[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

Brad, I'm envious....a garage AND a pole barn. NOT fair....

Now you know why you couldn't get me on the phone, I've been looking for this type of property for the last 6 months. The real estate lady's number is on speed dial......LOL

She's showed me some really less than desirable homes, (not her fault though) that looked fine in pictures, but were crap when you got to see them in person. They're not cheap, even though they're junk, people are paying a lot for crap properties.

We've looked at 1 or 2, and sometimes 3 properties a day for months. We had 3 deals that fell apart after we were the high bidder, but when we had them inspected, there were major problems that the owners wouldn't negotiate on repairs. All 3 properties are still on the market, and haven't closed a deal yet.

This is my fifth house I've owned, I have never seen the market like this, or even close to this level.

[Will]

Not sure how this is all going to shake out. I'm somewhat surprised to hear the market is like this all over the place, I thought maybe it was more of an issue near the big city tech-hubs. COVID has changed things in what I and many others feel will be in permanent ways about where/when/how people work. All these big tech companies have thousands of feet of expensive office space in the downtown core but once people started working from home and found out they can actually make the business work like that, not only are the workers really liking this but the companies are looking at no longer having to maintain as much expensive office space in the very expensive inner city. I think it's very likely that many of these jobs will become more-or-less WFH full time now with maybe reporting into an office or an office hub somewhere for in-person meetings & such once a week or so.

All of a sudden, all these developers, engineers, researchers, middle and upper managers, etc. etc. that make good money are thinking "why the heck do I want to live in a condo in a crowded, crime infested city when I can live in peace and quiet in the suburbs?"

BAM! Housing prices in outlying areas take off while in-city properties and condos start losing value. Add in the crazy situation with lumber and you're not even going to see new housing taking off to try to meet demand.

Brad - you scored man, congrats again.

My girlfriend and I decided last year that we wanted to make the commitment to live together and started making plans to sell our properties and buy something together. She owns a small inner-city condo in a high rise that she is renting out and lives in a townhouse in a newer development on the North end of Lake Washington that her dad owns. I have a small post-war "box" just outside the city limits (actually it's own little incorporated city). Last year it would have been easy to sell her place but the bottom has suddenly dropped out of that market - no one wants to live in her building any more and the place is emptying out and the units that are going up for sale aren't selling. She gave notice to her tenant back at the beginning of the year that the lease wouldn't be renewed when it comes up in July as she's going to sell the place.

At least I'm lucky in that my property is very desirable and has also shot up in value. the big problem is that the values of the properties where we're looking have just absolutely skyrocketed to levels that are beyond reasonable. If we can't sell her condo for a decent price, we're sunk, even with my place coming in well above where I expected it would at this time last year. We need a 4-bedroom (she has two teens and an elderly father) and lots of room for parking as we have nine vehicles and a boat between the four of us.

We're constrained in where we're looking by her insistence that her son attend a specific high school and her commute into downtown Seattle. Since I work in service and go to where the work is, I don't really care where we live in terms of a commute, so I'm leaving that up to her. We both want privacy and space around us so we're looking at 1/2-1 acre parcels or if smaller, situated such that we have green space or are otherwise not staring at our neighbors when looking out the windows or hanging out in the yard. In the areas that work for us, there just aren't big farmhouse type properties with lots of outbuildings at any kind of price we can afford. A 5 acre undeveloped parcel (if any still exist around here) would sell for more than we could afford. There are properties like that further out, but we just can't live out that far right now. I'm hoping after we retire we can get the hell out of here to somewhere somewhat more affordable. My hope is that our seriously over-inflated property values here will at least stay above other areas that we might want to move to in the long run and allow us to buy something nice to retire in after her kids are gone.

[Mr Anonymous]

Update on my 5 acre failed neighbor - got the back story. First quote by the builder for the house he wanted at the time of land purchase (a few months ago) $360K. Builder updated the price last week due to current lumber prices, $485K. A For Sale sign went up on the lot yesterday at 8am. PENDING by noon.

Brad, your hard work and diligence paid off handsomely. Its all part of the master plan.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by Mr Anonymous

Update on my 5 acre failed neighbor - got the back story. First quote by the builder for the house he wanted at the time of land purchase (a few months ago) $360K. Builder updated the price last week due to current lumber prices, $485K. A For Sale sign went up on the lot yesterday at 8am. PENDING by noon.

Brad, your hard work and diligence paid off handsomely. Its all part of the master plan.

Dave, that's why I abandoned the plan for the log home. Vacant property is also subject to this crazy price escalation, and then the price of lumber and timber went crazy too. Builders are booked up through the summer already, and people that can assemble a log home are highly specialized, and I would have been well into next year (2022) before I could even book someone. In the mean time who knows what the prices on materials and labor are going to be in a year. I doubt that I could have come in under $500,000 dollars, and I just don't have that kind of money lying around.

A few years ago I could have probably bought land, and had a log home, and out building built for around $300,000, but not anymore.

You're correct, it's part of the master plan.

[Will]

I've been reading about the lumber situation and one thing that surprised me is that the price of raw logs is actually really low and there's a glut of them in some areas. Lumber is expensive because the demand is way up and the mills can't significantly increase their output, but there are plenty of logs laying around waiting to be turned into lumber. The mills are the bottleneck.

That makes me wonder if maybe the price of a log home wouldn't have risen as much as a traditional framed house?

[Elarson]

The housing market around here had been on fire for several years...pre covid. The only way to buy a house is to the see the ad right when it comes out and bid above asking price with no contingencies.

Eric

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by Elarson

The housing market around here had been on fire for several years...pre covid. The only way to buy a house is to the see the ad right when it comes out and bid above asking price with no contingencies.

Eric

Eric, and Mike are roughly a half hour from me, so we're roughly in the same market. Dave (Mr Anonymous) probably within an hour of me.

This market is unbelievably rough and tumble, my attorney told me that Springfield OH/Clark county, is third in the country of property sales per capita this year.

I looked at two houses the day we put the contract on this house, the other house was on a crawl space and had 2 additions that I could tell added on to the original home. The floors were all twisted and slanted badly, so there was something going on under the house... But I looked on the realtor dot com site, and it sold in about 4 days.

My realtor told me some of the buyers are waving property inspections just because they're desperate to buy something. That could cost you a lot of money in the long run, but people are pretty desperate to buy homes, and no one is building new homes around here on any scale to supply the demand right now. There are some new homes starting, but not enough.

The one house I lost because of structural problems had no pole barn, and I got an estimate for the pole barn. The salesman said that unless he had a deposit within a week he couldn't guarantee a quote on materials, that's how fast lumber is rising in price.

[unruhjonny]

I heart felt "congratulations!!" is sent your way.

In my opinion you're a lucky

lol

[Sirrotica]

We closed 5 days after the estate auction on June 17th, so the closing was on June 21st. The family of the widow were slow to get started on cleaning out the hoard. It was worse than anyone estimated it was. I originally estimated it would be 5, 40 cubic yard dumpsters or 200 cubic yards, I was way short with my estimate..... There have been 13, 40 cubic yard dumpsters hauled off the property, and we finally got the keys yesterday afternoon after an inspection.

There was an estate auction which removed most all of the items that had value after a week of hauling out the items purchased at auction the fun started. They have had dumpsters delivered every couple of days since then to get rid of mostly worthless items (hoard), 13 dumpsters @ 40 cubic yards per dumpster comes to 520 cubic yards of trash. Those dumpsters cost $425 per load, glad I wasn't paying for them!!!

So now I get to start on all the things that a 120 year old farmhouse needs to be comfortable and current. Every yard of carpet vinyl and laminate floor in the house are in need of replacement and updating. Lath plaster has cracks in it and I've already had the sagging floor reinforced and floor jacks and I beam added to level the floor. Septic tank have been pumped and inspected. We'll keep plugging away till we get it the way we want it, then we'll move in. We're thinking maybe late September, fingers crossed.

I'm going to take some pictures of the now empty garages to have a record of what they look like empty, before I start moving my stuff in. I'll try to post them later.

This is a big undertaking at my age, but I'll get through it......

[fyrffytr1]

The one thing that struck me the most about this thread is when you mentioned the outhouse. My mind immediately went to wondering if you had plans to dig it out? I would in a heartbeat! Never know what treasures are there waiting to be found!

[sdbob]

I enjoyed old houses when we had to level floors etc,when self employed. It was work but rewarding. New homes were easier but the challenge of an old home tested your skills or new skills learned. Goodluck. Looks nice from pics.

[padgett]

Just a thought but was living in the midwest during the fuel crisis. People started putting up lots of insulation in older houses that never had. First major snowstorm roofs began collapsing because the snow load was no longer melting.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by padgett

Just a thought but was living in the midwest during the fuel crisis. People started putting up lots of insulation in older houses that never had. First major snowstorm roofs began collapsing because the snow load was no longer melting.

The home I currently own, we installed a metal roof in 2018, same as the new home has. I know for a fact that snow won't stay on a pitched metal roof, FWIW, metal roofs are self cleaning.

I lived in Erie PA nearly 50 years before moving to Ohio, Erie gets between 80-200 inches of snowfall in a season, so I'm fully aware of what snow can do to a substandard roof, hence the reason for a home inspection by a quality home inspection service

One of the things noted in the home inspection report is that the ceiling in the upstairs has minimal insulation (6 inches) so this is something that is needed to be upgraded for winter comfort, as well as summer comfort and minimizing heating and cooling costs.

Some people think insulating the back of a roof is a good idea, but I know for a fact it does more harm than good especially if you have an asphalt roof, there is no air circulation through the attic to cool the backside of the shingles causing their deterioration prematurely. Metal roofs don't have that problem, but attic air flow is critical to keep the upper level livable in hot temperatures. I actually have fans in the current house in the attic to keep the attic temps down in the summer.

I have a handle on all the things needed to keep the roof intact, and the house livable...................

[padgett]

Agree, sounds like you have moe experience than most. Have big fans in ceilings of both garages that keeps both 10-15F cooler in hot weather. Also many floor fans (have a 24" just to point at radiators when fixing ACs). This is the 100 days when best to work after midnight.

Also have many 4' lights in back garage. Now they say blue light is bad for you.

[geeteeohguy]

Congrats, Brad. That's about as good as it gets for a car guy. Love the vintage of the house too. A real home built with real materials of a by-gone era. Score!!

[John V.]

Congrats Brad! I remember you were seeking a log cabin but missed this thread back in May.

We also chased a log cabin but "settled" for a more conventional home in the GA mountains, moved in June 2019. Also got more garage space than I ever thought possible but the bonus is an RV barn. From what I see in the pix, I think you outstripped me. Awesome.

Carpenter bees and woodpeckers are an issue here. In the end, I'm glad to have Hardie plank siding, I think the log cabin would have brought issues that would have driven me crazy, Instead we have been adding some interior touches to give the house some log cabin "feel". Two years in, we are very happy with our choice, hope you enjoy the same with yours.

The empty garage pix are a good idea. When we moved from our Fla home, I cleared out our 3 car garage. I was shocked to see how big it looked after 15 years filled with the disassembled GTO then the GTO was replaced by the TA project, plus 4 kids worth of bikes, lawn equipment etc. Kinda fun to see the space completely empty. The former owner here left tons of stuff behind so I've never seen any of my new space empty. Of course once you start filling it up, you'll probably never see it empty again! And in 10 years, you'll be thinking about how to add more space, haha!

Again, congrats on finding this gem.

[ssj71]

Originally Posted by John V.

Congrats Brad! I remember you were seeking a log cabin but missed this thread back in May.

We also chased a log cabin but "settled" for a more conventional home in the GA mountains, moved in June 2019. Also got more garage space than I ever thought possible but the bonus is an RV barn. From what I see in the pix, I think you outstripped me. Awesome.

Carpenter bees and woodpeckers are an issue here. In the end, I'm glad to have Hardie plank siding, I think the log cabin would have brought issues that would have driven me crazy, Instead we have been adding some interior touches to give the house some log cabin "feel". Two years in, we are very happy with our choice, hope you enjoy the same with yours.

The empty garage pix are a good idea. When we moved from our Fla home, I cleared out our 3 car garage. I was shocked to see how big it looked after 15 years filled with the disassembled GTO then the GTO was replaced by the TA project, plus 4 kids worth of bikes, lawn equipment etc. Kinda fun to see the space completely empty. The former owner here left tons of stuff behind so I've never seen any of my new space empty. Of course once you start filling it up, you'll probably never see it empty again! And in 10 years, you'll be thinking about how to add more space, haha!

Again, congrats on finding this gem.

What part of Georgia? My wife and I have a beautiful cabin in Ellijay (12 miles south of Blue Ridge).

[Aaron65]

Wow! Congratulations...My wife and I will be looking for something like that one of these days, too. I've got cars in storage as well, and she's a country girl living in town right now, so I think she'd like to find something a little more rural (but maybe not too rural).

[Sirrotica]

Today is the first time I've had to take measurements on the garage and the pole building. The garage is 30X40 and then there is the addition on the back of that building which is basically a storage area, and behind that another garage space with a dirt floor.

The pole barn is 32X48, and has a garage door in both ends of the building. On the back they made a small enclosure off of the rear door that is probably 10X10. It was used for storage of hardware and tools.

Here is the original picture from the real estate ad of both buildings side by side:



Outside view of the left side double door on the 30X40 garage:



Outside view on the right side single door on the 30X40 garage:



Inside view from the left side of the 30X40 garage:



Inside view from the right side of the 30X40 garage:



Looking from the front garage door on the 32X48 pole building straight in view:



Looking from the front man door to the rear on the 32X48 pole building:



Here is the 10X10 addition off the back of the 32X48 pole building used for storage and it has a double door that can be opened for ventilation in the summer:



Off topic, I just spoke to my wife about an idea I have that next year on Wednesday night before Norwalk, We would invite people traveling to Norwalk via I-70 to stop at our new house for an impromptu get together, and cook out.

We have 4 acres of lawn to use for parking. We're roughly 3 hours from Norwalk, and only 5 miles off of I-70. We're halfway between Dayton, and Columbus off of the South Vienna, State Route 54 exit. Just kicking that around to see if there would be some interest. I'd call it the "Indianhead Acres, Wednesday night before Norwalk." Indianhead Acres will be the name of our new homestead following the name of our now retired from T shirt business.

People could camp out, and finish their trip on Thursday, just kicking this idea around.......

[Jack Gifford]

Looks great Brad!