Real Life and What's Happening...

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I am so tired of crazy real estate market. I just represented a seller in a sale. On top of that, I was representing four buying couples, and there were five other buyers with other agents making bids. It was like running the least fun game of Paranoia ever. Since last Friday, I've been lucky to make it five minutes without a call or text I had to respond to immediately.

A contract was signed this morning. One of my buyers got made the winning bid, which meant I only had three upset clients.

I have a new listing going up tomorrow morning, and the cycle begins again.
You and me both. The Spokane median home price has been $430,000 for the past 2 months. My rent is literally more than the mortgage and electric bill of my DM combined; and his house is better! At this rate I will never own a house.
 
You and me both. The Spokane median home price has been $430,000 for the past 2 months. My rent is literally more than the mortgage and electric bill of my DM combined; and his house is better! At this rate I will never own a house.
It's brutal around here. The bidding war on that last house STARTED at $425,000 and kept going. Because prices are so high, sellers are afraid their house won't pass the mortgage appraisal at the selling price, so basically anyone that isn't holding half a million dollars in their account has no chance unless they make some dire concession like waiving their right to a home inspection.
 
It's brutal around here. The bidding war on that last house STARTED at $425,000 and kept going. Because prices are so high, sellers are afraid their house won't pass the mortgage appraisal at the selling price, so basically anyone that isn't holding half a million dollars in their account has no chance unless they make some dire concession like waiving their right to a home inspection.
Man you just described the Seattle area market for the last 6-7 years.

For a long time it's been the case that you have to buy before you sell because if you sell you might not be able to find a home you want in 6-12 months and after that time you could buy the home you just sold because it went up by so much. It's insane.
Add that we have so much apartment/commercial building there are very few contractors or subs who will do a remodel at anything close to a reasonable price.
 
At some point something has to be done about the housing situation in the US. We were saving up to buy but the amount needed for a downpayment just keeps going up and up and every house is going for way over asking price.

And it doesn't help that my rent has gone up 40% in the last 4 years, which means we can put less and less back to save.
 
Man you just described the Seattle area market for the last 6-7 years.

For a long time it's been the case that you have to buy before you sell because if you sell you might not be able to find a home you want in 6-12 months and after that time you could buy the home you just sold because it went up by so much. It's insane.
It's hard to get any seller to take a home-sale contingency addendum these days. No seller wants to take the risk of your deal falling through when they have 3 other offers that don't rely on a contingency.

I feel bad for the people that have signed a contract of their house with a far-off closing date, say a few months away, with the expectation that they will be able to find somewhere to go before the time is up.
 
It's brutal around here. The bidding war on that last house STARTED at $425,000 and kept going. Because prices are so high, sellers are afraid their house won't pass the mortgage appraisal at the selling price, so basically anyone that isn't holding half a million dollars in their account has no chance unless they make some dire concession like waiving their right to a home inspection.
You sure you're not still here in Australia?
Sydney and Melbourne are just crazy, and now they're coming up here to Brisbane in such large numbers that the same thing is happening here.
Your sentiments sure do describe here at present
 
You sure you're not still here in Australia?
Sydney and Melbourne are just crazy, and now they're coming up here to Brisbane in such large numbers that the same thing is happening here.
Your sentiments sure do describe here at present
I come from Sydney and most of my family lives there. I'd expect it's worse there.
 
At some point something has to be done about the housing situation in the US. We were saving up to buy but the amount needed for a downpayment just keeps going up and up and every house is going for way over asking price.

And it doesn't help that my rent has gone up 40% in the last 4 years, which means we can put less and less back to save.

Yeah our townhouse rent is going up about 30% this year per the management who I have a good relationship with. I'm annoyed but not much I can do about it. We can actually afford a new home even with the 35%-45% price increases around here, I just refuse because I don't see the value. Plus at my age I don't want to do more than a 15 year mortgage. I refuse to do a 30 year basically which means a pretty high monthly debt at a 15 year loan.

My big issue really though is the home quality does not match the price tag on them and that's unacceptable to me. I told my wife well then, we'll just freaking retire to Hawaii with our money then. Her mom and dad own a place out there, so we'll just talk to them that instead of selling they'll just sell it to us if they're still around at that time or as it is we'll most likely inherit it. Either works for us honestly and I would enjoy the weather more out there and just spend my time surfing.
 
Well reading the last few pages I can't say my life sucks, sorry and thanks for some perspective! :wink:

Just bought tickets to see Rob Zombie (plus Static X, Powerman 5000 and Mudvayne). August in Las Vegas, thank you to the inventor of air conditioning.
My wife has never been to a big concert and she really like Rob Zombie. We are going to take a couple days on either side to just hang out just the two of us with no children. We are not gamblers but there is a lot of other stuff to see / do, and rooms are fairly cheap thanks to the casinos.

So today is 1 month since my wife moved out. It still hurts just as bad. Every day it seems that she's further away. I try to keep hope, and there's little things that give me hope, but it's just so damned hard.

Sorry to hear that, been close a couple times myself but we were always able to work things out before either of us actually left.

My wife and I have given up, we do keep putting money away to add towards a home but honestly we just can't stand what's going on. We waited four years too long.

I felt that way many times, for years it felt like I was off by a year or two, the more money I made / saved houses seemed to increase by twice that amount. We were lucky to have recovered from 2008 and be ready to buy before home prices recovered from their lows.

Rents are insane, my oldest is 21 and I occasionally have someone ask incredulously "he is 21 and still lives with you"? (usually old farts that walked to school uphill both ways through the snow). There are travelling nurses my wife works with at the hospital who are paying $800/mo for a room, and studio apartments start around $1100 and we are in a relatively inexpensive area.
I'd much rather have him focus on school so he can get a decent job than have him working a low paying job and blowing most of his pay on a place to sleep with little opportunity to gain the needed job skills to move onto something better. He is quiet and helps around the house so it is no bother for us having him here until he can make it on his own.
 
Her mom and dad own a place out there, so we'll just talk to them that instead of selling they'll just sell it to us if they're still around at that time or as it is we'll most likely inherit it. Either works for us honestly and I would enjoy the weather more out there and just spend my time surfing.
I joke that eventually my parents will die and I can inherit their house as they live in the same city as me.
 
My sister sold her house and moved back in with my parents. It's great because she doesn't want to maintain a house and my aging parents are better off having someone to keep an eye on them. My sister's kids are grown and selling the house sort of put the nail on them coming back to live with her.
 
My sister sold her house and moved back in with my parents. It's great because she doesn't want to maintain a house and my aging parents are better off having someone to keep an eye on them. My sister's kids are grown and selling the house sort of put the nail on them coming back to live with her.

One of those random factoids, but I recently read something that said our current single generational home life is a fairly recent thing. In 1900 57% of adults 65 or older lived with a younger relative (child / grand child), the decline accelerated after WW2 and by 1990 the number was down to 17% despite the fact living to 65 was becoming more common (life expectancy was only 47 years in 1900, up to 75 by 1990).

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-...n-of-the-multi-generational-family-household/

https://dreamcollaborative.com/full-house-a-history-of-american-multigenerational-living/
 
One of those random factoids, but I recently read something that said our current single generational home life is a fairly recent thing. In 1900 57% of adults 65 or older lived with a younger relative (child / grand child), the decline accelerated after WW2 and by 1990 the number was down to 17% despite the fact living to 65 was becoming more common (life expectancy was only 47 years in 1900, up to 75 by 1990).

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-...n-of-the-multi-generational-family-household/

https://dreamcollaborative.com/full-house-a-history-of-american-multigenerational-living/
That matches how my dads parents lived as kids. I think three related families shared a house in Atlanta.
 
That matches how my dads parents lived as kids. I think three related families shared a house in Atlanta.

Kindergarten to 4th grade my family rented a house from an Italian family. They were a classic example of what the article talks about, sort of. They all lived on one lot, but multiple houses. Don, the landlord was a POW during WW2, when the war ended he chose to stay in the USA and moved his family from Italy. They owned 4 houses next to each other. He lived in one with his family, his mother lived in another and they rented out the other two. When his mother died the oldest son moved into her house with his wife. He also owned a plumbing company and both of his sons eventually ended up working for him.

The whole neighborhood was Italian, and many on the street had similar living arrangements. The house we lived in had a large yard which was apparently the community garden. Several in the neighborhood contributed and since we lived there we were able to take from it as well. That is where I developed my love for Zucchini and Italian Green Beans.
The green beans grew on poles and the rows of green beans made a great place to hide. There was also this ancient old wizard who did "magic" on some of the plants, he grafted a lemon tree so that 1/2 grew lemons and the other half oranges. Well to a kid that was pretty magical. :wink:
 
We seriously considered a monstrous 7 bedroom hours with 3 or 4 floors. The idea was that since we tend to have family living with us for a variety of reasons, we should just make it more convenient. Old people got the floor with the kitchen. Then the grandparents could see their grandkid and we would have a place for the nephew and niece.
 
We seriously considered a monstrous 7 bedroom hours with 3 or 4 floors. The idea was that since we tend to have family living with us for a variety of reasons, we should just make it more convenient. Old people got the floor with the kitchen. Then the grandparents could see their grandkid and we would have a place for the nephew and niece.
If her parents house north of Spokane was larger we'd consider doing something like this. As it is, they're so secluded in and small in design that it's really not feasible. Also my wife and I really have to have a solid internet connection where out where they're at it's not possible.

Which is why we've talked about Hawaii and their beach condo. heh. Plus you know winter north of Spokane gets a bit old, though it's nothing like what Fenris-77 Fenris-77 deals with, I can do without it as I've gotten older.
 
If her parents house north of Spokane was larger we'd consider doing something like this. As it is, they're so secluded in and small in design that it's really not feasible. Also my wife and I really have to have a solid internet connection where out where they're at it's not possible.

Which is why we've talked about Hawaii and their beach condo. heh. Plus you know winter north of Spokane gets a bit old, though it's nothing like what Fenris-77 Fenris-77 deals with, I can do without it as I've gotten older.
Summer gets a bit hot too doesn't it? I did my time in Pullman and summers could be real scorchers from my perspective.
 
We seriously considered a monstrous 7 bedroom hours with 3 or 4 floors. The idea was that since we tend to have family living with us for a variety of reasons, we should just make it more convenient. Old people got the floor with the kitchen. Then the grandparents could see their grandkid and we would have a place for the nephew and niece.
I have a pretty big house. It's been very nice to have during Covid when parks/museums etc were shut down and the rain and cold made going out less fun. If I have to go through another pandemic I'd pick a good size home with a big yard.
 
Summer gets a bit hot too doesn't it? I did my time in Pullman and summers could be real scorchers from my perspective.
Not in the mountains, maybe a couple days of 100F then the rest is 80-90F. Last year with the wildfires and heat domes was the weird exception. Winters are hit or miss, some are mild, others you get 2 feet of snow in 24 hours.
 
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My ideal place to leave would get no colder than 15 degrees Celsius in the depths of winter, and no hotter than 35 degrees Celsius at the heights of summer.

I don’t even know whether such a place exists but I’d probably be looking at subtropical or Mediterranean weather.

I like my tropical weather well enough tbh but could do with milder summers.
 
My ideal place to leave would get no colder than 15 degrees Celsius in the depths of winter, and no hotter than 35 degrees Celsius at the heights of summer.

I don’t even know whether such a place exists but I’d probably be looking at subtropical or Mediterranean weather.

I like my tropical weather well enough tbh but could do with milder summers.

Auckland would do that but it can get fairly humid in summer. Also, they're right in the middle of a property bubble so houses are infeasibly expensive.

On the plus side (or minus, depending on how you look at it) the public health service suffers from severe brain drains to Oz and UK, so they're always on the lookout for medical professionals. If you really wanted you could go for NZ citizenship after about year 5, which also confers right to work in Australia.

Melbourne, in particular, consistently ranks around the top 5 cities to live in the world, and also has a climate that would likely suit. I like Melbourne - If I was to return down under I would seriously consider setting up shop there - with the caveat that the Australian property bubble is even more ferocious than the New Zealand one. On the plus side, Melbourne has pretty good public transport and motorways, so you might get away with living somewhere out of town. If your surgeon's ticket is transferrable you might be able to just rock up to Oz directly.
 
Auckland would do that but it can get fairly humid in summer. Also, they're right in the middle of a property bubble so houses are infeasibly expensive.

On the plus side (or minus, depending on how you look at it) the public health service suffers from severe brain drains to Oz and UK, so they're always on the lookout for medical professionals. If you really wanted you could go for NZ citizenship after about year 5, which also confers right to work in Australia.

Melbourne, in particular, consistently ranks around the top 5 cities to live in the world, and also has a climate that would likely suit. I like Melbourne - If I was to return down under I would seriously consider setting up shop there - with the caveat that the Australian property bubble is even more ferocious than the New Zealand one. On the plus side, Melbourne has pretty good public transport and motorways, so you might get away with living somewhere out of town. If your surgeon's ticket is transferrable you might be able to just rock up to Oz directly.
Years ago I took an immigration eligibility questionnaire over at the Immigration Australia website (clicked on a social media ad IIRC) and I keep getting emails from them to this day.

It absolutely is tempting but the truth of the matter is that emigration strikes me as a brutal process. Even under ideal conditions — home, job, school, everything lined up… you will always be, to some degree, an outsider.

Which is not to say I’d never do it, just that things would have to be dire for me to do it. I’m talking civil war, failed state material here. (But then I have a decent QoL here.)

Hell, we had a great offer to move cities here and we declined, shortly before the pandemic.
 
Years ago I took an immigration eligibility questionnaire over at the Immigration Australia website (clicked on a social media ad IIRC) and I keep getting emails from them to this day.

It absolutely is tempting but the truth of the matter is that emigration strikes me as a brutal process. Even under ideal conditions — home, job, school, everything lined up… you will always be, to some degree, an outsider.

I did find that to some extent coming to the UK, but I'm enough of a nerdy introvert that it didn't really matter. As someone from the colonies I pretty much got a free pass into IT work in the City.

Having said that, Melbourne is pretty multi-cultural. I'm not sure what the demographics ex South America look like, but there are quite a lot of first and second generation expats in Melbourne, so it might not be as bad as one would otherwise expect.

If you're happy where you are - and I guess you're on a pretty good wicket - then it probably isn't worth the trouble. I moved to the UK for career opportunities, and certainly achieved that, to some extent at least. On balance I think it was the right thing to do, and London also has a big antipodean expat demographic.
 
My ideal place to leave would get no colder than 15 degrees Celsius in the depths of winter, and no hotter than 35 degrees Celsius at the heights of summer.

I don’t even know whether such a place exists but I’d probably be looking at subtropical or Mediterranean weather.

I like my tropical weather well enough tbh but could do with milder summers.
an island. an island between the tropics should do. Puerto Rico hardly moves, Hawaii too. Praia, Cape Verde. Grand Canaries, etc.
 
We seriously considered a monstrous 7 bedroom hours with 3 or 4 floors. The idea was that since we tend to have family living with us for a variety of reasons, we should just make it more convenient. Old people got the floor with the kitchen. Then the grandparents could see their grandkid and we would have a place for the nephew and niece.

One of my wife's sisters has a house like that, 7000-8000 sq ft who knows how many bedrooms (at least 6) and 3-4 levels, ground floor with a bedroom or two, a huge basement finished as a large room (I bet it was at least 800 sq ft, which is bigger than my first house) with a wet bar. The basement is ground level from the backside of the house with a patio, two 2-3 car garages, and then an upper floor with several more bed rooms, and possibly a partial floor above that with another bedroom or two but don't remember if that was the case or not. I was lost in the house half the time we were there and lots of stairs.

The whole time I was there I kept eyeing that basement and garages with envy imagining the shop I could fit into the space. Even the smaller garage is probably double the size of my little basement shop with its 6-1/2 foot ceiling. I'm not sure that they even owned so much as a screw driver...
The most amazing part to me is that place is more than 3x the size of our house and right on a golf course (the fun I could have harassing golfers with a drone and RC cars :hehe: ), but because of the difference between an "inexpensive" part of California vs a mid priced part of Virginia they didn't even pay double what our place appraises for, not that I could afford either at current prices.

I can see the appeal to a big place like that, but at the same time I found myself thinking maybe there is such thing as too much house (but never enough shop space :wink: ). Of course there are only 4 of us in the house so 2300 sq ft / 2 stories and a modestly large yard is plenty of room to keep out of each others hair. Lots of visitors or family moving in and out and I'd definitely want more space.

I have a pretty big house. It's been very nice to have during Covid when parks/museums etc were shut down and the rain and cold made going out less fun. If I have to go through another pandemic I'd pick a good size home with a big yard.

Yeah having some room was nice, our kids are 8 and 21 (I suggested naming #2 SURPRISE!!! but my wife vetoed that and hit me :tongue: ). The older is basically a cave troll who only leaves his room for food, but the younger made good use of the yard and floor space when everything was closed.

My ideal place to leave would get no colder than 15 degrees Celsius in the depths of winter, and no hotter than 35 degrees Celsius at the heights of summer.

I don’t even know whether such a place exists but I’d probably be looking at subtropical or Mediterranean weather.

I like my tropical weather well enough tbh but could do with milder summers.

A lot of coastal California comes close to that, lots of places within 20 miles of the coast that run 10-37C low to high average, right on the coast tends to run cooler. I've never been to "the Mediterranean" but as we are classified as a Mediterranean climate I imagine there are many places in Italy, Greece, Southern France etc that also come close.

If I remember correctly you are in Brazil so I assume you are well versed in the effects of humidity on temperatures. I can deal with warm temps and high humidity for a time, but that would be a pretty hard no for me long term. Not a fan of needing a shower right after I get out of the shower.

Years ago I took an immigration eligibility questionnaire over at the Immigration Australia website (clicked on a social media ad IIRC) and I keep getting emails from them to this day.

It absolutely is tempting but the truth of the matter is that emigration strikes me as a brutal process. Even under ideal conditions — home, job, school, everything lined up… you will always be, to some degree, an outsider.

Which is not to say I’d never do it, just that things would have to be dire for me to do it. I’m talking civil war, failed state material here. (But then I have a decent QoL here.)

Hell, we had a great offer to move cities here and we declined, shortly before the pandemic.

I've occasionally contemplated moving elsewhere. Lots of countries I could live like a king on my retirement and savings after selling my house, but no place is without issues. It is a fun thought exercise, but agree, realistically it would require some serious bad things happening to get me to actually make moving to another country a reality.
 
I can see the appeal to a big place like that, but at the same time I found myself thinking maybe there is such thing as too much house (but never enough shop space :wink: ). Of course there are only 4 of us in the house so 2300 sq ft / 2 stories and a modestly large yard is plenty of room to keep out of each others hair. Lots of visitors or family moving in and out and I'd definitely want more space
Same. I think we could do a tiny house with a barn for a shop. Also need a basement because something’s are done in a basement, like gaming.
 
You have a lawn though, so there's that. I have dirt and windblown trash. :grin:
Back in the day dirt yard was considered good. I remember my rural southern grandmother going out to "sweep the yard".

Also to be honest, most of my yard is fallen leaves I just have just enough grass to need to take care of it or the rental management company gives me calls.
 
My ideal place to leave would get no colder than 15 degrees Celsius in the depths of winter, and no hotter than 35 degrees Celsius at the heights of summer.
Daily maximums in both cases? If you want overnight minimums above 15 C in winter that might be tricky.

Sadly, there’s not much opportunity on Lord Howe Island.
 
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