Octopus Overlords

Kurth wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 3:32 am

Kraken wrote: Fri May 24, 2024 10:01 pm We’re placing an offer on this house tomorrow morning.

It's only been on the market for 2 days. We drove out here on Friday of Memday weekend because it will surely be gone by Tuesday. Another one that we were considering actually sold while we were driving. In this market, anything desirable at a realistic price sells within days, or even hours.

When we started our search 15 months ago I told our agent that we want a country house near a city, and this fits that bill. The only thing that really gives me pause is that I will also be the sole owner of a long private road that constitutes my driveway.

Congrats, Kraken! Sweet place, and it’s got a killer garage. Looks ready-made for a nice shop out there. Time to start honing your wood working skills! Have you always been in Western Mass, or is that a relocation for you? I always thought you were closer to Boston.

Pretty sure he's in Boston. It's a relocation.

Location: The Hub of the Universe

Edit: Added quotation due to top-of-the-page.

Kurth wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 3:32 am

Kraken wrote: Fri May 24, 2024 10:01 pm We’re placing an offer on this house tomorrow morning.

It's only been on the market for 2 days. We drove out here on Friday of Memday weekend because it will surely be gone by Tuesday. Another one that we were considering actually sold while we were driving. In this market, anything desirable at a realistic price sells within days, or even hours.

When we started our search 15 months ago I told our agent that we want a country house near a city, and this fits that bill. The only thing that really gives me pause is that I will also be the sole owner of a long private road that constitutes my driveway.

Congrats, Kraken! Sweet place, and it’s got a killer garage. Looks ready-made for a nice shop out there. Time to start honing your wood working skills! Have you always been in Western Mass, or is that a relocation for you? I always thought you were closer to Boston.

Relocating about 150 miles. The garage actually has a bar with a fridge, which seemed kinda pointless to me until I saw the passthrough to the back deck, which will have a little roof over it.

We intend to refinish the wood floors, replace carpeting, and paint the interior throughout before we move in. Then, once we sell our current house, we'll screen in the front porch and replace that big back deck with a nice screened in 3-season room and a nicer deck. I'll add some fenced-in raised beds for veggie gardening in the backyard, which gets 100% of possible sunshine, before next year's growing season. When that's all done, hopefully by next spring, it will be the house we want. We might also section off that finished basement to create a proper bedroom adjacent to the existing full bath, but that can come later.

If you look at the map, there's a boat launch on Pontoosuc Lake just a wee bit down the road, not even 1/4 mile away. I'm already thinking about what kind of boat I want. I'm told there's also a 4.9-mile trail encircling the lake that I will certainly hike at least once, and maybe regularly.

First we have to win it. Offer above asking price was submitted at 11 a.m. and they have 24 hours to respond.

Kraken wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 4:18 pm

Kurth wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 3:32 am

Kraken wrote: Fri May 24, 2024 10:01 pm We’re placing an offer on this house tomorrow morning.

It's only been on the market for 2 days. We drove out here on Friday of Memday weekend because it will surely be gone by Tuesday. Another one that we were considering actually sold while we were driving. In this market, anything desirable at a realistic price sells within days, or even hours.

When we started our search 15 months ago I told our agent that we want a country house near a city, and this fits that bill. The only thing that really gives me pause is that I will also be the sole owner of a long private road that constitutes my driveway.

Congrats, Kraken! Sweet place, and it’s got a killer garage. Looks ready-made for a nice shop out there. Time to start honing your wood working skills! Have you always been in Western Mass, or is that a relocation for you? I always thought you were closer to Boston.

Relocating about 150 miles. The garage actually has a bar with a fridge, which seemed kinda pointless to me until I saw the passthrough to the back deck, which will have a little roof over it.

We intend to refinish the wood floors, replace carpeting, and paint the interior throughout before we move in. Then, once we sell our current house, we'll screen in the front porch and replace that big back deck with a nice screened in 3-season room and a nicer deck. I'll add some fenced-in raised beds for veggie gardening in the backyard, which gets 100% of possible sunshine, before next year's growing season. When that's all done, hopefully by next spring, it will be the house we want. We might also section off that finished basement to create a proper bedroom adjacent to the existing full bath, but that can come later.

If you look at the map, there's a boat launch on Pontoosuc Lake just a wee bit down the road, not even 1/4 mile away. I'm already thinking about what kind of boat I want. I'm told there's also a 4.9-mile trail encircling the lake that I will certainly hike at least once, and maybe regularly.

First we have to win it. Offer above asking price was submitted at 11 a.m. and they have 24 hours to respond.

LFG! Fingers crossed for you. That sounds like a great set-up! Amazing what you can get for the money when you're willing to move away from Boston (or any major metropolitan area). I can't imagine what that place would go for if it were in Newton or Wellesley or Concord or Lexington!

Indeed. Our Braintree house -- half the size, 109 years old, badly in need of renovation, and on a tiny lot -- will fetch just about exactly as much as we're spending to buy this one. It's just a question of whether we sell to a flipper and get the money right away -- with no realtor commissions or closing costs -- or do the reno ourselves after we move out. That would raise its value substantially, but it will also cost a lot of money and take at least several months, during which we'll be paying upkeep and taxes on both houses.

One step at a time. We haven't landed the sale yet.

(edit) we also need to meet with our financial adviser and discuss how we're going to pay for all this. I just got a new HELOC on the Braintree house to cover renovations, and we *could* start Wife's social security benefit to avoid spending down our retirement funds. Need professional analysis of that.

Offer accepted! Will sign P&S agreement in a few minutes and have already reached out to an inspector and lawyer. We bought a frelling house!

Now a whole string of major purchases are going to follow a whirlwind of activity.

Congrats, and many happy days ahead.

Whoooooo Hooooooo!!!

Congrats on the retirement digs.

I have a new garage fridge, a new dryer, and a new over-stove microwave. I got the dryer hooked up. It just remains for the major effort of removing the old microwave. They wanted $150 to install it, so I decided that I am able to do that myself. Eventually.

Coincidentally, this was in today's Globe: This Mass. city made Forbes list of top 25 places to retire.

Can you guess which Massachusetts city made Forbes’ list of the 25 Best Places To Retire in 2024?

Hint: It’s the place where author Herman Melville wrote “Moby Dick.” It’s where the first intercollegiate baseball game was played in 1859. And it’s the hometown of actress Elizabeth Banks.

Give up? The answer is Pittsfield.

In fact, Pittsfield, the gritty industrial city of 43,000 in Berkshire County, was the only New England city to make Forbes’ 2024 list of the 25 Best Places To Retire. To compile the list, Forbes looked at more than 800 locales and compared housing costs, taxes, health care, air quality, crime rates, and other factors to determine where retirees can experience high quality of living at an affordable price.

The top 25 places on the list were not ranked; Forbes published them in alphabetical order.

Pittsfield made the cut for its “big culture scene, mainly during summer” and its affordability. Forbes reported the median home price in Pittsfield is $283,000, which is 28 percent below the national median. The cost of living, meanwhile, is only 2 percent above national average.

'Course, we're paying much more than that, but we're getting a nicer-than-median house for the money.

Kraken wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 4:10 pm Forbes’ list of the 25 Best Places To Retire in 2024?

Athens, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Charlotte, North Carolina
Columbia, Missouri
Dorado, Puerto Rico
Fargo, North Dakota
Greenville, South Carolina
Iowa City, Iowa
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Lawrence, Kansas
Lexington, Kentucky
Lincoln, Nebraska
New Braunfels, Texas
Pensacola, Florida
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Roanoke, Virginia
Rochester, Minnesota
Savannah, Georgia
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Spokane, Washington
Tucson, Arizona
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Yuma, Arizona

Congrats, paid off to beat everybody to the punch.

Congrats Kraken! The house seemed like a newer construction so do they not build houses with central air and heat in the Pocono's?

In for the houseswarming party!

mori wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 4:57 pm Congrats Kraken! The house seemed like a newer construction so do they not build houses with central air and heat in the Pocono's?

Berkshires. Same thing as the Poconos to a New Yorker.

Heat, yes, and fortunately we have gas (oil heat is still very common out here, and ruinously expensive). AC, not so much. It has only become necessary in the past 10+ years. Before that, woods and elevation provided enough cooling for all but a few days per year. Now the homes out there are being retrofitted with minisplits, which we'll do eventually. At first we'll just get by with a few window units.

I just spent some time reading up on fishing Pontoosuc Lake, and I think I'm going to need to learn about fishing boats. It seems one can find a decent used motorboat with trailer in the $5,000 range, but I know nothing about them. We will live just a hop skip and jump from the public boat launch, and the lake is teeming with large game fish -- bass, trout, even muskies. I haven't been fishing in close to 50 years, but suddenly it appeals. It's also famous for ice fishing, which appeals less.

Congrats Kraken! I’m happy you found something in an area that you’ve had you heart set on.

I wish I could say I know a lot about fishing and can bring a boat to you and enjoy some fishing but I feel I only excel at sitting on a porch and drinking some beers. If that sounds good, maybe The Meal can swing by and pick me up on his way to the housewarming party.

Kraken wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 5:32 pm Heat, yes, and fortunately we have gas (oil heat is still very common out here, and ruinously expensive). AC, not so much. It has only become necessary in the past 10+ years. Before that, woods and elevation provided enough cooling for all but a few days per year. Now the homes out there are being retrofitted with minisplits, which we'll do eventually. At first we'll just get by with a few window units.

Mass Save

Whole-Home heat pump rebate - $10,000

Look into renting a few boats in between learning the basics and deciding what you want.

Back in the day, my parents had a speedboat that they used occasionally for fishing and I used frequently for water skiing, so I sort of know the rudiments of trailering and operating a small boat. Nowadays I'm more inclined toward a pontoon party platform than a speedboat, but pontoon boats aren't exactly trailer material. I'm leaning toward just a semi-comfy rowboat with a small outboard motor, something easy to handle since I'd be doing it myself. Wife is useless for any degree of physical exertion.

Pontoon boats? You mean Party Barges I wouldn't mind one, they can be fishing platforms on small lakes as well but otherwise used for pleasing groups of people.

Our Manila condo filed an extension and now won't be done until December. That is close to when the Ormoc house will be done (afaik, still February) so likely will do a single trip to furnish both. If MiL is here to tender the kids, then wife and I will both go, otherwise, just her.

Kraken wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 5:32 pm Now the homes out there are being retrofitted with minisplits, which we'll do eventually. At first we'll just get by with a few window units.

I haven't been fishing in close to 50 years, but suddenly it appeals.

I love mini-splits, the quality of the air conditioning they put out is so much superior to that of a window unit and they are far more efficient too. You can get some that do both heating and cooling so you have a back up method of heating too.

Fishing and hunting are on my radar for the future. I've never been good at fishing or tried hunting, but the idea of free meat is suddenly more appealing than ever. Free after the $10k investment in equipment and licenses. It's fun to have new toys. I think I'd want a boat more senior friendly and less tippy than a john boat. Think Piranha 3D opening scene with Richard Dreyfuss paying homage to his work in Jaws complete with the singing of the same diddy.

We have a ridiculous number of major purchases coming up, both known and unknown. Before we even move in, for example, we want to refinish the plank floors, buy rugs and window treatments, replace carpets, and paint most of the interior. Mini-splits are on the agenda, but not until next spring. Labor Day is the earliest that we might move in, and cooling season is mostly over by then.

If we stop working before we apply to MassSave for energy rebates, our income might drop enough to qualify for the Poors rates.

YellowKing wrote: Fri May 10, 2024 11:32 am I just dropped $600 on a new lawnmower, after trying unsuccessfully for 3 weeks to get the broken one fixed. No authorized Ryobi service centers within a 90-minute drive, nobody local would touch the thing. So screw it, I need my grass mowed.

If I do somehow find someone who can fix it I'll sell it, but in the meantime I've got a nice shiny new one. Different, more reputable brand (Ego). 5 year warranty on this one and no service center bullshit - something goes wrong in 5 years you call them and they fix it.

I do love it so far though. Cuts much better than the old one. My wife has cut me off from buying records for a couple of months since I splurged for the higher end one with self-propel and the dual blades.

Dual blades?! On top of each other or side by side?

I had a walk-behind gas Toro for years that had dual blades (side by side), and after it died (from poor maintenance/storage on my part), I bought a battery operated Greenworks Pro with a 21" cutting area...needless to say it took me MUCH longer with such a small cutting diameter. If they have battery powered mowers with 25"+ cutting areas, I will be thrilled. Not riding though....walk-behind.

Carpet_pissr wrote:Dual blades?! On top of each other or side by side?

They're on top of each other. This one is 21" as well. The top blade is standard, and then there are three bottom blades you can swap out. One is a mulching blade that supposedly chops the grass finer, the second is a bagging blade that supposedly improves suction if you're bagging, and the third is some "eco-friendly" one that supposedly lengthens the battery run-time but I assume will give an inferior cut. I don't really care about being able to swap blades out, but to get the self-propel and the bigger battery those features were included.

So far so good. I like the way the yard looks after I mow (the marketing people call it a "golf course" type cut, though I think that's being generous). The neighbors were impressed though. The only problem I've had with it is that it can stall out if you hit a really thick or wet patch, but my old electric mower did that as well. They're just not as powerful as gas, as much as they'd like you to believe it. I keep my grass short and mow it religiously every week though, so it's rarely an issue.

YellowKing wrote: Mon May 27, 2024 1:56 pm

Carpet_pissr wrote:Dual blades?! On top of each other or side by side?

They're on top of each other. This one is 21" as well. The top blade is standard, and then there are three bottom blades you can swap out. One is a mulching blade that supposedly chops the grass finer, the second is a bagging blade that supposedly improves suction if you're bagging, and the third is some "eco-friendly" one that supposedly lengthens the battery run-time but I assume will give an inferior cut. I don't really care about being able to swap blades out, but to get the self-propel and the bigger battery those features were included.

So far so good. I like the way the yard looks after I mow (the marketing people call it a "golf course" type cut, though I think that's being generous). The neighbors were impressed though. The only problem I've had with it is that it can stall out if you hit a really thick or wet patch, but my old electric mower did that as well. They're just not as powerful as gas, as much as they'd like you to believe it. I keep my grass short and mow it religiously every week though, so it's rarely an issue.

Yeah, I bought mine as kind of a backup while my Toro was in the shop for months, and ended up using it even after I got the Toro back. It's just easier, cleaner, and faster all around - the only downside is as you mention, the much lower power (though they have that solved with some models I see), and the cutting width, which is kind of a big deal, but I think the pros outweigh the cons, even with my older model. The next gen ones should be a no brainer. I didn't get self propelled on my battery one because it's just so damn light and manueverable...another advantage over my Toro monster.

Cograts Kraken! I don't read this thread much so I almost missed the announcement.

Kraken wrote: Fri May 24, 2024 10:01 pm We’re placing an offer on this house tomorrow morning.

I spent some time scoping out the pics on that link. What a great house! Plus, wow, more than 4 acres of grass and trees.

I see it's about an hour from Albany. People like to dump on Albany (mainly for the state government), but we have friends there and have enjoyed visiting several times.

Holman wrote: Wed May 29, 2024 10:31 am

Kraken wrote: Fri May 24, 2024 10:01 pm We’re placing an offer on this house tomorrow morning.

I spent some time scoping out the pics on that link. What a great house! Plus, wow, more than 4 acres of grass and trees.

I see it's about an hour from Albany. People like to dump on Albany (mainly for the state government), but we have friends there and have enjoyed visiting several times.

I lived in Albany for a few years and liked it. I'm sure we'll visit from time to time.

Kraken wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 11:10 am Offer accepted! Will sign P&S agreement in a few minutes and have already reached out to an inspector and lawyer. We bought a frelling house!

Now a whole string of major purchases are going to follow a whirlwind of activity.

Congrats!

Congratulations and hopefully everything goes smoothly. It will be nice to get settled in a more relaxing environment.

I took a look at the street view and my only concern is that sinkhole that is swallowing a chair at the entrance to your driveway. Will you be addressing this? Or will it be used as a deterrent for visitors?

Congrats on the new house! I'm glad you finally were able to get something you really wanted!

hepcat wrote: Wed May 29, 2024 2:16 pm I took a look at the street view and my only concern is that sinkhole that is swallowing a chair at the entrance to your driveway. Will you be addressing this? Or will it be used as a deterrent for visitors?

Ok, you made me look. The Google street view opens on the house next door (#55). You have to scroll to the right to see the driveway and marker for #65. Not my sinkhole, not my chair.

So what you're saying is, you have no defense in place if I decide to visit?

Not yet.

hepcat wrote: Wed May 29, 2024 5:22 pm So what you're saying is, you have no defense in place if I decide to visit?

Defense against who? Surely 16 year old Kelric can't still hold a grudge decades later.

Kraken wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 11:10 am Offer accepted! Will sign P&S agreement in a few minutes and have already reached out to an inspector and lawyer. We bought a frelling house!

Now a whole string of major purchases are going to follow a whirlwind of activity.

Congrats!!!!

Jeff V wrote: Wed May 29, 2024 10:28 pm

hepcat wrote: Wed May 29, 2024 5:22 pm So what you're saying is, you have no defense in place if I decide to visit?

Defense against who? Surely 16 year old Kelric can't still hold a grudge decades later.

The house has an alarm system that nobody remembers how to use. I can weaponize it.

The company that owned mine had gone out of business. I found this out when the battery in the main panel died, which sent it into panic mode, and I tried to call to get assistance to turn it off.

Isgrimnur wrote: Thu May 30, 2024 6:14 pm The company that owned mine had gone out of business. I found this out when the battery in the main panel died, which sent it into panic mode, and I tried to call to get assistance to turn it off.

Heh, we had to call an electrician to disconnect ours. Whenever the power went out, the panel would beep loudly upon being revived until one entered a code on the keypad. Well, the keypad gradually wore out. It got harder and harder to silence, and one day we couldn't make it stop beeping. We had never actually used it for security, our neighborhood being pretty crime-free, so it was only ever a nuisance.

With so many major expenses on the horizon, we met with our financial adviser today to answer one question: Should we start spending down our retirement investment accounts, or should Wife start drawing Social Security? I was leaning toward the latter but not confident enough to decide, so I was relieved when that was his advice. The reasoning being: (1) Most of our retirement accounts are tax-deferred, meaning we will owe both federal and state taxes on the full amount of each withdrawal; SS benefits are only 85% taxable, and only federally...so there's a big tax advantage to going that route; (2) it takes roughly 12 years for deferring until age 70 to overtake starting now (because of all the checks we'd be leaving on the table between now and age 70) -- that means Wife would have to reach age 81 before waiting pays off. She does intend to live that long, but of course one never knows. And (3) we need the money NOW to buy and feather our new nest. Fortuitously, her monthly SS benefit is very close to what I calculated we would need to draw from savings.

It's not a clear-cut decision; your SS benefit grows by a guaranteed 8% per year, whereas your investments might outperform or underperform that benchmark. For the past year they've done much better than 8% and I believe this bull market still has room to run until November. After the election, all bets are off. I won't get more political than that here.

We'll probably spend down some of our retirement money after the transition is complete anyway, in order to transform the new house into exactly what we want. We have big ambitions and dwindling years. But it's a relief knowing that this change should give us enough operating cash to own two houses and commute between them for at least a few months, and perhaps half a year, without nicking savings. I really hope we can sell our Braintree house by November for the same political reasons that I dodged above.