Soooooo......I did a thing

For those of you who know her, Jackie and I did a thing.

We bought a house together.

Yeah, I know, I just did all the work on the basement. That's fine and all but I took measurements, the kick-**** home theater will fit in the new house. Also, renting my house to a friend for now so I'm not selling "Uncle Touchy's Puzzle Basement" either.

Pictures attached.

Yes, that's a wraparound porch.

The property is 3.25 or so acres spanning two towns. I now own a dam, a lake stocked with fish, a pool with a pool house, 12 cars worth of garages, an island with a gazebo and a BBQ pit.

So iffin' y'all come over, I can take you on the dam tour! Just hold all your dam questions until the end of the dam tour! There will be some dam bait for purchase so you can do some dam fishing at the end of the dam tour!

BTW, gonna be a bunch of pitchurs.

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Expert Moron Extraordinaire

You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
«13

Comments

  • Do the dam thing!
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 24,974
    Most impressive sir. Congrats to you and your family.
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  • teekay0007
    teekay0007 Posts: 2,289
    Congratulations, John! That looks like a fantastic place to be holding Polk Fest 20XX!! FO'-SHO'! There's room for everybody....including ol' whatshisname?! Heck, there's even room for some outdoor live music! Woo-Hoo!! Should have some time for that after the dam tour, too!!

    Just do try to keep Uncle Touchy away from the kids, no? B):p
  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,825
    Suhweet, now you got yur own BBQ pit, so alls ya gotta do is lern to 'q. ;)

    No more "half-a$$ed" 'Fests then, the next one should be epic! Congrats!
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,178
    Very nice, John. Like living inside your own park. Congrat's to you and yours.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,858
    Nice!
    Congratulations.

    I see you already have leaves to rake ;)
  • Derf
    Derf Posts: 229
    Looks like a beautiful place--congrats and many happy memories!
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  • coolsax
    coolsax Posts: 1,824
    Congrats, looks like a really nice piece of property!
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  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    DAYUM!

    Sweet digs John - congrats to you and yours!
  • Fantastic! Congrats to you and yours!
  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,825
    Don't know what made me think of this scene...


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYGzhCtFt9E
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


    http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,900
    Looks awesome John. I do see however....lots of maintenance sucking your time. :) I might be tempted to throw a pier on that pond and run around a few jet ski's for fun.
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  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    Don't forget to lay in a good supply of DEET!!....Really nice place man...
  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,699
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Nice!
    Congratulations.

    I see you already have leaves to rake ;)

    I haven't used a rake for leaves in over a decade.

    Gas powered leaf blowers. I don't have days to waste raking leaves.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,699
    tonyb wrote: »
    Looks awesome John. I do see however....lots of maintenance sucking your time. :) I might be tempted to throw a pier on that pond and run around a few jet ski's for fun.

    There's going to have to be a big push to get the overgrown yard under control but once that is done, it won't be much more than what I have now. The actual lawn is only about .6 acres. The lake takes up 1/3rd of the property and the driveway and buildings are another big chunk as well. Any place that doesn't have grass or isn't paved is wooded. I don't have to do much with that except be sure that it isn't encroaching or endangering buildings. At least I won't have neighbors making comments about the state of my yard. Like they ever really had anything to complain about in the first place.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    Looks like an awful place, especially for kids, what with all that space and outdoor exploring. They may have to actually put down the video games. And that porch, well, that isn't good for anything but relaxing...maybe the occasional adult beverage and cigar. And did I mention having to slave over that hot fire pit?

    Congrats, man, looks like a lot of great times to me.
  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    Congrats John! Very happy for the two of you!
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,951
    Sweet! I love where we live but finding a place with a large pond could convince me to move. Enjoy!
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
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  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,116
    Beautiful, would be easy to retire there.
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,699
    It's not really a pond. The official name is Edgewood Lake and the pictures and property only contain about 1/5th of the total lake size. I don't know that I would run jetskis in it but it's considerably bigger and deeper than what would be considered a pond. The dam itself is about 9 feet tall. The water is deep enough that lily pads don't grow out beyond a certain distance from the shoreline. From everything I've read, they don't have a tolerance for water more that 2 feet deep. I think much of the shoreline has been eroded over the years of neglect from the previous owner as there are older pictures of the lake with no water lilies in them. Whether they were removed or just couldn't grow, I dunno.

    The lake is man-made, the dam shows up in aerial pictures in 1931 but the basin is empty. So the lake didn't really show up until 1935 on topographical maps. But the topographical maps show almost a 40 foot elevation change from the lowest part of the basin down near the spot where the dam is to where the house is situated. That was from before the existence of the lake. The current shore line is about 20 feet below the elevation level of the house so I'm guessing the lake is between 10 and 15 feet deep through the majority.

    I do need a few things. I need a boat, I need a waterproof GoPro on a stick and I need a heavy fishing weight on a string or rope so I can measure depth.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,699
    vmaxer wrote: »
    Beautiful, would be easy to retire there.

    That's kind of the plan. Not really wanting to go anywhere for a long while. I hope to get a couple other income properties that will allow me to pay for all the properties including this one.

    Given the way things have been going with markets and such, that's the best, most stable retirement plan idea I've come up with.

    Besides, the property is in disrepair but everything is structurally good. I think we paid just over half of what the actual value is. If I can get the ground under control and everything sorted to a proper state, I have a feeling we are going to recover another 6 figures in value. Especially given the historical values of the property when it was sold. Adjusting for inflation for the last 3 sales (I think there's only been 4 owners, we're the 5th) the only owners to have seen a drop in value were the last ones. They were there 30 years and all the overgrown stuff is around trees and such that look to be about 30-40 years old. So the previous owner did little to maintain the grounds and that hurt his value drastically.

    On a little plot like my house, that's not a huge deal. You lose maybe 10K in "curb appeal" with a shabby looking property unless the vegetation over-growth is so bad that it's damaging the structures (like my neighbor). But when you have roughly 2 acres of ground that was clearly well cared for at one point long ago and it's obvious that you let it all go for the time you were there, that's going to impact value drastically. Mainly because it's going to either cost a ton of money to get someone in to recover the property and make it look pretty again or it's going to cost a ton of time for the new owner to do it. The curb appeal won't mean much in value at that point to the kind of buyer looking at the property.

    But if you have a $500K property that needs $100K in overgrowth removal, regrading and erosion abatement plus the beach recovered and repaired, you're not going to get someone who has the wherewithal to buy a $500K house willing to be so frivolous with their money to pay $500K for your sizable property and then sink another $150K into recovering the lost value. They are going to give offer you $350K-$400K and cite your lack of care for the valuation drop.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,521
    Dude, that is AWESOME. Congrats
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,025
    Congrats John, enjoy when you get it up to speed.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,405
    Jstas wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Nice!
    Congratulations.

    I see you already have leaves to rake ;)

    I haven't used a rake for leaves in over a decade.

    Gas powered leaf blowers. I don't have days to waste raking leaves.

    Mulch while i mow let them blow to the next property. I haven't raked in a decade
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,116
    Congrats John
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,699
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Nice!
    Congratulations.

    I see you already have leaves to rake ;)

    I haven't used a rake for leaves in over a decade.

    Gas powered leaf blowers. I don't have days to waste raking leaves.

    Mulch while i mow let them blow to the next property. I haven't raked in a decade

    I will probably just mulch them in myself. I don't care much about the rest of the wooded areas, just the grass. The leaf cover helps with erosion control too.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 24,974
    Just keep Lightman far away. Once that infestation starts, it's easier to just burn it all down and start from scratch. :D
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    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,775
    Jstas wrote: »
    Might actually have borrow his expertise. I'll have to buy extra beer and a bar of soap so he can take a bath in the lake. I hope he likes 30 year old Irish Spring. I found most of a used bar in a camping kit from when I was a teenager. Still smells ok. Can't imagine soap goes bad.

    Does it?

    Whatcha need buddy? I'm in Pottsville PA for a few months.
    I took a bath this morning.