onlylynne wrote: 
WOW!! congrats!

 onlylynne wrote: 
Very cool Lynne. Congrats.

We listed our house with a realtor Friday.
We have an acceptable offer and will sign the papers in the morning.
We should close in thirty days! 

 MrsHobieJoe wrote: 

Especially if they are sitting in the brook.

 MrsHobieJoe wrote: 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 

this applies to many persons of the male sex

 BillJ wrote: 
I got a sprinkler.

 MrsHobieJoe wrote: 
Also, I don't have a pool, although there is a small brook that you can sit in.

 jagdriver wrote: 

I know I bore on on this topic a little but home exchange could be a good option for your holidays.  You can pick a location you can drive to if you wish to save on flight costs.  Hey- why not swap with Welly or BillJ (actually Bill would be a flight away). 

We just refinanced through a very favorable deal. It's taken since late April, however, and the papers won't be here until tomorrow. We were dealing with yet another VP at one of the remaining megabanks. I'm left wondering how such an inept person ever rose to that level, but then I remind myself that everyone who has stayed at a bank for over six months becomes a VP, or so it seems, never mind the Peter Principle.

As we're in (bankrupt) Northern California with job attrition being at a high, it appears we'll be here for many years. That's OK, though, as we've got a very pastoral setting, underwent a 100% top-down remodel 2-1/2 years ago, and are enjoying staycations every chance we get. We only wish we had a pool and perhaps a studio, but for now I'm thankful I have a decent job (at least pay-wise), our health (for the most part), and can just about make ends meet in these trying times.

 bokey wrote: 
Amen...

I wonder if my Scots blood comes to the fore when I think about wasting money and is the agent which stops me.

 BlueHeronDruid wrote:

This is us in spades. We love our house, we love our neighborhood, we've spent a lot of time and effort making the gardens inviting for the wild critters and giving ourselves as much privacy as we can, but it's a small house and I need a large studio. Right now, I have 3 different areas for making art, scattered around the house... I need it all in one coherent space. But we like the fact that very soon we will have paid off our mortgage.

We did what you guys did, we renegotiated our loan when times were fat and banks were giving out refinancing for no points. It cost us zero money to do it and shaved years, points and dollars off our mortgage. It's very appealing to think that when G retires in 14 years or so, we can still be here, in a mortgage-free home. But the space is an issue...

We know that now is the time to buy a house, but it sure isn't the time to sell one, and that's one of the bigger factors staying our hands, too.

My kingdom for a garage remodel (it would make a fab studio lol).

Stay small and affordable. You can go horsebackriding and ziplining somewhere else.  But you can't go anywhere to escape debt if something happens.

Wow.  Not sure where to start with this one, as our real estate and housing situation is such a cluster****.   

By the way, anyone want to buy or lease a 3 br 2 ba townhome near Research Triangle Park?? 

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 
Let's buy a mansion together. I want to move to Washington! Now if only I can get T-Lo to agree...

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 
It might be a good thing to test the market.
It looks like there are many beautiful properties in your area.
Could work?

 BlueHeronDruid wrote:
The term is frugal.

hobbitt and I stretched our budget back when we both had high-paying jobs and bought a house we could have spent the rest of our lives in. When it was profitable to do so, we refinanced the amount we owed - never a nickel more. After 10 years there, it became apparent that we'd have to move to NJ to care for my mother. Our neighborhood had gone bat-shit crazy upscale and we sold at a huge profit with a lot of equity.

We moved to NJ into the house of our dreams, and eventually refinanced downward there too; when my work with Mom and then her estate was done, we decided to come here to WA, where I'd fallen in love with the entire landscape (water, mountains, temperate climate - what else can one ask for?). We sold that house in "the bubble" and made another tidy profit.

So we downsized, bought this lovely new home and have been vaguely ill-at-ease ever since. The upside is that our mortgage will be paid off in just a few years, and the payment is less than a modest car payment. And we have sufficient liquid assets to pay it off today if we wanted to do so.

The downside is that it's too small. There is literally no place for either of us to have to ourselves (though I would argue that this office is not only hobbitt's workplace but also his man cave, so I'm the one feeling out-of-sorts). I'd love a larger house. But I also like the financial comfort we're enjoying right now. 

Trying to sell now would be folly. And then there's the whole "do we want to take on more debt as we ease into our 60's" thing. On the one hand, we have no heirs; and on the other hand, I'd like to know there are sufficient assets to take care of us in our decrepitude. Those of you who know me well know how conservative I am when it comes to money. Yes, cheap. Say it. It's true! I am my mother's daughter, after all.

So anyway I guess I'll just keep griping about it as time goes by. Because there's this one thing I know for sure: money woes are the quickest way to screw up a happy home. hobbitt and I often say we could be happy in a cardboard box. I guess I'll have to put my money where my mouth is in that regard.

 Xeric wrote: 
NIce pic, ya clueless dipshit.

 MsJudi wrote: 
How wonderful to have a home you built and love!