but today I feel sorry for them. The whole thing is just sad. On the macro level, such a tragic mis-deployment of resources. And on the micro level, misplacing one's priorities on material things and finding out the hard way that it doesn't bring any meaning to your life…
You sir, are a genius. I love that wording. That should have been on the welcome brochure we all get as babies, assuming we could read it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know landlord-tenant laws vary a lot, but how could you be subject to random evictions with only 60-day notice? Most places I've lived, you sign a one year lease. The landlord can't evict you while the lease is in effect as long as you are abiding by the terms of the lease.
You must not live in Georgia or the South.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's another example of the high cost of being poor. The rent on my town home is several thousand more per year than what a mortgage (5% down), taxes, HOA fee, PMI, and home insurance would be.
Several thousand more per year doesn't sound too far off: if you own, you're responsible for home repairs: roof, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, appliances, siding, painting, etc. I budget $2,000 a year for repairs on a modest-sized home; most years it's under $1,000, but HVAC and roof are infrequent and fairly expensive.
On one of my harder-hearted days I would've felt schadenfreude (rich assholes waste obscene amounts of money on tacky shit, get burned, film at 11), but today I feel sorry for them. The whole thing is just sad. On the macro level, such a tragic mis-deployment of resources. And on the micro level, misplacing one's priorities on material things and finding out the hard way that it doesn't bring any meaning to your life…
> Everybody follows each other in a grand parade to oblivion. You sir, are a genius. I love that wording. That should have been on the welcome brochure we all get as babies, assuming we could read it.
As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile. All go to one place: All come from dust, and all return to dust.