wabmester
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2003
- Messages
- 4,459
We're thinking of selling our house, and it hasn't been easy since it's such a great house. Preparing myself for the sale got me thinking about homes.
First, let me tell you the story of our move. We bought a property a couple years ago, ostensibly for investment. I love waterfront property as an investment. As my gramps the real estate tycoon used to say, "they ain't making any more waterfront."
We fell in love with the view, the bright southern exposure, the water, and the biking/walking-distance proximity to places we like to go. So, we started camping out at the beach house, and we eventually stopped going home to the main house.
I wanted to keep hard real estate as part of my portfolio, so I decided to just call the old house our investment property and the new house our main residence. Now, we're ready to sell the old house to ensure that we get the crazy capital gains gift that our fearless leaders crafted for us.
But it's hard to let go. The old house is magical. It's a timberframe made from 400-year-old firs that were recycled from a local pier. It will surely last for 100's of years, and our original plan was to keep it in the family *forever*.
It's in a forested area by the water. Quiet and serene. In the afternoon, the light reflects off the water and dances on the walls. And there's plenty of local wildlife. Deer, eagles, owls, woodpeckers, racoons, and slugs mostly.
The only downside is that the place is pretty dark due to all of the wood. And it's a long hilly walk/ride to any nearby amenities.
So, ultimately, we decided to keep the bright and practical beach house and sell the magical timberframe family estate.
Have you ever owned something of irreplaceable quality that made no sense to keep? It used to seem like the "family estate" thing was sort of the holy grail of houses, and it was a really great place to live, but daily practicality seems to trump planting long-term roots.
First, let me tell you the story of our move. We bought a property a couple years ago, ostensibly for investment. I love waterfront property as an investment. As my gramps the real estate tycoon used to say, "they ain't making any more waterfront."
We fell in love with the view, the bright southern exposure, the water, and the biking/walking-distance proximity to places we like to go. So, we started camping out at the beach house, and we eventually stopped going home to the main house.
I wanted to keep hard real estate as part of my portfolio, so I decided to just call the old house our investment property and the new house our main residence. Now, we're ready to sell the old house to ensure that we get the crazy capital gains gift that our fearless leaders crafted for us.
But it's hard to let go. The old house is magical. It's a timberframe made from 400-year-old firs that were recycled from a local pier. It will surely last for 100's of years, and our original plan was to keep it in the family *forever*.
It's in a forested area by the water. Quiet and serene. In the afternoon, the light reflects off the water and dances on the walls. And there's plenty of local wildlife. Deer, eagles, owls, woodpeckers, racoons, and slugs mostly.
The only downside is that the place is pretty dark due to all of the wood. And it's a long hilly walk/ride to any nearby amenities.
So, ultimately, we decided to keep the bright and practical beach house and sell the magical timberframe family estate.
Have you ever owned something of irreplaceable quality that made no sense to keep? It used to seem like the "family estate" thing was sort of the holy grail of houses, and it was a really great place to live, but daily practicality seems to trump planting long-term roots.