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04-30-2009, 10:17 AM
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#41
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,764
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Whats the catch? I dont see bullet holes in the house.
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04-30-2009, 11:23 AM
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#42
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 7,746
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Yeah, I know! Looking at the streetview photos from google it looks like a fairly nice, well polished neighborhood. And on a golf course at that. Obviously way the heck out in the boonies, but not a bad n'hood.
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04-30-2009, 12:04 PM
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#43
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 1,563
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tiuxiu
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What do you guess the AC bill would be a month? How many months a year do you run AC in AZ?
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04-30-2009, 01:56 PM
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#44
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 920
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We had a single family home that was larger than this one and the level payment plan electric bill was $150/month, as in that's the average for the whole year. That can be $250 in August and $70 in November.
Now in a townhome the level plan is $130/month. That's no kids and thermostat automatically going up to 85 during weekdays while both working.
Generally speaking in the Phoenix area you run the AC from May thru Sept, with March/April/ October depending on the weather. Right now we run it during the day but as soon as the sun get lower we shut it off and open the windows.
Interestingly Queen Creek was #1 for foreclosures/house in the entire country in a recent Forbes article.
America's Most Foreclosure-Ridden Towns - Forbes.com
Assume direct relation there eh.
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04-30-2009, 02:16 PM
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#45
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 7,746
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I guess no gas heating bill though, huh? Sounds like the total heating/cooling energy requirements may not be significantly more than where I am now.
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04-30-2009, 06:25 PM
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#46
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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My house is 2800 sqft. I cannot use the thermostat setback during the day because there is always someone at home. No gas, so electric is also used for cooking. Heating is by heat pump. Temperature is set at 78 degF in the summer, and 70 degF in the winter. Two college-aged children take long hot showers, and tend to leave their PCs on. AC/Heat pump (5 ton) is relatively new with SEER of 12. Diving-pool pump running 8 hrs/day. Lots of home cooking as we do not like to eat out much.
Electric Bill = $2456 in 2008. Details can be found in this post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound
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__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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05-01-2009, 10:31 AM
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#47
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 920
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We're no gas too.
Creates a so-far unsolvable problem for using a wok properly.
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05-01-2009, 11:29 AM
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#48
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
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Last year, gas + elec = $1900.
Gas heat and hot water; everything else electric, in a 1650sf shack in north Tejas.
Big a/c bills July-Oct...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
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05-02-2009, 12:23 AM
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#49
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tiuxiu
We're no gas too.
Creates a so-far unsolvable problem for using a wok properly.
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Not so. I bought a burner similar to the enclosed picture many years ago to do Cajun-styled blackened fish. Later, found out it was also great to stir-fry Oriental style. You want to do the above two dishes outside anyway, to avoid smoking up the house, no? I wonder what kind of gourmet kitchen one needs to be able to do the above indoors. One more nice thing about living in the low-country part of AZ is that you can cook outdoors all 12 months of the year.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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05-02-2009, 09:59 AM
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#50
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,297
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Youze guys have got me going - 5YO homes with pool for $75k? Looking at the ads for Queen Creek and Buckeye - Buckeye is 259 miles from 29 Palms - a 4.25 hour drive sez mapquest. About $56 worth of gas round trip. If we lived there in the winter we could save maybe $400/month in airfare for the gal to drop in on Mom every month. Plus be in Az when utility costs are low and Oregon ditto + when it's pretty. Sunshine and warm in the winter? Sounds pretty good to me! Can't imagine those overdeveloped areas will become ghost towns....
Not real jazzed about the flat skillet/sprawl that in Phoenix, but appreciate having a Costco within driving distance - also thinking about Nevada for the tax benefits, but don't really think my personality matches up with Las Vegas. We want to be close to an airport hub like PHX or Las Vegas. Other town suggestions?
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05-02-2009, 12:57 PM
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#51
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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Quote:
Originally Posted by calmloki
Youze guys have got me going - 5YO homes with pool for $75k?
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"You know you got me goin, now, (got me goin)
Just like I knew you would. (like I knew you would, wuu!)
Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)" - "Twist and Shout" - Isley Brothers (performed by the Beatles)
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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05-06-2009, 10:08 AM
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#52
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,113
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I would like to change the direction of the thread for a moment and return to the issue of buying (a condo as we want out of yard work and the like), renting, or in our case move to a continuing care community all in the same metro area.
We hope to sell hour home next year and return to our home town. Not only has the net from our home decreased, the value of our IRAs have done likewise. As a result I am running the numbers on our options for comparable living spaces.
The entry cost of the CCC has gone up since we looked two years ago, and it is not refundable - not a good if we need to scrape together resources at the end of life. Looking at the annual cash flow (interest on the balance from the sale of the house and monthly charge) it is in the middle of the range.
The cash flow for condo is the most expensive, about $13,000/yr more than renting but there is residual value.
Actuarially we have maybe 15-20 years of tread left on our lifespan tires. We don't like moving but if one of us passes away it is easier to down-size as a renter. Renting is starting to make more sense.
__________________
Duck bjorn.
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05-06-2009, 10:45 AM
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#53
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 927
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Brat, just curious: do you or your SO have health issues that make a continuing care community necessary/desirable? If you're not currently facing health issues, is there a reason to consider a continuing care community?
__________________
I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.
- Joe Walsh
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05-06-2009, 02:37 PM
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#54
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,113
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No but we wished our parents had gone the ccc route, they would have had a better quality of life in their last years.
We are about 5-10 years younger than most new residents in the ccc we like. If we rent and preserve our home equity, going the ccc route is always an option.
If we buy the transaction costs become a factor if we expect only 10 years ownership. Should we need care our LTC insurance home care option would help a bunch, we might not need to move.
__________________
Duck bjorn.
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