Sunday, November 28, 2010

DIY = GFYS

We are still working on the house in the hopes we can move to some place larger. We currently, by code, have about 900 sq. Our basement and much of our bedroom is nonconforming. We are still putting a bit of work into the basement because while the ceiling clearance is about 2 inches shy of conforming, it's still a useful space.

Jason and I were discouraged to see that several houses are being listed for about 88% of what we hope to get for our place. I suspect some of the properties are rentals being dumped. Jason says our garage is going to be a big selling point, as we have a 2 car detached and many houses in our zipcode don't have garages at all, and most of the ones that do have 1 car. I am not sure that will make the entire difference. We do have newer vinyl siding and windows, making the place a little greener and also quieter.

I am so very sick of the construction. We have tools all over the place. We spend great wads of cash at home improvement stores. We fight and fight during the work. I cannot really start talking about how miserable working on the house makes me because a.) words fail me and b.) no one wants to hear that random babble of whining. I have come to believe that old houses are like casinos-- the house always wins. The House Always Wins.

We do have mad-equity due to our shorter term loan, so staying and enjoying the economic freedom is not off the list of possibilities. It's a first world sort of problem, not being able to sell your house for enough money to buy twice as much square footage. I wouldn't mind though having a kitchen where I could comfortably feed 8 to 12 people and a finished basement where the boys could have sleepovers.