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NAH, I don't think Oil City is anywhere near "cool" enough for no air conditioning; its only like 50 miles from here and trust me, you're gonna be fried and sweating all summer without the a/c - it's much hotter then you think. If you truly want a place where you don't need a/c you might have to go to Canada.
I must agree with the person who said you shouldn't flee across the country to find a cheap home. How do you know Oil City isn't a dump? How do you know if you won't be INSANELY bored there? How do you if it's safe? If the homes have good plumbing? Internet access area? Even PHONE LINES? It's fun to research cities for, well, fun, but when it comes down to it, you've gotta look in person and also look into why in the world it's so cheap. Sure, you might get a $15k house, but it's probably a positive scrap pile.
Most of this seems to focus on a sort of dreamworld where you get some huge house that is new. Not what I think the original intent was.
I see no Earthly use for a huge house. In fact it is like a millstone around your neck.
I far prefer to put the money into a big garage. Enough space to actually put all my vehicles in there as intended. Build a nice full sized workshop over the garages. It never works well with the shop in the basement. Never get the lighting just right, usually the overhead is not high enough, too many other functions want some of the space. Big well insulated heated shop, will hold a lot of junk that normally will go in the house. Build in huge amounts of storage. Attic sort of works but never seems handy enough. Nothing like hanging around in the shop with a beer or two.
Zillons of feet of pegboard with all your tools in just the right location. Make them wantabees just drool. I like that sign that says
I have an agreement with the bank.
I will not lend money or tools
They agree not to lend tools but will do money
Go to the bank, get a loan and buy your own tools.
Some nice sheds organized by function. The joy is being able to find all the crap you collect.
This idea of having a big house and it is old is a total non-starter in my book. Old houses are usually built from old style rough sawn lumber. Never kiln dried, as built the lumber was probably hand cut, it shrunk in place opening up gaps, weeps and crannies that are extremely difficult to find and fix after the fact. So even attempting to insulate one can be a daunting task, you never get the air infiltration rate low enough. In today's World you should be willing to pay a super premium for the super insulated energy efficient house, especially as it gets larger in size. That is the one sure thing to bet on for the future. Energy costs ain't going to drop.
Most older houses if they were upgraded tended to be as piecemeal type projects, a bit here, a bit there. The best rule of thumb is every 50 years, move everybody and everything out. Do a comphresive upgrade to use the best of the technology of the times. To do an older house up really brown, just about have to gut that sucker to the core first time around. Probably can't make it work as an economical project today.
If you can get the air infiltration rate extremely low, you can set the thermostat lower. I can be comfortable with 58-60F in the daytime and go down to as low as 52F at night. Really want to get rid of natural gas as a fuel completely and go to a solar with wood fired boiler back up. An air infiltration rate of 1 is a total volume change of the air inside the house each hour. Many older houses might be 3 - 4 times per hour or even higher. Impossible to feel comfortable no matter what you do. Even with the heat blasting you feel that breeze in all the wrong places.
Plus the same applies to A/C. A paradise like Oil City is going to get hot in summer. Does not mean you need active A/C. I don't use any in Ohio, just small window fans but have a super insulated envelope around the shell of the house. One good means of cooling is those earth buried pipes and you blow air thru or use water as a means of collecting cheap cooling. About along the idea of collecting cooler air from the basement and distributing it thru out the rest of the house. An idea I have been toying with when rebuilding two garages.
So I don't think size matters all that much. Quality and things like energy independent capabilities along with location. The best location I can imagine would be the old watch tower up on the rocky part of the Coast Guard base on Treasure Island looking back at the skyline of Oakland - San Francisco at night. Woof tear down the tower build a super energy off the grid house, with large garage / workshop and somehow not a legal resident of CA and don't pay state or real estate taxes. Private drive with gurard gate. The old Chief's Club would have been a nice location and the building could have been converted into condos but it will probably all go out to sea in the next Big One. Fails one of my acid tests.
Get the big parts right and everything else can be adjusted from that point on. I am not sure about Oil City. Would want it in writing with a bond posted that it can never flood. Not a twenty year deal, no fifty year flood, no hundred year interval, not even a thousand year flood. Like zero and I don't want to sweat or freeze.
I just hope somewhere down the road we finally get the straight skinny on Oil City. Want to be one of the first in line for the new rush to get that New Gold in Them Thar Hills.
But can I put a ladder up between my house and my neighbors? What about parking my car in my yard, sort like they do at Havard??? We still have many issues other than size to be chewed over and over. Size may matter but it is not the entire story.
I like it, small house, big garage! The basement isn't good for a shop but perfect for rec room/bowling alley. I hate the "great room" Mc mansions, with echo producing drywall which also is not soundproof. My home has concrete block walls and poured concrete floors and roof. Homemade 50's style perforated acoustical ceiling tiles and many bookshelves make it super quiet. Salvaged commercial grade doors instead of the usual cardboard interior doors assure complete quiet, even during a hurricane ( I slept through katrina and Wilma) . When I move I will build again, all concrete and steel, no wood. As for heat there is plenty of free energy in the form of scrap wood, waste oil and old tires which can be converted to clean gas and burned in a regular natural gas furnace. I ran the generator on old tires for days, although on propane during the hurricane. A Diesel or gasoline engine can be used to power a generator, with the waste heat used to keep the house warm in winter or run an absorptive chiller in the summer. All I need is space, no interference from government, and a source of junk and supplies, from an industrial area. I know how to build a house, or how to fix an older one for little money. Unless it's historical I would just take the old and interesting stuff from the old place to put in the new one, and then cut it up for fuel. If it's a nice old place, fix it up and use for a guest house. Just have to find that area where BIG BROTHER doesn't tell you what to do and charge you for it. That's tough to find!
Just have to find that area where BIG BROTHER doesn't tell you what to do and charge you for it. That's tough to find!
Still can be done in certain counties in Ohio. Example Monroe county has just about zero inspections of any type. You need only nominal plans for new construction, in some cases a word description. Most people just build whatever they want, whenever they want. Still a number of counties with little or no building code enforcement. In Monroe County you can't get any type inspection, they have zero inspectors. Only in certain small towns, where town cops use it as a sideline business to 'You guessed it', make additional revenues. Again they don't have much a clue what is going on. Lord some of the things I have seen in houses described as "Elegant".
Can be good, can be bad. Way to much crap construction by people who don't have a clue. Plus zero self policing on anything relating to building codes. Far too many people who never had a license to do anything trying to do everything.
Difficult to find salvage anything. Way to many of those above folks who will run off with any junk available, either to sell or use or just pile up in their front yard.
If it were only so simple!! Actually, believe it or not, unless the room is completely empty...I mean carpet and walls only, you're going to have to clean it. Whether you realize it or not, bugs get in, die, dust builds up, dustbunnies are created from thin air and find their ways into the cleanest spaces, it gets musty, etc. You have to clean any room that's furnished regularly.(snip too long)
Well if I was that rich, the maids would do the cleaning
If I leave a bedroom empty, a simple quick vaccuming is all I need once a month. I dont know what size ill be buying but theres a house over 4000 living square feet for near $50k that I really want to check out in person and have an inspector look at it too. I expect it to need a little TLC and will figure that into my budget. As for heating, as long as the pipes dont freeze, I should be OK. 50 is cold but I can wear a coat, if I dont have to heat it to 65 I wont, its like burning money! I want as little heat as possible, I wont be cold with a coat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HKB
NAH, I've been reading your posts for a few weeks. I don't mean any disrespect, but you seem to be a little out of touch with the realities of homeownership. I assume that you're relatively young since you still live at home with your parents, so perhaps your inexperience accounts for it.
You can't keep your home at 50 degrees in a northern climate. Not only would that be extremely uncomfortable to live in, but you could do major damage to your plumbing.
Your views on home prices are also very unrealistic. I understand that the median home price in many markets are out of reach for first-time and lower income homebuyers, but it is even more ridiculous to move halfway across the country to buy the cheapest home you can find without considering why the house is so cheap.
It would make much more sense to save up for a downpayment and buy a fixer-upper in an economically stable region. Bargains are out there.... you just have to do some research and keep an open mind. Once you own the property, slowly start improving it to build equity. When the time comes to sell, you'll be able to afford an even nicer house. Repeat this stepladder process until you're satisfied with your living situation.
Again, I thought the plumbing will be fine if it doesnt freeze. Cant I run hot water thru the pipes once or twice a day and heat just enough not to freeze? I dont want to spend $300 a month heating to 65 when heating to 50 costs only $100! Why would 50 be uncomfortable? People go outside in 20 degree weather with their coats on! I should be nice and cozy at 50 wearing a coat! Ive already considered why those places are so cheap. There are places even cheaper than Oil city(I think $25k to $50k in Oil city is cheap enough) but they dont have the good stuff that Oil city does. I could buy in Buffalo, NY theres 22 houses for under $10,000! In fact theres 4 houses for up to $5000, the cheapest being $4000. I think there was one for $2500 a few months back. The problem with Buffalo is the crime and minorities. I wouldnt even want to live in one of those under $10k houses in Buffalo for free, id fear for my safety in both crime and the house could fall apart on me!
Im sure theres some safe small rural towns with no crime and houses even cheaper than Oil city, like $10k to $15k for a livable house. But Oil city is affordable enough with good livable houses at $25k to $50k without any real crime and theres enough stuff to do, theres even a superwalmart! I have a friend who lives in a WV town of 300 people and theres nothing but farms, a gas station and a few mom and pop stores. To do any real shopping, its an hour drive each way to the nearest city! Ok so you can get a house there for $15k easily, they are planning to buy a nice 4 bedroom house for $27k, they currently rent a different house at $200 a month.
Is there any cities as good as Oil city with houses as cheap or cheaper? I have yet to find one and when I asked people and they provided me with a list of cities, none were as good as Oil city in several ways. One city had houses as cheap as Oil city but the crime was much higher! No thanks! Another city had crime as low as Oil city but houses cost twice as much! No thanks! I am not going to fly to every town and city in America just to find a slightly better deal than Oil city. If theres a city as good as Oil city with houses 20% cheaper that I didnt know about, oh well, I wont be complaining about $40k vs. $50k.
Save for a fixer upper? This is what I am doing so I can buy one in Oil city. I hate to mention this but a fixer upper in WPB where I still live with parents costs $150k and its in a bad neighboorhood. LOL I arent paying that kind of money!
NAH, I don't think Oil City is anywhere near "cool" enough for no air conditioning; its only like 50 miles from here and trust me, you're gonna be fried and sweating all summer without the a/c - it's much hotter then you think. If you truly want a place where you don't need a/c you might have to go to Canada.
I must agree with the person who said you shouldn't flee across the country to find a cheap home. How do you know Oil City isn't a dump? How do you know if you won't be INSANELY bored there? How do you if it's safe? If the homes have good plumbing? Internet access area? Even PHONE LINES? It's fun to research cities for, well, fun, but when it comes down to it, you've gotta look in person and also look into why in the world it's so cheap. Sure, you might get a $15k house, but it's probably a positive scrap pile.
City-data says Oil city gets up to 80s in summer as a high. 50 miles can make a very big difference. Oil city has an elevation of 1500 feet, this accounts for 5 degrees cooler. Second its fairly near to Erie and that lake causes further cooling. Thirdly, its not Florida and im not expecting it to get anywhere near as hot as Florida because of latitude and elevation. I have been up north before and it was far cooler! Most houses in Oil city and other cool climates dont come with a/c. Theres several things I can do, I could stay in the basement on a hot day, I could shop from noon to afternoon and return in the evening when it cools, I could get out of the house and enjoy the nice day instead of wasting it sitting in the hot house!
I know Oil city is good because I have a thread on it and those people vouch for it. One guy said there really isnt any bad areas and the crime is almost nonexistant. I told my dad we should visit Oil city(and the surrounding towns) and check out the place before buying. I will then decide if this is a place I would like to relocate to. Theres a very good chance Oil city will make a good impression and ill want to live there. Sorry but the house prices are so high in West Palm Beach, FL where I live that even people with PHD degrees cant afford to live there! Its a place for the rich or those lucky enough to have bought 20+ years ago much cheaper like my parents did.
Well if I was that rich, the maids would do the cleaning
If I leave a bedroom empty, a simple quick vaccuming is all I need once a month. I dont know what size ill be buying but theres a house over 4000 living square feet for near $50k that I really want to check out in person and have an inspector look at it too. I expect it to need a little TLC and will figure that into my budget. As for heating, as long as the pipes dont freeze, I should be OK. 50 is cold but I can wear a coat, if I dont have to heat it to 65 I wont, its like burning money! I want as little heat as possible, I wont be cold with a coat.
!
You're right, you can vacuum about once a month in an empty bedroom. As for as heating, it's true...50F ain't gonna cut it. Now I know you think you can wear a coat in the house and be perfectly comfortable...but it wouldn't be. Your hands would be cold, your nose and ears would be cold. Everything you touch would be cold, your buns on the toilet seat could send you into shock...it's just not practical NAH. What is important and makes the difference in home heating and costs is WHAT you heat your home with. If it's gas, you're going to be paying huge bills. If it's electric heat, the bills could be large too depending on how it's set up, size of the house,etc. I like Propane because it's relatively cheap. You know exactly how much you have at any one time in your tank as the gauge keeps track of it. You get it filled automatically by whoever your supplier is and I paid $535 a week ago to get topped off from 20% to 95%. That will last me probably through March, or the coldest times. That's not bad and I heat my entire house. I would never want to depend on heating oil or natural gas, and many of those older homes in the Northeast use heating oil in old furnaces...$$$$$$$!!! Natural gas is often found in newer homes, but natural gas is very expensive as well. Propane is the cheapest that I know of for a good sized house, and you always know where you are supply wise. The other thing people here use quite a bit are pellet stoves. Those are wonderful actually. They have only a pipe chimney and the stoves are usually solid iron or special steel and they run on the little pellets you buy at Home Depot by the sack. You put in the pellets and it burns at fierce temperatures. You can keep a kettle on top with hot water too and the heat is amazing, it definitely can help lower the overall heating bills. A lot of people use them early in the morning to give the house a headstart, or during the coldest nights to help heat the house faster. I don't have one, but I do like them and they're far more efficient than a traditional fireplace (and fireplaces can suck hot air out of your house too!).
IMO, yes there is! I believe that we as a society have become less connected; bigger homes, computers, cell phones, etc. We are further and further isolating ourselves. I will buy no bigger than a 2,000 sf home. If my kids don't like it, well too bad. I want my kids to grow up TOGETHER, not in their seperate corners of the house. I don't mind chaos, I enjoy it. Heck my grandma grew up in a house with 14 other kids and they lived in a 1,100 sf home with 2 bedrooms and I bathroom! And she said it was the best thing ever. Yes it was cramped, but cozy and full of love!
And BTW, what is the point of buying a home that big, if you aren't going to use all of the rooms? I think all rooms should be lived in!
Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
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You know maybe I'm spoiled or sheltered or naive but it really is beyond me to sacrifice to the extent that I can't even undress to take a shower because floors, walls, handles, towels, are just too darn cold. Imagine having to wear a coat in the house all day and doing chores. I'd have to be really, really, really, extremely really, poor and starving to go to such extremes. We are not in the 1800's anymore so why have to live as if I were? You only come through this life once and I want to enjoy as much of it, responsibly, while I'm on this great earth.
Why on earth would you want a monstrosity like that, even if you could afford it and get maids? Would you like an '70s boat of a car to go with it?
There's nothing more ugly in this world than rows upon rows of obscene behemoths of houses ruining once pristine countryside. Yuck!
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Lot of weekend myths out there
