The Home Ownership Thread

[Numbernine]

It’s a game. You try to clean it while you pee

and please don't eat the biscuits

 

[SixOhNine]

Let's move on.

Unlike the poop in German toilets.

 

[double00]

Unlike the poop in German toilets.

pööpvergnugen doesn't really translate you gotta immerse yourself to acquire the taste

 

[deepitm]

All set to close on a new (to us) house in a month. Hopefully the image I posted goes thru. Very excited, but also kind of dreading it because it is more square footage than we have been used to for the last few years. Had a kid about 18 months ago and wife is preg again so she has been chomping at the bit to get out of the city and to the burbs for the last year and a half. This will be the 3rd home we have ever bought and I would like to be in it for the next 20+ years as long as our plans don't get too bungled. We did A LOT of home improvement to our place in the city and our cabin, but this place is a little more turnkey. That said, previous owner isn't the most sophisticated so a number of changes are bound to happen in the coming year.

 

[Michigan Planner]

When people poo poo America, just remember Germany has these toilets where you crap on a perch before flushing. I will recommend not going down the rabbit hole of Germans and poo...

Quit sitting on it facing forward like an American and turn around and embrace the tank to get some leverage while you push out that growler directly into the toilet water!

 

[otc]

View attachment 2059291 All set to close on a new (to us) house in a month. Hopefully the image I posted goes thru. Very excited, but also kind of dreading it because it is more square footage than we have been used to for the last few years. Had a kid about 18 months ago and wife is preg again so she has been chomping at the bit to get out of the city and to the burbs for the last year and a half. This will be the 3rd home we have ever bought and I would like to be in it for the next 20+ years as long as our plans don't get too bungled. We did A LOT of home improvement to our place in the city and our cabin, but this place is a little more turnkey. That said, previous owner isn't the most sophisticated so a number of changes are bound to happen in the coming year.

How far north are you heading (at least it looks north rather than west from the age/general vibe of the pic)

 

[deepitm]

How far north are you heading (at least it looks north rather than west from the age/general vibe of the pic)

Actually smack dab in the middle of Hammond.

In all seriousness, this is in Northfield, IL

 

[brokencycle]

View attachment 2059291 All set to close on a new (to us) house in a month. Hopefully the image I posted goes thru. Very excited, but also kind of dreading it because it is more square footage than we have been used to for the last few years. Had a kid about 18 months ago and wife is preg again so she has been chomping at the bit to get out of the city and to the burbs for the last year and a half. This will be the 3rd home we have ever bought and I would like to be in it for the next 20+ years as long as our plans don't get too bungled. We did A LOT of home improvement to our place in the city and our cabin, but this place is a little more turnkey. That said, previous owner isn't the most sophisticated so a number of changes are bound to happen in the coming year.

Congrats. I've actually been looking in the Chicago metro. Those Cook County taxes are painful to look at compared to NC.

 

[cross22]

..

 

[Piobaire]

Decent setback.

 

[deepitm]

Decent setback.

I know this is partially said in jest bc it has now become your calling card, but that was a big selling point to me. I would guess the front door is ~130 ft from the "road" but it is really more of a lane. It is a private, wooded drive and does not really have space for 2 way traffic. In order to get down the drive, you probably have to drive off the main road for about 1/3 of a mile before you get to any houses. The location / setting really is the main selling point for the homes back there, and all of the houses are on at least 1 acre lots. We drove down the lane for the first time about 18 months ago and I said to my wife "Wow, I really want to live back here" but didn't think anything would come up for sale.

In the northern burbs of Chicago (Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest, Kenilworth, Northfield, Northbrook, Highland Park, Glenview) it is not unusual to have private roads for a small group of houses (10-20). The upside is that because it is technically not a public road, there is not supposed to be any traffic on it that doesn't have any business back there. The downside is that they are financially maintained by those who live on the road and governed by an HOA. Not exactly selling points, but a reasonable price for additional privacy. It may end up discouraging camraderie with other town residents, but I tend to prefer to keep my neighbors at arms length after having a horrendous neighbor at our cabin.

 

[Piobaire]

Same here, the roads in our small development are not "dedicated" so the HOA has to maintain them, along with things like the gate and pump station. Our HOA dues are laughably small though, as in $94 a month, and the finances are currently being overseen by a couple of retired but formerly high powered CPAs, so there's that too. Make sure (if you haven't already) to check into the capital reserve the HOA has.

 

[jbarwick]

Same here, the roads in our small development are not "dedicated" so the HOA has to maintain them, along with things like the gate and pump station. Our HOA dues are laughably small though, as in $94 a month, and the finances are currently being overseen by a couple of retired but formerly high powered CPAs, so there's that too. Make sure (if you haven't already) to check into the capital reserve the HOA has.

My inlaws live in an HOA where they maintain roads. Even with a flush reserve, there was a $10K special assessment to update the roads recently. Given the last 2-3 years of price increases, it is worth paying for an estimate to update assumptions. I realize people building courtyards could foot a special assessment but it comes with a lot of finger pointing and annoyance that could have been avoided.

 

[sugarbutch]

I have friends who live on a private road which doesn't have an HOA. They'd love for the county to take it over, but it doesn't meet the grade and width standards. It's steadily falling apart, and they've been trying unsuccessfully for years to organize the other people on the road to pay for repairs. The end game likely involves lawyers...

 

[brokencycle]

Same here, the roads in our small development are not "dedicated" so the HOA has to maintain them, along with things like the gate and pump station. Our HOA dues are laughably small though, as in $94 a month, and the finances are currently being overseen by a couple of retired but formerly high powered CPAs, so there's that too. Make sure (if you haven't already) to check into the capital reserve the HOA has.

He's also in snow land though, so roads breakdown more quickly.

I know this is partially said in jest bc it has now become your calling card, but that was a big selling point to me. I would guess the front door is ~130 ft from the "road" but it is really more of a lane. It is a private, wooded drive and does not really have space for 2 way traffic. In order to get down the drive, you probably have to drive off the main road for about 1/3 of a mile before you get to any houses. The location / setting really is the main selling point for the homes back there, and all of the houses are on at least 1 acre lots. We drove down the lane for the first time about 18 months ago and I said to my wife "Wow, I really want to live back here" but didn't think anything would come up for sale.

In the northern burbs of Chicago (Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest, Kenilworth, Northfield, Northbrook, Highland Park, Glenview) it is not unusual to have private roads for a small group of houses (10-20). The upside is that because it is technically not a public road, there is not supposed to be any traffic on it that doesn't have any business back there. The downside is that they are financially maintained by those who live on the road and governed by an HOA. Not exactly selling points, but a reasonable price for additional privacy. It may end up discouraging camraderie with other town residents, but I tend to prefer to keep my neighbors at arms length after having a horrendous neighbor at our cabin.

Interestingly we're looking for the opposite. I like privacy certainly and I'm a bit of a misanthropic hermit, but with the little kid, it is nice to have a density of houses where there are neighborhood kids in walking distance.

My inlaws live in an HOA where they maintain roads. Even with a flush reserve, there was a $10K special assessment to update the roads recently. Given the last 2-3 years of price increases, it is worth paying for an estimate to update assumptions. I realize people building courtyards could foot a special assessment but it comes with a lot of finger pointing and annoyance that could have been avoided.

That happens with city maintained roads too - special assessment added to property taxes.

I have friends who live on a private road which doesn't have an HOA. They'd love for the county to take it over, but it doesn't meet the grade and width standards. It's steadily falling apart, and they've been trying unsuccessfully for years to organize the other people on the road to pay for repairs. The end game likely involves lawyers...

When we moved here, there was a house that shared a driveway with the other. All the lots were ~2/3-1 acre with lots of wooded HOA space, but these two houses shared the driveway for some reason and it was already in rough shape. It was a warning flag.