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I bought this thing today.

#81
Stewie26 said:
In California, property taxes are based on the last sales price of the home. In LA county, annual taxes are about $1300 per $100,000 of last sales price. It does not matter what other homes are selling for in the neighborhood.
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Just out of interest I worked out a typical figure for the UK might be $3000 for an ordinary three bed semi, which works out much the same given typical house prices, but it's not based on prices but bands, so $3000 is pretty similar everywhere, but house prices vary.
 
#82
-Asdfgh- said:
Looks really nice. I love trees and very nearly bought something that looked much the same when I nearly moved to the USA. I dream of something like that in the UK (sadly not likely). Looks like 2017 is off to a good start and if part of the garage can be converted into a little music room the flat access out will be great for gigging, which is as good as a new bass.
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We've talked about that. Music space is going to be in the basement. However, I don't need my amps set up to practice (I DI into a board and use headphones) so they will probably live in the garage, so easy loading for gigs.
 
#85
slobake said:
VERY COOL! Congrats hrod. For me buying a house was one of the best financial decisions I ever made. I suggest you try and pay down the principal asap. Put a little extra towards the principal each month. That can end up saving you a lot of money you would pay towards interest.
Don't buy the lie that it is a good thing to have debt because you can write it off on your taxes. Sure they are giving you a dime back for every dollar you give to the bank. WHOOPIE! What a deal. ;)
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Hard to overestimate the wisdom of rounding up when you make your monthly mortgage payment! Sorta like making 13 payments each year.
I'm a Huge believer in a 15 vs a 30 yr mortgage. We've owned 2 homes in our time together...both 15s, both rounded up to the nearest $100, both paid off in 13 yrs.

We're ALL really happy for you and your family!
Heartfelt Congratulations! :thumbsup:
 
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#86
guy n. cognito said:
Assessed values are "pegged" to market values, which are derived from neighborhood sales comp data. The McMansions CAN drive up the value of the LAND, which can drive up everyone's assessment.
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That's true. I'm assuming the area is already built up with McMansions, so the driving-up has already occurred. But like you say, assessments can change unpredictably.
 
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#87
-Asdfgh- said:
Sounds ideal, then! As long as the amps are protected from condensation (build a cupboard with lots of silica gel inside?).
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A modest heat source inside the cupboard would keep moisture away. It could be something like a 10-Watt light bulb. Of course it has to be done in a way that's safe against fire, and there's the energy cost to consider, but maintaining silica gel also has an energy cost.
 
#88
fdeck said:
A modest heat source inside the cupboard would keep moisture away. It could be something like a 10-Watt light bulb. Of course it has to be done in a way that's safe against fire, and there's the energy cost to consider, but maintaining silica gel also has an energy cost.
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The traditional unit (and it won't burn out like a lightbulb, plus it's UL listed as a heater) is/was a brand name "GoldenRod."
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But if you have some network hardware or a media server that runs all the time anyway, fiddle the wires out to the garage and get double duty for the electricity you are paying for to run those anyway. They are a fine heat source.
 
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#91
fdeck said:
A modest heat source inside the cupboard would keep moisture away. It could be something like a 10-Watt light bulb. Of course it has to be done in a way that's safe against fire, and there's the energy cost to consider, but maintaining silica gel also has an energy cost.
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Indeed. I suggested silica gel as you then don't need to run power to the storage, which means you can put it wherever it goes easiest physically.
 
#94
hrodbert696 said:
To live in. It's moderately wooded, a development with quite a bit of space (and trees) between houses. This is pretty much the smallest and cheapest house in the neighborhood, there are a lot of McMansions.
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Looks nice to me, and having the least expensive house in a higher priced neighborhood is usually a VERY good position to be in. It won't be your last house, enjoy it for what it is!

And to ME, the best aspect is that it isn't crowded. I have no interest in living in a home where you can eat breakfast and see another family eating in a kitchen 20 feet out your back window.
 
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#97
the harp unstrung said:
How's it goin'?
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Pretty good! I've been surprised by how fast we've been able to go from Great Mount Boxes to actual rooms we can live in. We got the rough layout together by the second day. It's been a little slower getting kids to unpack their stuff, so the basement has been loaded with lots of boxes and bins, but tonight we made a big push and got a lot of it cleared. It's getting to feel like home.

Unfortunately, we also need to prep the rental to hand back to the landlord, which means lots of painting and cleaning, so that's been slowing us down. Another week or so, though, and we'll be in the clear.
 
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