Getting a house!

[Ford Prefect]

So the wife and I are on the hunt for property. We are looking for cheap small homes on big lots (big for this area), near conservation land for biking/hiking, so we can use the money we save and build on it however the hell we want. Although it's 5 years away, we're putting on a "work out room" which will have my current equipment, plus a high enough ceiling for a bouldering wall and some rings. Downside is that their may not be enough room for my lifting platform or overhead barbell presses until then...

[red5angel]

congratulations and good luck!

It turns out my wife and I have to move out of our spacious home and find a small place to rent. I need to go back to school before I throw myself out of the 18th floor of my shiny corporate tower.

[Ming Yue]

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Prefect!

I bought my own house two years ago and I loveit. It's great to know that whatever work you put into it comes back to you - both in terms of investment and because you can make it exactly what you want.

not to mention, the tax breaks are sweet. :)

[Reggie1]

Congrats! Just bought my first house two months ago. It sure does beat apartment living. We're probably going to do the same thing--except we'll convert the garage into a workout room. Right now it's half workout room anyway.

[Chief Fox]

Getting a house is so rewarding. Every bit of work that you put into it eventually comes back to you in the form of cash. Cha Ching! Congratulations!

[norther practitioner]

high enough ceiling for a bouldering wall

Nice!

[MasterKiller]

We bought a small, older house on a big lot with the intent on fixing it up because we didn't want a big monthly payment.

With the extra money I spent every month fixing it up, I could have had a much larger, roomier house that didn't need fixing up, and probably would have had a pool.

Food for thought.

Also, see if your state has homestead exemptions. In some states, if you file as a homesteader, your property taxes will be much lower, which makes your monthly payment lower.

[red5angel]

plus a high enough ceiling for a bouldering wall and some rings.

I didn't see that but that would be awesome!

Actualy a freind of mine has a climbing setup in his basement. The ceilings aren't high but he has grips and holds all over the place and he will get up on the wall and do a lot moving horizontally.

[norther practitioner]

A friend of mine in college, his roomie climbed pro or whatever. He had a wall that went up the roof in the attic / then down the other side \

he'd climb one side, then swing around, move down, etc... kid was redic.

[Toby]

Hey, congrats Ford. We've owned a house for a couple of years now. But being a student, we chose to pay interest-only until I get a job. ~AUD$900/month and every now and then we get a bank statement saying $xx paid/$xx owing and the owing amount never decreases :( :p. At least the capital growth is good and it's about the same outlay as renting.

Like your training ideas. One day we're gunna have to build a new place to fit the growing kids. I've always wanted a climbing wall, so I might do that on the outside of a two-storey house. My shed's too small for overhead Oly-lifts (by a matter of inches) which sucks.

One more thing to bear in mind - we've got a big block with nice lawns, but it's not unforeseeable that the government water restrictions around here might prohibit (not legally, but realistically) having lawns and gardens in the medium future. The push is already towards native (low-maintenance) gardens and paving, which makes our gardens and space kind of superfluous. Then again, when we do rebuild it'll take up more of the block than our tiny house.

[Mo Lung]

Originally posted by Toby
we chose to pay interest-only until I get a job. ~AUD$900/month Dude! I gotta move west. You couldn't buy a car port for that money here.

[Toby]

No ****. Got cousins in Nth Sydney (maybe Milsons Pt?) and in-laws in Melbourne (St Kilda and Sth Yarra). I got a lot of help from my old man for our house. He bought a couple of houses in the early '80s and sold me one at early 80's price + capital gains. With appreciation I got a very expensive (but run-down) house for about $350g. Sold it at a large profit, downgraded in block size (but upgraded in house quality) and got a mortgage about 1/2 that. There are still bargains around though. $2-300g will get you a new house in a new suburb not too far from the beach (but a long way from the CBD). In 20yrs it'd be a very good investment. I'm looking to do the same for my kids one day that my old man did for me if I have the opportunity.

[Mo Lung]

Admittedly I live in the Eastern suburbs (beaches) which is about as expensive as it gets in Sydney, but even in the crappier areas of the east you can't get a 2 bedroom apartment for under $500,000. A house is just beyond a joke.

For us to get a house we'd need to move at least an hour's drive from the CBD.

[IronFist]

What's the CBD? Some sort of train or subway?

[IronFist]

Originally posted by red5angel
Actualy a freind of mine has a climbing setup in his basement. The ceilings aren't high but he has grips and holds all over the place and he will get up on the wall and do a lot moving horizontally.

Can he change the placement of the grips? I'd think he might get sick of them always being in the same place.

[Toby]

Central Business District. AKA (generally) middle of the city.

[IronFist]

PS. Way to go, Ford. A climbing wall in your own house would be sick!

[Mo Lung]

Originally posted by Toby
Central Business District. AKA (generally) middle of the city. You Yankees would call it "downtown".

[Ford Prefect]

MK,

We've looked at over 15 houses way out of our price range ($100,000+ more than this house) just to see what is around, and only one had any promise. She is bent on this whole "moving once" thing, so we figured we ould get a house in an area and on a lot we like, and basically just build it. Her father added on large rooms, a multi-level deck, and even another floor on their house by himself, so he'd be helping us with framing and contruction. I can do electrical and plumbing, so the need for outside contractors will be a bare minimum. I'll check on the homestead thing, but being in Taxachusetts, I highly doubt it.

Iron,

The bouldering/rock climbing peices are bolt-on, so moving them shouldn't be difficult.

[Toby]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect
She is bent on this whole "moving once" thing ...Me too. The best way to make money is to move around a lot but I hate moving so I'm happy just to sit on one block.
Originally posted by Ford Prefect
I can do electrical and plumbing, so the need for outside contractors will be a bare minimum.In Oz (at least West Oz) you're not allowed to do anything unless you're licensed. I understand why, but it doesn't make it any easier when I have to pay some guy a couple of hundred to put in a new light socket.

[norther practitioner]

Originally posted by Mo Lung
You Yankees would call it "downtown".

down town is down town.. mid town is mid town... or if you are in denver.. lower down town is where all the big buildings are, and fairly central as far as the city of denver goes...lol

[rubthebuddha]

ford -- you and the missus still heading up to rainier this year?

[Ford Prefect]

Hey Rub,

We actually switched pace to do Rainier next year. The route we wanted to do was all booked out with guide services, and the only route available (Disappointment Cleaver) isn't really the ideal mountaineering experience. It's only 2 days, you sleep in huts, it's the easiest route, etc. Since all the guide services require a glacier travel course and experience under your belt to do the other route, we figured we'd do that this year. We are heading out to Mount Baker for a 6-day course on it, and completing the course gives first chance to book the other Rainier route for next year. It should be fun, and the course covers a lot. It'll be a good into to climbing glaciated peaks.

Toby,

You don't need a license here, but in some cases, you do need permits from the town which comes with a town inspector going over your work. It has to be done right, or they will force you to do it again and possibly even shut down the work site. It takes 2x longer to do than if you didn't need to go through red tape.

[rubthebuddha]

SWEET! mount backer is an hour from my last home of bellingham. i have so many suggestions to make, so let me know when you're going.

and since it's of great significance, i'll give one suggestion now: in the "town" of glacier, which is right by the mountain, you have to eat at graham's.

[Ford Prefect]

haha! Alright. Will do. How far is it from Seattle because that's where the guide service is based? We meet them there and they haul us to Baker and get picked up 6 days later. If it's not much of haul, we'll pick up a rental car after and make the trip.

[rubthebuddha]

you'll probably be landing at seatac (seattle/tacoma airport), which is about 12 miles south of downtown seattle. seatac airport to bellingham is about 100 miles of rather straight driving -- get car, follow signs to I-5, drive north to bellingham from mile 154 to 252.

or, depending on all your circumstands, you can shuttle (http://www.airporter.com/dev_doc/schedules.htm#I5) it from the airport to b'ham. they have another shuttle (http://www.airporter.com/dev_doc/baker.htm) that takes you from b'ham to baker. problem is, the airport shuttle doesn't stop at any of the places the baker shuttle starts. however, a simple 3-minute taxi ride will get you from the val-u-inn airport dropoff to the viking union or fairhaven pickup baker pickups at wwu's campus.

i could go on forever, but them's some simple options. questions?

[Ford Prefect]

I just mapquested it. It's over 2 hours! Man, I dunno. How far is Rainier from there? It might be worth it if we can get a look at the mountain and hike some lower trails while we're out there.

[rubthebuddha]

two hours from seatac to b'ham? maybe if you drive it at 5 p.m. on friday. in a geo metro. with no top gear. towing a horse trailer. :D

the I-5 corridor isn't one big metro sprawl like east-coast freeways, unless you're in southern california. the only busy passages along I-5 are seattle (which you can bypass on 405 through bellevue or just take the express lane through seattle, if it's going north at that particular hour) and everett, which is only busy in the right two lanes, and only at quittin time. drive I-5 sometime other than the typical rush to and from work, and it's smooth sailing.

however, if it said two hours from seatac to baker, they be lying. add at least an hour from bellingham, as mount baker highway, while a pretty drive, always seems to have at least one old codger in a motorhome. :mad:

from seatac to rainier (longmire) is about 65-70 miles, but most of it is highway, not freeway.

another option is simply flying into bellingham "international" airport (BLI -- it's international, because it hops across the border to vancouver).

[Ford Prefect]

Heh. I'll have to buy a map. BTW, what's the difference between highway and freeway?

[rubthebuddha]

i consider interstates to be freeways and the smaller ones that typically move a 5-10 mph slower to be highways.

get a map, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM, IM or e-mail me.

oh, and btw, the val-u-inn shuttle drop is across the street from the best smoothie shop in the world, and they actually prefer to use whey and not man-boob-inducing soy. they'll also sell you any supplements or bars you'll need for the trip.