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View Poll Results: So How Big IS Your Home?
Less then 500 sq. ft. 5 2.16%
500 to 1000 sq. ft. 19 8.19%
1000 to 1500 sq. ft. 43 18.53%
1500 to 2000 sq. ft. 50 21.55%
2000 to 2500 sq. ft. 48 20.69%
2500 to 3000 sq. ft. 40 17.24%
3500 to 4000 sq. ft. 13 5.60%
4000 to 4500 sq. ft. 9 3.88%
more than 5000 sq. ft. but less than 6000 2 0.86%
more than 6000 sq. ft. but less than 7000 1 0.43%
more than 7000 sq. ft.but less than 10,000 0 0%
more than 10,000 sq. ft. 0 0%
3000 to 3500 sq. ft 2 0.86%
Voters: 232. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 02-18-2008, 05:08 PM   #61
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1450 sqft brick house plus 300 sqft screened porch and a one car garage on 1/2 acre with 250 ft of lakefront. Just me and one dog so the perfect size house for my situation. I have a master/bath on one end with an open greatroom/kitchen/dining area in the center, and 2 bedrooms/1 bath on the other end. The lot is basically no maintenance (covered with large trees and no grass). Have a three-level deck off the screened porch on the lake side, a large pier, and two floating docks. I cannot imagine living in some of the huge houses described here (or having to clean/maintain them).
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Old 02-18-2008, 06:01 PM   #62
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Quote:
Does that wood stove have its own separate intake, as in a contained combustion system?
Yes.

Quote:
I'm surprised that running just a wood stove in an insulated home in a high humidity area like yours doesn't create an enormous amount of condensation inside your house walls, in your ducts, and around the windows. Ever test for mold or sill/bottom plate rotting?
The only places we have trouble with condensation is in the two rooms far from the wood stove. The dehumidifier has eliminated most of that.
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Old 02-18-2008, 06:20 PM   #63
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Originally Posted by haha View Post
I am having trouble reconciling these mansions with the budget and spending discussions we have.

You guys only buy wholesale?
In a sense, if you consider the East and West Coast to be the "Neimann Marcus" of real estate, then the South or Midwest would be "K-Mart". I bought my house at the "Dollar Store" of real estate, New Orleans.

My home is a 1558 square foot, 3 bedroom 2 bath, brick house built in 1972 on a 5,000 square foot lot in one of the nicest/safest of New Orleans neighborhoods. Here are some old photos (though it still looks much the same) showing the house from the front yard, and a shot taken in the back yard:

.....

It is beautiful inside, with lots of granite, molding, alcoves, high end light fixtures and hardware, and French doors. The best thing about it for me, is that there is no mortgage or rent to pay. One point of all the LBYM'ing and scrimping and saving was to get that result before ER and I did it!

I do wish it had a garage, so when we move north that will be on my "wish list". I will hate to leave it, but as always, logic must prevail.
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Old 02-18-2008, 06:33 PM   #64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakedog View Post
1450 sqft brick house plus 300 sqft screened porch and a one car garage on 1/2 acre with 250 ft of lakefront. Just me and one dog so the perfect size house for my situation. I have a master/bath on one end with an open greatroom/kitchen/dining area in the center, and 2 bedrooms/1 bath on the other end. The lot is basically no maintenance (covered with large trees and no grass). Have a three-level deck off the screened porch on the lake side, a large pier, and two floating docks. I cannot imagine living in some of the huge houses described here (or having to clean/maintain them).

Lake Martin is a beautiful area to live. Some expensive homes there too. I saw one listing over 3 mil. Might be a consideration for me one day. Not the 3 mil variety though. Probably would have to consider something off the lake.
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Old 02-18-2008, 06:49 PM   #65
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Originally Posted by Texarkandy View Post
I note on the "poll" there is not an option to select "3000 to 3500 sq ft"
which would have been my vote.
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Old 02-18-2008, 07:32 PM   #66
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1450 square foot ranch, built in 1954, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath. Plenty for my wife and I.
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Old 02-18-2008, 07:38 PM   #67
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Originally Posted by Dawg52 View Post
Lake Martin is a beautiful area to live. Some expensive homes there too. I saw one listing over 3 mil. Might be a consideration for me one day. Not the 3 mil variety though. Probably would have to consider something off the lake.
I have been in my place for about 12 years and have really enjoyed living here. You can find some smaller cabins/homes in some of the older neighborhoods for around $450 to $500k but the newer developments are typically over $1mil (even some lots are in the $1 mil range). I have considered selling but not sure where I might relocate. The biggest downside for me is the distance to a large city (two hours to Atlanta or Birmingham, even an hour to Montgomery).
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Old 02-18-2008, 07:39 PM   #68
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Originally Posted by Nords View Post
Ye gods you people are livin' large. Here the lot sizes are measured in square feet and people build their ohana homes out right to the lot line. New construction is usually 1600 sq ft, two stories on a slab in a 4000 sq ft lot.
4000 sq ft?? Sheesh, that's about twice the typical lot size around here. Though at least our property taxes seem to be proportionately lower, too.
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Old 02-18-2008, 07:47 PM   #69
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Uh oh, we're about to get to the "clinging to the windowsills because we cant afford floors" stage...
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Old 02-18-2008, 07:49 PM   #70
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Built in 1959, 3BR/2BA ranch over a semi-finished basement with another .75 bath in that basement. Approx 1800 sq feet (main floor plus basement) plus the attached garage. Plus the 700 sq ft shop in back.

Located in Ohio where something like this typically runs less than $200k
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Old 02-18-2008, 08:04 PM   #71
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Texarkandy View Post
I note on the "poll" there is not an option to select "3000 to 3500 sq ft"
Fixed it.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Want2retire View Post
In a house like that, you shouldn't have to feel like trailer trash!

When the market allows, I'd suggest selling and looking for a more established neighborhood where the neighbors are nicer and where you don't feel like that. Either that, or working on just not noticing/caring what the neighbors think.
The trailer trash comment was in relation to what the OTHER houses in the area are like. Mine is "average" for the area. We are in the process of listing the house with the desire to sell and get out of the area and move to a smaller home. We will see what happens.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh View Post
Utah seems to have many McMansions, sometimes justified by LARGE families. SteveR, how many people live in your McMansion? I'm thinking maybe we should all come visit (at the same time)!

1240 sq ft here. Size about right.
Two people and two dogs currently with a flow and ebb of family visits several times during the year.

One reason there are so many big homes here is of course related to church doctrine which results in large families. The other is the influx of Californians with lot of $$$ to put into a house. The builders comply.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords View Post

...Do I really want to know what Utah requires you to store in a large cold room?
The predominate religion requires space for one year of dry goods storage for "when it happens" so they will be prepared. Cold storage here is basically underground...in my case under the rear covered patio.

My previous house was 3500 sq ft of living space but the cost of housing here (in 2002) allowed me a lot of house and no tax issue with the sale of my other house which appreciated a bit in 10 years in the Chicago suburbs.
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Old 02-18-2008, 08:13 PM   #72
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Uh oh, we're about to get to the "clinging to the windowsills because we cant afford floors" stage...
What are these "windowsills" of which you speak, you bourgeois poodle?
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Old 02-18-2008, 08:39 PM   #73
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They're what we hang from all night, small furry rodenta leaping and snapping at our backsides. Before we awaken refreshed, eat a handful of hot gravel for breakfast, clean up the broken glass, and walk to school in 20 feet of snow. Uphill. Both ways. Only to discover that we dont actually have a school because we're too poor.

Oh, and we have to carry a two story 4000 square foot duplex on our backs all day.

Bourgeois poodle?

Oh man, am I once again sorry that we cant change our own usernames any more...
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Old 02-18-2008, 08:43 PM   #74
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Old 02-18-2008, 08:46 PM   #75
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And an excellent choice, REW! I love that skit more than anything else they have ever done. Luxury!
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Old 02-18-2008, 09:23 PM   #76
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Sheeer luxury!
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Old 02-18-2008, 10:09 PM   #77
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The house we just sold was almost 4000 sq ft. We dumped and decluttered and moved down to a 2400 sq ft house.

After 6 more months of decluttering and selling, we now do not use 3 of the rooms of this house. I gave the girls the formal living/ dining rooms for a media room (put a futon in there), and use one of the bedrooms for storage!

I will never have a house that big again; I want a smaller house and a bigger RV!
Pretty similar here, headed from 3,600 down to 2,000 in just a few months (yeah), however we are in the smaller house ==> bigger boat category (My older brother sold his last waterfront home for $2.3M and downsized to a smaller $1M place on the same lake; had real snotty neighbors in the big house, much nicer neighbors in the smaller one)

Very nice place Want2retire (way better than "dollar store" in my view). I assume that you are outside levy system on higher ground??
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Old 02-19-2008, 07:02 AM   #78
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Very nice place Want2retire (way better than "dollar store" in my view). I assume that you are outside levy system on higher ground??
Thank you! I love my house. No, very poor assumption! The city of New Orleans is below sea level and is protected by a complex and gargantuan system of levies, canals, and giant pumps that has been in place for maybe a century or more, and I am within that system. In the past the levy/pumps/canals system provided New Orleans with a degree of protection and drainage unavailable to surrounding low-lying communities. Unfortunately, this system was damaged during the flooding after Katrina, when pumps sat in water for weeks and other damage occurred, and funding is absent for its complete repair.

My own house is 2.8 feet below sea level, which makes it one of the higher parts of town. I am a mile and a half from my work, a couple of miles to the "good side" of the 17th street canal (Frank's house is about half way between). My house had no roof damage and no flooding, and neither did his, although most others in our neighborhoods did. We both had considerable minor damage due to wind. We had neighbors' trees ending up in our yards, doors blown off, broken windows, huge amounts of debris, and so on. My formerly upright tree that you can see on the left behind my house in the photo of the front yard, ended up leaning on my roof but not damaging it so it is history, as is my refrigerator. My house cost $160K in 2002, which came to $177K including interest by the time I got it paid off in 2006. Most of that price was for neighborhood (the house would be far less if it was in a higher crime area). It was worth $205K before Katrina, but with the housing slump it may be worth less right now. I would take $185K for it today (anybody want to make me an offer? ), but my realtor is a pretty tough cookie and he would probably get me $200K if I told him to sell it. Not quite, but almost a Dollar Store price when compared with East or West Coast prices.

Today my house looks pretty much the same as the photo, which was taken in 2002 just before I bought it. Looking at the photo, I can see that I do need to get out there and trim the bushes, though!
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Old 02-19-2008, 09:11 AM   #79
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Originally Posted by Want2retire View Post
My home is a 1558 square foot, 3 bedroom 2 bath, brick house built in 1972 on a 5,000 square foot lot in one of the nicest/safest of New Orleans neighborhoods. Here are some old photos (though it still looks much the same) showing the house from the front yard, and a shot taken in the back yard:

...

I do wish it had a garage, so when we move north that will be on my "wish list". I will hate to leave it, but as always, logic must prevail.
Nice. Here's the one we downsized to -- we really liked the rock exterior (no painting the house!), but in a 64-year-old house there are a few upgrades that needed to be made. The bent antenna is no longer there (replaced by a satellite dish).

Also the garage is detached, which is a pain sometimes, especially since the laundry area is out there. It's about 1150 sf; I do wish it was 200-300 sf larger at most, but if I had that, I'd probably want another 200-300 sf and I don't want to go into that affluenza death spiral. At a whopping $85K, it also allowed us to be mortgage-free and cut our property taxes by 75% versus our larger home in Houston (about $1200 versus $4600 out there).

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Old 02-19-2008, 09:35 AM   #80
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Ziggy, I LOVE your house!! It is just beautiful. I especially love the arches and the way the stonework was done around the top of them.

I have never known anyone with a rock house, and houses are sometimes made of rock in my future ER location. Do they present any special problems or advantages, in your experience? You mentioned not having to paint it, and that sounds great. Is it unusually drafty?

Maybe you could have laundry hookups installed somewhere inside your home. I do want an attached garage too. I hate getting caught in the rain bringing in groceries, and getting soaked. A carport would solve that, but there isn't room for one.

You got a great price on that house! Congratulations and I hope you enjoy NOT paying rent on the first of the month.

My property tax last year was $551, which is considerably less than before Katrina. I expect it to rise to about twice that this year. I won't know exactly until it happens, though the assessor sent out a letter warning everyone to expect a hike. He sent the same letter in late 2006 and it only went up $100 or so, but he says this time he means it.
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