Breaking News
We're moving. It's not an 'if' question anymore. It's moved into the 'when' column. Having bookmarked Zillow and some of the major real estate company website's, we are out looking.
Our current landlord had offered to sell us the house we currently rent from him. Unfortunately, we are unable to reach agreement on a sale price. Having lived in the home for a little over a year, we are aware of what needs to be fixed, replaced or lived with. Starting with the galley kitchen, which lives up to its name, if you're on a small boat. Then we need to replace the carpeting that might actually have a cure for Ebola hidden in the fibers. Outside, near Lake Maria, there is the tree that should be removed before it falls on the house or worse yet the neighbors. These are all items at the top of the list. Since he insists on finding value where we say there is none, we are off and running. This will be our fourth move in as many years.
One silver lining in this storm cloud is our opportunity to tour this city and take a look at the many villages that make it up. Some of the neighborhoods have many wonderful vintage homes that are well cared for.
There are the post-WWII areas. These bungalow-style home and Cape Cods are clustered as developers purchased multiple adjoining lots and proceeded to build right down the street. The homes using similar room plans with slight variations on the exterior. What makes these homes unique today is the additions made to them. Changes were made not only to the homes such as room additions and dormers on the second floor, but the building of outside living features such as patio's, decks, greenhouses, and garages. Also, the design and condition of the landscaping make a difference in the curb appeal to many of these 'tract' homes.
Historically the market then moved to larger lots and spreading the floor plan with the ranch home, saltbox, colonial and split level designs. These are often used as infill on streets that had empty lots or were mixed on developments that were aimed at slightly higher income levels.
We are looking for a house with 2+ bedrooms, 1.5+ baths, wood burning fireplace, spacious kitchen, fenced in back yard, garage and close to downtown. Air conditioning would be nice, as well as gas for our stove and bus service are all considerations. We don't want to be on a busy street.
What amazes me is the amount of inventory and variety of offerings. Besides a bevy of occupied homes for sale here, many of these homes are vacant. The owners have moved out, the property is in an estate, or it's been foreclosed.
Some homes are marketed by people who are selling their own homes, FSBO (For Sale By Owner). These homes are nearly always overpriced. We saw one home we were ready to move on. Further investigation with the realtor showed they had an offer on it. A property across the street of comparable value immediately went n the market for 15% more than his neighbor. It's apparent this property was held off the market until the other one sold, but why this owner thinks their property is worth 15% more is still to be explained.
The Plan
What we realized after our third or fourth safari that we were looking more favorably at some neighborhoods over others. Let me clear my dear friends that do not live in the Fox Valley or are not familiar with the area, There is no real slum lord section in this area. The are certain area's that have exclusively high priced homes. However, most housing is somewhat mixed. The age of the neighborhood and the condition of the area mean more than ethnic, income and school quality consideration.
This community hosts small groups of Mong, Latino, African American and Asian. There is a broad mix of income categories (Less than 5% unemployment). All of the schools here are pretty good.
We currently live in an area that has a lot of multiple housing. Very nice single family, duplex, apartment and townhouse configurations co-exist in a six square block area that has a large grocery store that is in walkable distance and fairly good bus service. Because we live in the Village of Fox Crossing (Until recently Town of Menasha), we have no sidewalk or bikeway on our street. Besides being on the bus route, it is a major shortcut road for north-south traffic. At this time and for the next two years, there will be major construction changes on a high traffic artery located just east of us. This does and will continue to force more traffic down our street.
Ray Donovan (pronounced "Don O Van "Boston Southie)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2249007/?ref_=nv_sr_1
We just finished watching the 4th season of this Showtime Series. It is emblematic of why streaming services are providing higher quality drama than the "major" broadcasting.
This story is about a Boston hoodlum, who moves to LA. His ability to fix things for the rich and infamous in LA makes him an indispensable asset to folks who have problems that can end the careers of and impoverish the super wealthy.
Not only does Ray have his immediate family with him, he's the patriarchal head of the extended family. He's helped his brothers open a boxing gym, in which they not only teach boxing but use as their home.
His father Mickey, who Ray hates for good reason, does not believe in making any money or working in any way that is legal. He always has a scheme, a mark or a sure thing. Mickey is the poster boy for the crook who has the ability to snatch defeat from the grasp of success on a biblical level.
Be aware, there no good people in this array of characters. Ray is boundlessly criminal. He also has the ability to turn everyone around him into criminals. This series is absolutely worth watching. The final season will be released in August. A guest slot being filled by Susan Sarandon. Need I say more?
We're moving. It's not an 'if' question anymore. It's moved into the 'when' column. Having bookmarked Zillow and some of the major real estate company website's, we are out looking.
Our current landlord had offered to sell us the house we currently rent from him. Unfortunately, we are unable to reach agreement on a sale price. Having lived in the home for a little over a year, we are aware of what needs to be fixed, replaced or lived with. Starting with the galley kitchen, which lives up to its name, if you're on a small boat. Then we need to replace the carpeting that might actually have a cure for Ebola hidden in the fibers. Outside, near Lake Maria, there is the tree that should be removed before it falls on the house or worse yet the neighbors. These are all items at the top of the list. Since he insists on finding value where we say there is none, we are off and running. This will be our fourth move in as many years.
One silver lining in this storm cloud is our opportunity to tour this city and take a look at the many villages that make it up. Some of the neighborhoods have many wonderful vintage homes that are well cared for.
There are the post-WWII areas. These bungalow-style home and Cape Cods are clustered as developers purchased multiple adjoining lots and proceeded to build right down the street. The homes using similar room plans with slight variations on the exterior. What makes these homes unique today is the additions made to them. Changes were made not only to the homes such as room additions and dormers on the second floor, but the building of outside living features such as patio's, decks, greenhouses, and garages. Also, the design and condition of the landscaping make a difference in the curb appeal to many of these 'tract' homes.
Historically the market then moved to larger lots and spreading the floor plan with the ranch home, saltbox, colonial and split level designs. These are often used as infill on streets that had empty lots or were mixed on developments that were aimed at slightly higher income levels.
We are looking for a house with 2+ bedrooms, 1.5+ baths, wood burning fireplace, spacious kitchen, fenced in back yard, garage and close to downtown. Air conditioning would be nice, as well as gas for our stove and bus service are all considerations. We don't want to be on a busy street.
What amazes me is the amount of inventory and variety of offerings. Besides a bevy of occupied homes for sale here, many of these homes are vacant. The owners have moved out, the property is in an estate, or it's been foreclosed.
Some homes are marketed by people who are selling their own homes, FSBO (For Sale By Owner). These homes are nearly always overpriced. We saw one home we were ready to move on. Further investigation with the realtor showed they had an offer on it. A property across the street of comparable value immediately went n the market for 15% more than his neighbor. It's apparent this property was held off the market until the other one sold, but why this owner thinks their property is worth 15% more is still to be explained.
The Plan
What we realized after our third or fourth safari that we were looking more favorably at some neighborhoods over others. Let me clear my dear friends that do not live in the Fox Valley or are not familiar with the area, There is no real slum lord section in this area. The are certain area's that have exclusively high priced homes. However, most housing is somewhat mixed. The age of the neighborhood and the condition of the area mean more than ethnic, income and school quality consideration.
This community hosts small groups of Mong, Latino, African American and Asian. There is a broad mix of income categories (Less than 5% unemployment). All of the schools here are pretty good.
We currently live in an area that has a lot of multiple housing. Very nice single family, duplex, apartment and townhouse configurations co-exist in a six square block area that has a large grocery store that is in walkable distance and fairly good bus service. Because we live in the Village of Fox Crossing (Until recently Town of Menasha), we have no sidewalk or bikeway on our street. Besides being on the bus route, it is a major shortcut road for north-south traffic. At this time and for the next two years, there will be major construction changes on a high traffic artery located just east of us. This does and will continue to force more traffic down our street.
Ray Donovan (pronounced "Don O Van "Boston Southie)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2249007/?ref_=nv_sr_1
We just finished watching the 4th season of this Showtime Series. It is emblematic of why streaming services are providing higher quality drama than the "major" broadcasting.
This story is about a Boston hoodlum, who moves to LA. His ability to fix things for the rich and infamous in LA makes him an indispensable asset to folks who have problems that can end the careers of and impoverish the super wealthy.
Not only does Ray have his immediate family with him, he's the patriarchal head of the extended family. He's helped his brothers open a boxing gym, in which they not only teach boxing but use as their home.
His father Mickey, who Ray hates for good reason, does not believe in making any money or working in any way that is legal. He always has a scheme, a mark or a sure thing. Mickey is the poster boy for the crook who has the ability to snatch defeat from the grasp of success on a biblical level.
Be aware, there no good people in this array of characters. Ray is boundlessly criminal. He also has the ability to turn everyone around him into criminals. This series is absolutely worth watching. The final season will be released in August. A guest slot being filled by Susan Sarandon. Need I say more?
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