Maybe my wrinkles wouldn't look as bad with a little embroidery or crochet print on them.

I've never been to a Best Buy. We really are in the boonies. My son works down near Dallas, so he shops at the good electronics stores and tells me what I need to buy. I think he figures he will inherit this stuff someday so he suggests the best.

Annie

 

Prayerfully, by the time he inherits, they will have been well used, so he'll have to shop for himself.  I've already told mine that I'm leaving the birds everything, he has to work to get his own.... Can you picture one of the birds flipping channels with the remote?

Only one without any buttons.    I can't believe you iron pillow cases...but then....I should have when people were coming through looking at the place.

 

We sold the house.  For much much less than what the tax structure if for..and even less than what housing is going for.  Only 17,000.00.  But...it'll be enough to get us going down south.  I didn't know this...but the roof is caving in on one side...you can see the whole curve where the rafters have cracked or broken in.  Makes me sick....then they kindly showed me the main beam from the cellar is badly cracked...then one of the cross beams is too.  Gave me a headache.  But...the people who are buying it will be giving us cash and plenty of time to move.  We'll be out by July 6th.  I'll be packed by then....and one of Bob's daughters is coming up to help load the truck.  Maybe her hubby is coming too.  I guess it's a good thing we didn't go ahead and get our MN fishing licenses.   

WaaHoo. I am so glad you are getting out from under that roof. Just think, next winter you won't freeze your butt off. Have y'all decided where you will settle? Near a VA clinic, I hope. Really, I am serious. Same town. Look for one before you move. OK?

Annie

Yup...we've looked and we're moving south of Valdosta there abouts.  We are looking at some homes now we can afford.  There's a big VA hospital in Tallahassee....and another one in Valdosta...bunch of satelites...something they need here desperately. 

 

I'm a nester...and have a fear of the move....any move.  Even knowing how bad this place is...I've rooted myself.  And I have a fear of being homeless.  I just hate not having a home we are going to after leaving this one.  We owe nothing on this one...but it needs extensive repairs.  Bob is continuing to give me calm advice...it'll be okay...we'll find a home in no time....it won't be a shack or rat trap.  I'm packing boxes now...it'll be fine....I'll be okay.  lol 

Congratulations!!!!

If you want to stop over a couple days on the way south, You don't have to worry about birds in a hotel room!

... and I can cook for people!

Thanks bunches!  The realtor called us this evening....seems the couple who looked at the house earlier want the house desperately.  The realtor came over..and we did a call on the speaker phone.  The realtor who represents the other couple had talked with our realtor earlier and said the couple want to make an offer...at which time our realtor said they need to hurry because they have a cash offer on the table.  He wouldn't tell her how much...but just said it was very attractive.  Their realtor got back with the couple...then called our realtor back and said the couple really want the house and is willing to pay 3,000 more than what our asking price of 24,900 was, which is still below the tax assessed value.  Our realtor went through a series of questions which their realtor said this couple want the house so bad they are willing to agree to anything....even with the problems of the house.  After we hung up, our realtor went through the pros and cons of both offers and said he really recommended us to look at this other offer.  So...the other realtor is coming here tomorrow and our realtor will be here to go over the written agreement to make sure there are no gotchas in it.  He said this offer is almost too good to be true..but this couple has excellent credit and have a paper from the bank saying they qualify for an 80,000 loan.  We are gonna keep our fingers crossed for tomorrow's deal....let's hope that offer will come through for us! 

PRAYERS!!!  for you! A bit extra money in the bank is always a nice thing when you need it.

When we bought our home down south, we got it for 20k less than the list price. When we closed, the assessed value what what they had origionally asked for. With the improvements we have done in the last 3 years, the assessment has gone up by 19% . We have to laugh. There's 3000 square feet here of living space, and up north there's 1600.... yet the place up north is valued at more than double what this one is. Big difference in prices between the north and the south.

Big differences in attitudes too of people.

Can you tell I prefer south?   

 

I can go one better on house prices. In 1991 our house had been up for sale for 5 years. No takers because it had not been updated since it was built in 1971. We saw possibilities. Offered $56,500 less than the asking price. The man drove down here the same day to close the deal. Then we spent $35,000 updating it and repairing and replacing everything in the house, adding the gazebo and patio. I did all the interior painting and wallpapering and some of the repairs. Later we replaced all the windows.

It's value now is triple what we paid.

I love the south, too. It horrifies me to see a two bedroom one bath house in CA selling for over a million dollars. We have a few million dollar homes here that are like castles. Enormous three story homes with 4 and 5 bedrooms and even more baths. One that I know of even has an indoor pool. A 9000 square foot house recently sold for $300,000. A friend bought it so I am certain of the price.

Our cost of living is very low, comparatively, but our incomes match it so it works out.

We have a lot of people retire here from CA because they can buy a really nice home and have lots of money leftover to live on.

Annie

The south is sounding better all the time!  Yes....I love the south.  I can't believe some of the prices up here and I think a lot has to do with the property taxes and what the house has been valued at.  It is awful....there's the house across the street from us...the one the woman just moved out of asking listed at 30,000.  It is half the size of this house..is the same age and has the same problems....only the roof is worse and older and it leaks so bad you can watch the water come down in the bathroom.  I think it's because the addition has a flat room instead of peaked...collects all the snow and needs to be shoveled off..but no one has done that in years.  All the inside doors are sitting kitty whompus which is no big deal...but like ours..most of everything isn't square.  We learned that was because when they built these old houses...they used green wood and over time the wood dried and warped that way. 

We're looking at housing that is contract for deed and some rent to buy homes.  We're also looking at a lot of doublewides on a little property out from any city.  Neither one of us wants to deal with neighbor's kids anymore.  I was surprised at the number of listings we've found in the local papers down there.  The issue we'll have to work out is actually SEEING the home and what's around it without being there.  I'm going to request pictures to be sent via email.  Bob was looking at areas near Waycross till he saw the fires...we could probably find listings under "Hot buy" and newly cleared land! 

Annie, when we bought the house up north 30 years ago, we paid 35k. New siding, new windows and doors, tore down the old garage built the new one. We even took the old aluminum siding to be recycled, and that paid for 3/4th of the new stuff that we put on. (the construction company had 'volunteered' to dispose of it for us...  Painting, papering, learning to skimcoat plaster walls to seal in lead paint...extensive landscaping. We've done most of it ourselves too, putting about 100k in over the time we've had it. It's now valued at 350k.... sad thing,.... it's still not the house for all that we have done, it's the land that it sits on. 

I cannot skimcoat or mud drywall. I am awful with that kind of stuff. I leave big ridges.

Annie

 

I dunno if I can.....but I don't wanna try it either. 

I can give lessons now!  The house is approximately 80 years old, so we are talking serious plaster and lathe. Then oil base primer over that, then paint. Smooth as glass!  First couple walls were iffy, but a sander cleared it up. Fortunately, I didn't have the birds at the time, so no worries over plaster dust that even though I had plastic barriers and wet sheets hanging, there was still a lot of dust. Felt like I was cleaning it for months after the fact.

I can refinish hardwood floors too, although the sealers are just wicked on fumes. Our bedroom was the last one I did. We slept on the mattress in the living room for 2 weeks. Stripping the old baseboards took forever.

Would probably hire someone now, but the satisfaction of doing it right rather than cutting corners was a good thing.