The Benefits of Home Ownership?

[Spiritus]

Bought my first home the other month with my girlfriend.
So we were living 5 years renting then in mid March our washer broke.  We let the landlady know, yada yada, she replaced it. Then she also said she needs to sell condo. Said she wants to sell vacant starting in June. Long story short its been a fucking crazy 1.5 months looking for house in this covid chaos and horrible market.
Rent prices are to me a fucking disgusting ripoff now and renting again was out of the question. Same condo we were renting would now cost almost double. Our landlord never raised our rent and was low from day one. Amazing and fair woman.
Buying even in this high priced market was the best/better option.
So we found "the one" for us and getting keys next Friday. We are happy. And can't wait to just be moved in and moving on with life.
Hmm, I should get back to packing. Procrastinating too much and the woman is giving me hell about more and more as the move in date nears. She will be home soon so I  might as well open up a box and make it loom like I am doing stuff.

[Stadler]

And....man, tough crowd concerning the comment I made to the cashier. I've always engaged employees of the stores I frequent....even other customers. I like random conversations and talking with people. The fact that I mentioned that to her was something that I said joking with her after a minute or two of conversation. It's foreign to me that it seemed out of place or awkward.....I have these types of interactions nearly every time I go out places.

That's me too, Gary.  I love that.  When I travel for work, I'll almost never just sit in my hotel.  After work, after dinner (or sometimes for dinner) I'll grab a book and go sit in a local bar.  There's always someone to talk to, and - at least before COVID - the VAST majority - like 95% or better - are willing to chat with you.  You meet some interesting people.

[Skeever]

In the middle of a ReFi currently. It's stressful but it should be for the best. Still I don't think I'll feel totally at ease until that first statement arrives and I see that it indeed is what I've agreed to.

[wolfking]

After I dropped $24 Gs to put hardwood on my entire main floor, I certainly wasn't going to cover up 25% of it with area carpet(s).  We got a style of wood that was "distressed", so I have no worry about the dogs' nails roughing it up, or denting/scratching it - it already looks that way.

We have a rug to go under my desk, under the formal dining room table, and under the main rooms furniture. All things I don't want sliding around damaging the flooring. There will be plenty of 'open' floor to showcase the new hardwood....it's not something we're too concerned about.


And....man, tough crowd concerning the comment I made to the cashier. I've always engaged employees of the stores I frequent....even other customers. I like random conversations and talking with people. The fact that I mentioned that to her was something that I said joking with her after a minute or two of conversation. It's foreign to me that it seemed out of place or awkward.....I have these types of interactions nearly every time I go out places.

'Should' she have used her employee discount towards me? Probably not....but then again, I didn't hold a gun to her head. I don't know 'why' she chose to go ahead and do it? Again...it was a joke that fit the conversation we had. Maybe she was relived that my wife and I weren't berating her like the two hoosiers that just checked out right in front of us....who were yelling at her and another kid about the 'sale' items being non existent. We engaged her in a nice little banter almost intentionally because it was clear the D Bags in front of us were horrible humans and I personally wanted to cheer the kid up. Anyway.....based off the comments I guess I'm in the minority when  it comes to just talking and making silly jokes with strangers. Whatevs'

It's weird, if you ever came across me in public, you would genuinely think I'm the most rudest and arrogant prick you've ever come across with.  Yet if I were the cashier at work, I'd have a full length conversation with you about anything, without the discount. 

[Cool Chris]

Bought my first home the other month with my girlfriend.

Congrats! Looking back on it, it seemed like I didn't fully appreciate the purchase as much as I do now.

In the middle of a ReFi currently. It's stressful but it should be for the best. Still I don't think I'll feel totally at ease until that first statement arrives and I see that it indeed is what I've agreed to.

Did mine a couple weeks ago. Thought it was a pretty simple process. Notary even came to our house to sign so we didn't have to go anywhere.

[hunnus2000]

I've gone through a couple of Refi's. Painless and all done through the mail but I didn't need a notary. These days, it should all be done electronically with digital signatures.

[Cool Chris]

There are, and maybe always will be, some dogs that require "wet ink."

[lordxizor]

I had to do my refi with a notary in person. Super annoying. It should all be e-signature.

[ReaperKK]

We have a rug to go under my desk, under the formal dining room table, and under the main rooms furniture. All things I don't want sliding around damaging the flooring. There will be plenty of 'open' floor to showcase the new hardwood....it's not something we're too concerned about.

Wanted to come back to this.  I got the below for my office chair.  Way better than having a carpet or one of those mats.  A very worthwhile $30 investment.  They're basically roller blade wheels. 

That looks like a sweet solution

What is the benefit of the rollerblade wheels? Is it to protect your floor from getting damaged? I'd love to get rid of the area rug in my office.

[jingle.boy]

That’s it precisely Kay. Traditional chair wheels will scratch the shit out of a hardwood floor. These wheels have done nothing to my floor in 2 years.

[ReaperKK]

Sold! Can't wait to get them.

[gmillerdrake]

In the middle of a ReFi currently. It's stressful but it should be for the best. Still I don't think I'll feel totally at ease until that first statement arrives and I see that it indeed is what I've agreed to.

Same. We ReFi'd a couple months back and the whole process just made me uneasy. Everything was on the up and up....but it's so much personal information and then the amount of documents you sign....I just feel like they could have slipped anything into those forms and I wouldn't have known.

[jingle.boy]

In the middle of a ReFi currently. It's stressful but it should be for the best. Still I don't think I'll feel totally at ease until that first statement arrives and I see that it indeed is what I've agreed to.

Same. We ReFi'd a couple months back and the whole process just made me uneasy. Everything was on the up and up....but it's so much personal information and then the amount of documents you sign....I just feel like they could have slipped anything into those forms and I wouldn't have known.

Like what?  Brussel sprouts? 

[gmillerdrake]

In the middle of a ReFi currently. It's stressful but it should be for the best. Still I don't think I'll feel totally at ease until that first statement arrives and I see that it indeed is what I've agreed to.

Same. We ReFi'd a couple months back and the whole process just made me uneasy. Everything was on the up and up....but it's so much personal information and then the amount of documents you sign....I just feel like they could have slipped anything into those forms and I wouldn't have known.

Like what?  Brussel sprouts? 

Exactly. I don't know.....no matter how many times I read crap like that I feel like I've missed something .

[Orbert]

Inspired by the "Thermostat Simulator" in the humor thread


When I was growing up, it was always too cold or too hot in our house (to me).  If it was too cold in the winter, my mom would say "Put a sweater on!" and if it was too hot she'd say "Go outside!"  I never understood that one.  It's like 80 in the house but it's 90 outside, so I guess I'll stay inside.  We were all about saving money on heating and cooling.  My dad even got one of those fancy programmable thermostats so it would change the temp at night vs during the day.  That way it could always be too cold or too hot in our house, automatically!

Now I have my own place, and we did the same thing for a while, always being careful about the thermostat to save money.  Then one day I remembered one other thing my mom used to say.  "When you pay the bills, you can set it however you want."  That's right!  So now I make it as cool as I want in the summer, or as warm and cozy as I want in the winter.  My heating bill is higher in the winter and my electric bill is higher in the summer, but I don't care.  That's the cost of doing business.  I'll pay an extra $30 a month or whatever to be comfortable in my own home.

That's a benefit of being a homeowner.

[Stadler]

Inspired by the "Thermostat Simulator" in the humor thread


When I was growing up, it was always too cold or too hot in our house (to me).  If it was too cold in the winter, my mom would say "Put a sweater on!" and if it was too hot she'd say "Go outside!"  I never understood that one.  It's like 80 in the house but it's 90 outside, so I guess I'll stay inside.  We were all about saving money on heating and cooling.  My dad even got one of those fancy programmable thermostats so it would change the temp at night vs during the day.  That way it could always be too cold or too hot in our house, automatically!

Now I have my own place, and we did the same thing for a while, always being careful about the thermostat to save money.  Then one day I remembered one other thing my mom used to say.  "When you pay the bills, you can set it however you want."  That's right!  So now I make it as cool as I want in the summer, or as warm and cozy as I want in the winter.  My heating bill is higher in the winter and my electric bill is higher in the summer, but I don't care.  That's the cost of doing business.  I'll pay an extra $30 a month or whatever to be comfortable in my own home.

That's a benefit of being a homeowner.

HAHAHA, I love that.

I just had this conversation with my kid, who's getting her own apartment here shortly.  You get to decide, but you have to cover the consequences.   

[gmillerdrake]

Inspired by the "Thermostat Simulator" in the humor thread


When I was growing up, it was always too cold or too hot in our house (to me).  If it was too cold in the winter, my mom would say "Put a sweater on!" and if it was too hot she'd say "Go outside!"  I never understood that one.  It's like 80 in the house but it's 90 outside, so I guess I'll stay inside.  We were all about saving money on heating and cooling.  My dad even got one of those fancy programmable thermostats so it would change the temp at night vs during the day.  That way it could always be too cold or too hot in our house, automatically!

Now I have my own place, and we did the same thing for a while, always being careful about the thermostat to save money.  Then one day I remembered one other thing my mom used to say.  "When you pay the bills, you can set it however you want."  That's right!  So now I make it as cool as I want in the summer, or as warm and cozy as I want in the winter.  My heating bill is higher in the winter and my electric bill is higher in the summer, but I don't care.  That's the cost of doing business.  I'll pay an extra $30 a month or whatever to be comfortable in my own home.

That's a benefit of being a homeowner.

Yep....same here.

Do you guys have 'Budget Billing' available through your energy provider? Where they average the years cost out and charge you the same amount each month....at the end of they cycle the cost will adjust according to the last cycles usage? We live in close to 3300 sq. ft. and I'm currently paying $180 a month for my AC/Heating. Since we've been here in 2014 it's never been over $200 a month....usually fluctuates between $160-200.

We're a 70-72 degree house in the summer and 76-78 degree house in the winter. What I really miss about this house is having an attic fan. Due to the way we had loft ceilings built on our second floor there's no spot to put one. This is the first home I've been in where I didn't have one. I freaking love a good attic fan night. Get that cool night air circulating through the house.

[Cool Chris]

76-78? Dang. Mine is never set to more than 70 in the coldest of times. It is usually at 68 throughout the year.

Been without hot water for a week now. Water heater stopped working. Did some basic troubleshooting, replaced a couple parts. I try to address smple problems and save $$ on professional service calls when I can. Not this time. Apparently Rheem says they have had problems with the unit we have (that is less than a year old) so they are covering the replacement. I could handle the install but since they are covering it I'll let a pro handle it this time. The downside ismwe gotta wait till Wednesday.

[cramx3]

yeah, my parents would say similar to me growing up if I was too hot or too cold "do you pay the bills?" and "you can set it to whatever you want when you have your own house" and well yeah, I sure do! Usually 69 in the winter and 78 in the summer.  Ill crank up the AC for bedtime in the summer though, I need it cool to sleep comfortably. 

[Stadler]

And then some of us go and get married and that ship sails again.     I've been married twice, and while the two women are generally not alike, they both tend to like to live in meat lockers in the summer, and saunas in the winter. 

[Chino]

78? Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen my thermostat above 72, and that's when I had the flu  Any hotter than that and I'd be dripping sweat. Come summer time, I get my house as close to 60 as my air conditioners can get me.

[Skeever]

We keep the thermostat around 72 year round. I don't think it's much more expensive than leaving the windows open and then only having the thermostat kick on when you can't bear it anymore. The whole system works more efficiently when you keep the temperature pretty steady.

[cramx3]

78? Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen my thermostat above 72, and that's when I had the flu  Any hotter than that and I'd be dripping sweat. Come summer time, I get my house as close to 60 as my air conditioners can get me.

My central air unit is actually overpowered for my house so when it's running, it feels colder than the temperature reading.  Also, I spend more time in the basement these days where it's always cooler.  I just need it really cold for bed time and I do take into considerations the cost like my father before me 

[kirksnosehair]

Holy shit 76 - 78 degrees in the winter?!      I have never heard of anyone keeping their house that warm.  I mean I know you live in the south so your heating bills are probably peanuts compared to mine but we keep the thermostat on 68 during winter days and we turn it down to 62 at night.  In the summertime we keep the house at 72 degrees during the day when we're both at work but when we come home it goes back down to 70 and when we go to bed we set it to 65.

[jingle.boy]

We're 72-74 in the winter; and we aim to keep the house below 80 in the summer by jacking that sucker down to 72 overnight, then just let it gradually rise during the day.  That helped on the bills when we had Time of Use pricing, but now the provincial government mandated the option to have a fixed rate.  Based on our usage, the fixed rate only costs less than 10 dollars a month more - and the convenience to run whatever we want (laundry, dishwasher, AC ...) whenever we want is more than worth it.

[Grappler]

I've been in my house for 12 years.  For all 12 of those years, our attic fan has had a giant rattle.  You'd turn it on and it would be loud.  You could hear it two floors below - I've always just figured that's what it sounds like.

Yesterday, I was up on the roof cleaning the gutters and the attic fan was on.  I was watching it bounce and saw that one side was nailed down.  I experimented by holding it down or pressing down on the shingles on one side of it and the bouncing was greatly reduced. 

For 12 years, I have been using the attic fan while only one side was actually nailed down to the roof.  The other half of the mount was just loose under the shingles and causing the rattle.  Went up there today, ran three screws into it as close as I could get them to the fan and covered them with big globs of silicone caulk.  The fan is so much quieter now - I just never realized how bad it was. 

[King Postwhore]

We're vampires.   68 during the winter and it turns down to 62 at night. I'd rather wrap up in a blanket.

[Cool Chris]

We're 72-74 in the winter; and we aim to keep the house below 80 in the summer by jacking that sucker down to 72 overnight, then just let it gradually rise during the day.  That helped on the bills when we had Time of Use pricing, but now the provincial government mandated the option to have a fixed rate.  Based on our usage, the fixed rate only costs less than 10 dollars a month more - and the convenience to run whatever we want (laundry, dishwasher, AC ...) whenever we want is more than worth it.

You aim to keep the house below 80?!?! If my house gets above 72 I start losing my mind!

And what the heck is up with " the convenience to run whatever we want (laundry, dishwasher, AC ...)" I've never heard of "Time of Use" Pricing or Fixed Rate Pricing.

We're vampires.   68 during the winter and it turns down to 62 at night. I'd rather wrap up in a blanket.

68 and 64 for me.

[Stadler]

78? Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen my thermostat above 72, and that's when I had the flu  Any hotter than that and I'd be dripping sweat. Come summer time, I get my house as close to 60 as my air conditioners can get me.

My central air unit is actually overpowered for my house so when it's running, it feels colder than the temperature reading.  Also, I spend more time in the basement these days where it's always cooler.  I just need it really cold for bed time and I do take into considerations the cost like my father before me 

That's something I've suspected for a while now in my current house:  the number is actually a relative number and not the "actual temperature".   I can't really prove it - I guess I could take the temperature somewhere in the house, but that's so dependent on where you are (I have an open-ish floor plan on the first floor, and a more traditional layout on the second floor) that I could get four different readings from four different locations.   I really sort of judge where I'm at by how often the boiler and the air handling unit are on.

[jingle.boy]

And what the heck is up with " the convenience to run whatever we want (laundry, dishwasher, AC ...)" I've never heard of "Time of Use" Pricing or Fixed Rate Pricing.

About 10 years ago, the electric companies replaced all meters with "smart" meters, so they know the usage by the hour.  In efforts to manage demand (and increase profits no doubt), there are low-mid-high tiers to the pricing:

As an example:


These are the summer rates; winter flips the mid and on-peak times.  As you can see, the on-peak is more than double the off-peak.  It wasn't until the pandemic that the gov't mandated a fixed rate option - which is slightly higher than mid-peak

So yeah, if I was still on time-of-use pricing, it would be very expensive running the appliance hogs (washer/dryer, dishwasher, AC, pool filter) during the day.

[ReaperKK]

I could never do 70+ degrees in the house. My mom keeps it at 74 and it's a sauna when I visit. We keep our thermostat at 68 however when the wife leaves to travel for work I crank it down to 65.

[Chino]

78? Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen my thermostat above 72, and that's when I had the flu  Any hotter than that and I'd be dripping sweat. Come summer time, I get my house as close to 60 as my air conditioners can get me.

My central air unit is actually overpowered for my house so when it's running, it feels colder than the temperature reading.  Also, I spend more time in the basement these days where it's always cooler.  I just need it really cold for bed time and I do take into considerations the cost like my father before me 

That's something I've suspected for a while now in my current house:  the number is actually a relative number and not the "actual temperature".   I can't really prove it - I guess I could take the temperature somewhere in the house, but that's so dependent on where you are (I have an open-ish floor plan on the first floor, and a more traditional layout on the second floor) that I could get four different readings from four different locations.   I really sort of judge where I'm at by how often the boiler and the air handling unit are on.

Fill up a dozen glasses of water and set them up all over the house. Put them in different rooms near windows, appliances, heaters, coffee tables, etc and let them sit for a few hours so their temperature equalizes to that of their surroundings. Walk around with a meat thermometer and check them all. You'll find the hot/cold zones of your house with ease and have an actual representation of the temperature swings around your home.

[Stadler]

78? Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen my thermostat above 72, and that's when I had the flu  Any hotter than that and I'd be dripping sweat. Come summer time, I get my house as close to 60 as my air conditioners can get me.

My central air unit is actually overpowered for my house so when it's running, it feels colder than the temperature reading.  Also, I spend more time in the basement these days where it's always cooler.  I just need it really cold for bed time and I do take into considerations the cost like my father before me 

That's something I've suspected for a while now in my current house:  the number is actually a relative number and not the "actual temperature".   I can't really prove it - I guess I could take the temperature somewhere in the house, but that's so dependent on where you are (I have an open-ish floor plan on the first floor, and a more traditional layout on the second floor) that I could get four different readings from four different locations.   I really sort of judge where I'm at by how often the boiler and the air handling unit are on.

Fill up a dozen glasses of water and set them up all over the house. Put them in different rooms near windows, appliances, heaters, coffee tables, etc and let them sit for a few hours so their temperature equalizes to that of their surroundings. Walk around with a meat thermometer and check them all. You'll find the hot/cold zones of your house with ease and have an actual representation of the temperature swings around your home.

Genius.  I'm moving in July, and I'm going to do that.

[cramx3]

78? Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen my thermostat above 72, and that's when I had the flu  Any hotter than that and I'd be dripping sweat. Come summer time, I get my house as close to 60 as my air conditioners can get me.

My central air unit is actually overpowered for my house so when it's running, it feels colder than the temperature reading.  Also, I spend more time in the basement these days where it's always cooler.  I just need it really cold for bed time and I do take into considerations the cost like my father before me 

That's something I've suspected for a while now in my current house:  the number is actually a relative number and not the "actual temperature".   I can't really prove it - I guess I could take the temperature somewhere in the house, but that's so dependent on where you are (I have an open-ish floor plan on the first floor, and a more traditional layout on the second floor) that I could get four different readings from four different locations.   I really sort of judge where I'm at by how often the boiler and the air handling unit are on.

My house is pretty small, I think it just has to do with being near a vent and you'll really feel it vs. being in the middle of the room.  All the vents are close to the couches and my bed, I don't typically chill in the dead center of my living room or office and of course the kitchen is typically hotter than the rest of the house as there's only one vent and if I'm in the kitchen for an extended time, it's because I'm cooking and creating heat.  I did attempt to put a ceiling fan in there but the ceiling is too low, if you were tall, you'd be in danger.

[kirksnosehair]

We're vampires.   68 during the winter and it turns down to 62 at night. I'd rather wrap up in a blanket.

I'm with you, man!