The Benefits of Home Ownership?

[cramx3]

we will never ever have a lot of smart devices in our home.

Same.

I can't say never ever to this.  Things change very fast these days with tech.  I'm not into the smart home stuff today, but I can't rule out 10 years from now.

[Nick]

we will never ever have a lot of smart devices in our home.

Same.

I can't say never ever to this.  Things change very fast these days with tech.  I'm not into the smart home stuff today, but I can't rule out 10 years from now.

Plus, you don't want to run the risk of sounding extremely old like the other two.

[hefdaddy42]

har de har

[Stadler]

Is there a smart device to keep those damn kids off my lawn?

[Chino]

Is there a smart device to keep those damn kids off my lawn?

Yup!
https://youtu.be/J9GsispJr74?t=148

[Stadler]

Is there a smart device to keep those damn kids off my lawn?

Yup!
https://youtu.be/J9GsispJr74?t=148

I'M IN!!!!

[ReaperKK]

So speaking of smart devices are new appliances just came in which are wifi enabled for some reason.

[jingle.boy]

Is there a smart device to keep those damn kids off my lawn?

Yup!
https://youtu.be/J9GsispJr74?t=148

I'M IN!!!!

What the hell is the town/city doing just ending the sidewalk right in the middle of his lawn??

[lordxizor]

But to your point, I'm not sure how an institution can "secure" a loan to an asset the loanee don't fully own.  Any "equity" in a home is only as good as the potential selling price.  So, if market says my house is worth $500k; my mortgage balance is $300k, it's not like I have actual equity of $200k that a bank can secure their loan against.  That $200k is unrealized, and the mortgage issuer has first rights to their money over any other loan.  I default and walk away from my house or file for bankruptcy, the HELOC issuer is boned.  Mortgage issuer gets the property.

Keep in mind, I may be completely off base on this, but I believe that's not quite how it works. In that instance the bank can't just walk away with 200k because someone stopped making payments. In this instance if the bank sells the house, and walk away with 150k (lower price for quick sell, agent fees, whatever), and there is a 50k HELOC, they would have to hand that 50k over at this time, I believe.

The banks don't get to keep your equity. In this scenario, the primary mortgage holder forces the sale of the home (likely at lower than normal market value) and gets to keep the first $300k plus fees. HELOC is next in line and they get their loan repaid plus fees. Anything left over at that point goes to the homeowner that defaulted on their mortgage.  In this scenario it's far better for the homeowner to just sell their house if they have more equity than their mortgage plus HELOC. It's when the homeowner is underwater that banks get nothing.

[jingle.boy]

But to your point, I'm not sure how an institution can "secure" a loan to an asset the loanee don't fully own.  Any "equity" in a home is only as good as the potential selling price.  So, if market says my house is worth $500k; my mortgage balance is $300k, it's not like I have actual equity of $200k that a bank can secure their loan against.  That $200k is unrealized, and the mortgage issuer has first rights to their money over any other loan.  I default and walk away from my house or file for bankruptcy, the HELOC issuer is boned.  Mortgage issuer gets the property.

Keep in mind, I may be completely off base on this, but I believe that's not quite how it works. In that instance the bank can't just walk away with 200k because someone stopped making payments. In this instance if the bank sells the house, and walk away with 150k (lower price for quick sell, agent fees, whatever), and there is a 50k HELOC, they would have to hand that 50k over at this time, I believe.

The banks don't get to keep your equity. In this scenario, the primary mortgage holder forces the sale of the home (likely at lower than normal market value) and gets to keep the first $300k plus fees. HELOC is next in line and they get their loan repaid plus fees. Anything left over at that point goes to the homeowner that defaulted on their mortgage.  In this scenario it's far better for the homeowner to just sell their house if they have more equity than their mortgage plus HELOC. It's when the homeowner is underwater that banks get nothing.

Right ... and I didn't mean to suggest the HELOC issue is COMPLETELY boned, but they are at least second in line, and with no guarantee as to what equity might be left over, they might be slightly boned.

Like I said, maybe my "unsecured" LOC was just marketed to me as a HELOC.

[Stadler]

But to your point, I'm not sure how an institution can "secure" a loan to an asset the loanee don't fully own.  Any "equity" in a home is only as good as the potential selling price.  So, if market says my house is worth $500k; my mortgage balance is $300k, it's not like I have actual equity of $200k that a bank can secure their loan against.  That $200k is unrealized, and the mortgage issuer has first rights to their money over any other loan.  I default and walk away from my house or file for bankruptcy, the HELOC issuer is boned.  Mortgage issuer gets the property.

Keep in mind, I may be completely off base on this, but I believe that's not quite how it works. In that instance the bank can't just walk away with 200k because someone stopped making payments. In this instance if the bank sells the house, and walk away with 150k (lower price for quick sell, agent fees, whatever), and there is a 50k HELOC, they would have to hand that 50k over at this time, I believe.

The banks don't get to keep your equity. In this scenario, the primary mortgage holder forces the sale of the home (likely at lower than normal market value) and gets to keep the first $300k plus fees. HELOC is next in line and they get their loan repaid plus fees. Anything left over at that point goes to the homeowner that defaulted on their mortgage.  In this scenario it's far better for the homeowner to just sell their house if they have more equity than their mortgage plus HELOC. It's when the homeowner is underwater that banks get nothing.

Right ... and I didn't mean to suggest the HELOC issue is COMPLETELY boned, but they are at least second in line, and with no guarantee as to what equity might be left over, they might be slightly boned.

Like I said, maybe my "unsecured" LOC was just marketed to me as a HELOC.

Here, that $200k is not considered wholly unrealized.  Banks use appraisals to quantity that amount, and most lenders will use some percentage of "L/E" (Loan to equity).  80% is common. 90% is not unheard of.

[jingle.boy]

That's crazy.  Even my existing HELOC (secured against my house), only goes to 65% of the appraised value - which the bank appraises, and they already low-ball the market value.

[lordxizor]

I can say from personal experience that a secondary lien holder can and will sue a homeowner going through a foreclosure if they believe that can recoup something that way since they'll get nothing from a foreclosure sale. The 2008 crash wasn't super kind to us.

[cramx3]

Big changes been happening at my house.  Last November my gf made it known she wanted to move in so we started putting some things in motion to make that happen.  A month ago we had a dumpster for the weekend, cleared out soooo much stuff from my house. We filled the entire dumpster.

Then my gf's dad came by in a borrowed pick up and we did a few rounds dumping two sets of couches I had in my house.

Then yesterday we finished going through all cabinets and every other nook and cranny in the house to get rid of garbage and free up space.

Today we have painters starting the paint job for almost the entire house.  There's lots of wall damages throughout too (from having a huge fish tank, or from my brother breaking the bedroom wall somehow, and just basic wear and tear from the kitchen).  So they are fixing all the walls and then painting.

We went couch shopping over the weekend and found one we love, it'll be delivered in a couple weeks, well after the paint job is finished.

Looks like my gf is moving in after I get back from Singapore in a couple weeks and my house will be fresh and feeling new. Exciting times, but its been busy with the house work.

[Stadler]

That's awesome!!!   Congratulations.

[cramx3]

Thanks, it's been a much needed overhaul. 

[lordxizor]

Sounds like a great change!

It would be happiest day of my life (almost literally) if I could fill up a dumpster with extra crap from our house that I don't want. My wife and my biggest disagreement is the amount of stuff that is reasonable to have around.

[cramx3]

Yeah, I'm pretty big on not holding onto junk, but I ended up collecting a bunch from my brother living with me for awhile and when my parents moved to florida a lot of their junk ended up in my basement and even from when my x moved out like 8 years ago.  My mother was so jealous because my dad is the one who refuses to get rid of things, and my mom wishes she could get a dumpster for my dads stuff.

[Podaar]

@ cramx3

Awesome news about the refresh. I'm a believer in making changes to your environment that are mutual. Helps to make a home for the both of you.

[cramx3]

@ cramx3

Awesome news about the refresh. I'm a believer in making changes to your environment that are mutual. Helps to make a home for the both of you.

I would say what has made this transition not bad is that my gf and I have been on the same page.  She's mostly driving this if I'm being honest but she has been great at noticing when I'm needing to slow things down and she'll hit the brakes a bit. Our communication has been good and we've both been agreeing on things.  She's getting her own room in my house because she works from home, so that's her office which means she isn't forcing me to like give up my closet for example.  Like the ltitle things, we've easily come to agreement on.  My only push backs have been to take our time with this, she lives with her parents so it's not like she has to be out or deal with a lease, so my only concern was not to rush things.  Do it right and not let either of us get stressed about it.  So far it's been great. 

Sadly, my cat is having the most trouble adjusting 

[Cool Chris]

Our communication has been good and we've both been agreeing on things.  She's getting her own room in my house because she works from home, so that's her office which means she isn't forcing me to like give up my closet for example. Like the ltitle things, we've easily come to agreement on. 

Can a mod archive this post so we can follow up on it in a few years to see how well it's holding up?

[cramx3]

Our communication has been good and we've both been agreeing on things.  She's getting her own room in my house because she works from home, so that's her office which means she isn't forcing me to like give up my closet for example. Like the ltitle things, we've easily come to agreement on. 

Can a mod archive this post so we can follow up on it in a few years to see how well it's holding up?

  oh for sure, but starting off that way is a good beginning

And I'm a little bit annoyed by a delay in the paint job on my house because the guy didn't actually source the paint before he started  should be done tomorrow though, it's just annoying because I won't be there to give the final say if it's good or if I have issues before we give the final payment.

[Harmony]

So we are entering phase 3 of our home remodeling adventure.  This time it is the main bedroom/bath which includes a jetted tub replacement.  Part of the bedroom - where the bed and furniture is - is sunken.  You take 2 steps down into that part from the entry level which includes tub, small room with shower stall and commode, vanity, and closets.  The sunken area of the bedroom has very high ceilings - up to the height of the 2 story home.  It is a very large and open room.

We are planning to bring the ceiling down a bit in an a-frame design with a wood beam down the center.  This matches other styles throughout the home and will bring continuity to the space.  We will also finally be able to have a nice ceiling fan.

We love our contractor.  He's old school, very reliable and we have been extremely happy with his work on the other phases of our home.  His wife is a realtor in the area and so she's a great resource as to what is hot on the market and gets to go to all the swanky new homes and see what is trending.  They actually buy and flip houses on the side.  This guy is such a workaholic!

So we trust that they know what they are doing.  And he knows me and my husband are getting ready to retire so we are an aging couple and are looking to make little changes to help us adapt over the next phase of our lives.  He is suggesting that we bring up the floor in the main bedroom.  It would definitely be safer for an older person no doubt.  But I am a little concerned that lowering the ceiling and raising the floor is going to make our nice big bedroom space, smaller and less interesting.  I know it sounds like this could be a money grab, but he says it will only add about a grand to the final quote.

I'm just curious as to any thoughts some of you homeowners may have.  Maybe someone here has had to tackle something similar?  It feels like such a big decision.  My rational brain says function over style.  But having a sunken bedroom is unique and interesting.  My creative side is saying, "Don't do it!" 

Aside - We are also getting part of our quote to add a catio off the bedroom and onto our deck.  We'll see if it fits into the budget but we are definitely putting in the cat door now to make this happen down the line if not now.  I'm so excited!!

[Cool Chris]

Contractor here... can't say I've been part of a project that leveled out a sunken room. I guess the major (only?) practical value would be for fewer stairs for elderly people to manage. Is the ceiling lowering purely for aesthetics, and the ceiling fan? We've done a lot of work at a house that has a master bedroom that I imagine is what you are working towards. The ceiling was about 12' at its apex, with a beam and fan. It seems plenty big to me. I don't know if I've seen any bedrooms with ceilings much higher.

[Podaar]

In my mind, it depends on the size of the sunken area. Does it basically cover the entire room with just a walkway around, or is it only, say, half of the floorspace?

I think I'd agree with the contractor and make it all one level, for two reasons. Two levels are impractical and don't really add anything to the decor without a lot of expense. Sunken floors give me a 70's, Hugh Hefner, swanky, chinky-chinky-chow, vibe. 

[cramx3]

Just my opinion here and I'm no building engineer or anything but you mentioned already being in a two story house. So I'm assuming you walk up a flight a stairs already to get to the bed room.  If doing that flight of stairs is any concern for you as you are getting older, than maybe those extra couple steps in the bedroom should be taken care of.  If you both have great legs and the stairs are not an issue.  I don't think I'd mess with it.  I guess the next question, on a similar note, do you have any history of falling or issues with those steps?  If so, maybe raise it.  Do you worry about being able to see the stairs as you get older, if so, maybe you should raise it.  If you feel perfectly safe about those stairs, then I wouldn't do it.  I'm pretty big of "don't fix what's not broken".

[Nick]

A timely bump of this thread.

So basically prior to us buying our house there was a massive tree in the yard that was cut down. But instead of having the stump removed, they opted to leave it decorated instead. Just like the tree in the front of the house, it had mulch around it, and then a ring of larger stones. Although we now have a sizeable yard, it always bothered me that this thing is smack dab in the middle of it. So I decided to get rid of it. Easier said then done.

First step was I took the stones and mulch from the stump and doubled up what was around the tree in front. Easy. Then I decided I'd chip away with a chainsaw. Not so easy. Between the massive size and any dirt immediately dulling my blades, it quickly turned from "I can knock this out if I just do it a bit each day" to "there is no fucking way this is happening." So, time to finally test the hitch that had been unused on my care for 2.5 years now. Rented a grinder and a trailer to get it home. Took a solid 2.5-3 hours of grinding work.

I moved about 5 wagon loads to the other tree. I loaded 5 big moving crates full of sawdust onto the trailer to dump off at the dumpster at my work this morning. And I'm confident there is still enough left over to fill in and flatten the area. Cut through a LOT of wood with that thing.

[Harmony]

Wow Nick - that looks like a fuck ton of hard work.  We have a tree on our property adjacent to our drive way that I'd love to take out.  Well it isn't really at tree because they cut the big tree decades ago, leaving the stump and now the 'new tree' has grown from the base of the stump and while it doesn't look terrible, I'd much prefer a beautiful weeping crabapple tree there (much smaller and compact).  Plus the roots of it has caused our driveway to buckle and crack.   I don't want to even think about how much it would cost to get it removed and repair the driveway. 

Thanks everyone for the opinions on the remodel question.  Cram - the master is on the main floor.  We don't have a history of falling, but I did break my foot (not because of the stairs) a few years ago and negotiating just those 2 stairs with crutches was no fun.  There is no railing for those 2 stairs and nothing to hold onto.  But I hear what you say about "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" and that is typically my go-to response to things as well.  Podaar the sunken area is half of the entire space.  When you walk into the master, the jacuzzi tub is in front of you, the closets, vanity and small enclosed shower/commode area to the right.  Turn to the left and step down into the space where the king bed is and furniture/t.v.  We also have french doors there that open onto the deck.  Raising the floor will now mean stairs or a ramp down to the deck so that was another issue that arises by lifting up the floor.

I have a friend who is an interior designer and is familiar with our space.  Her opinion was to raise the floor.  She feels having one level will make the entire space look bigger.  And since our ceiling is so high, bringing it down a little bit and making it an a-line will not make it feel boxy or cramped.  I think we've just lived with this for so long it is hard to imagine a different look.

Our contractor emailed me and says he has an idea for the entire space that he wants to show us.  We'll see how much that costs us we like it.   

[Stadler]

Are heating and cooling a factor for you? 

[Harmony]

Totally - that room is the hottest in summer and coldest in winter.  So bringing the floor up and ceiling down will definitely help with that.  We are also re-insulating the space under the floor and adding a heat/air vent.  And the ceiling fan.

[hefdaddy42]

We noticed lights flickering in our kitchen, and some kitchen appliances not working as they normally do.  We have an electrician come out, and it turns out we should have 240 volts total coming into the home, on two legs of 120 volts each.  One of ours was at 114, and the other was at 130, which is a hazard.  So after having the electric company come out and verify that the problem is on our side of the electrical exchange and not theirs (thanks for that), we had to get a new meter box on the outside of the house.  Parts, labor, permits, etc = somewhere north of $3,000 to make sure my toast comes out the way I like it and the house doesn't burn down.

A BARGAIN.

[Stadler]

We noticed lights flickering in our kitchen, and some kitchen appliances not working as they normally do.  We have an electrician come out, and it turns out we should have 240 volts total coming into the home, on two legs of 120 volts each.  One of ours was at 114, and the other was at 130, which is a hazard.  So after having the electric company come out and verify that the problem is on our side of the electrical exchange and not theirs (thanks for that), we had to get a new meter box on the outside of the house.  Parts, labor, permits, etc = somewhere north of $3,000 to make sure my toast comes out the way I like it and the house doesn't burn down.

A BARGAIN.

They don't own up to the meter?   

[lordxizor]

I want to plant a ton of trees along the back of my property without spending a ton of money. I'm looking at hybrid poplars which grow crazy fast.  Mostly looking to block the view of the neighborhood behind us. Our neighborhood is larger lots and more unique homes and behind us are a bunch of new McMansions. Not super close to us, but don't love the view through their back windows. Anyone ever done anything similar? I'd probably need 12 trees and I'm ok buying small and letting them grow over the next several year. Hybrid poplars can grow up to 8 feet a year once established.

[Chino]

I want to plant a ton of trees along the back of my property without spending a ton of money. I'm looking at hybrid poplars which grow crazy fast.  Mostly looking to block the view of the neighborhood behind us. Our neighborhood is larger lots and more unique homes and behind us are a bunch of new McMansions. Not super close to us, but don't love the view through their back windows. Anyone ever done anything similar? I'd probably need 12 trees and I'm ok buying small and letting them grow over the next several year. Hybrid poplars can grow up to 8 feet a year once established.

Costco sells arborvitaes for like $21 each and they're already 4' tall or so. Best deal around! Even if you're not a member, sign up for a year just for that and it'll pay for itself. 

[lordxizor]

I want to plant a ton of trees along the back of my property without spending a ton of money. I'm looking at hybrid poplars which grow crazy fast.  Mostly looking to block the view of the neighborhood behind us. Our neighborhood is larger lots and more unique homes and behind us are a bunch of new McMansions. Not super close to us, but don't love the view through their back windows. Anyone ever done anything similar? I'd probably need 12 trees and I'm ok buying small and letting them grow over the next several year. Hybrid poplars can grow up to 8 feet a year once established.

Costco sells arborvitaes for like $21 each and they're already 4' tall or so. Best deal around! Even if you're not a member, sign up for a year just for that and it'll pay for itself. 

We just bought some apples trees from Costco. I'm not sure arborvitaes are really the look I'm hoping for, but that's a good suggestion.