Random thoughts thread

[cowgirl836]

so if I think I have figured out all this house stuff, and it involves building.......building on a lot that is just a bit downhill from the neighbors and looks like it is set up to be the drainage area for that section....and at one point last week (after a lot of rain - street flooding and flash flood warnings) may have had a bit of water (can see some silt on grass, not too deep or too much) toward the back of the lot...how big of a problem is that? Our current soil condition is "unusually moist" so I take it as a good sign that it was absolutely dry when we looked at it.......just could see evidence that some water had been there long enough to drop the silt.

We lived on a mountain growing up so it's something I have no experience with. I can't tell the difference between "you'll barely notice the little bit of water that sits for an hour after a 3 inch downpour and grass will be just fine there" and "you're going to have a mud pit in your yard".

I've devoted way too much of my day to thinking about this, so I guess it really isn't a passing random thought!

 

[cowgirl836]

These are one of the best candies ever. A friend of mine got me hooked on them last summer, and I found them this summer. They are so good!

what are they like? some sort of taffy ball?

 

[cmjh10]

what are they like? some sort of taffy ball?

Basically? Not exactly sure how to describe them. But they are amazing.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

so if I think I have figured out all this house stuff, and it involves building.......building on a lot that is just a bit downhill from the neighbors and looks like it is set up to be the drainage area for that section....and at one point last week (after a lot of rain - street flooding and flash flood warnings) may have had a bit of water (can see some silt on grass, not too deep or too much) toward the back of the lot...how big of a problem is that? Our current soil condition is "unusually moist" so I take it as a good sign that it was absolutely dry when we looked at it.......just could see evidence that some water had been there long enough to drop the silt.

We lived on a mountain growing up so it's something I have no experience with. I can't tell the difference between "you'll barely notice the little bit of water that sits for an hour after a 3 inch downpour and grass will be just fine there" and "you're going to have a mud pit in your yard".

I've devoted way too much of my day to thinking about this, so I guess it really isn't a passing random thought!

How good are you at swimming?

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

How do people my age afford 250k houses? We make double the average household income and could never fathom spending that much on a house. My current house will be paid off when I am 41 and I like that.

 

[00clone]

How do people my age afford 250k houses? We make double the average household income and could never fathom spending that much on a house. My current house will be paid off when I am 41 and I like that.

How old are you, and honestly, what's the average household income?

Myself: Late 30's, bought a 250K house, but now probably about 300 after finishing the basement, and housing is about 25% of our income. That's pretty conservative by most places, not so conservative if you're a Dave Ramsey follower...but along Dave lines, we have no debt besides our house, and we both do 401k and a little extra investing on the side.

*edit: basement finish was also paid for with cash, not a loan.

 

[cowgirl836]

How do people my age afford 250k houses? We make double the average household income and could never fathom spending that much on a house. My current house will be paid off when I am 41 and I like that.

interesting. If we paid that for a house, we'd also have it paid off when we are 41.

Maybe they are letting themselves be house poor? Help from parents? Or maybe they are just comfortable with more debt than you or save money other ways?

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

How old are you, and honestly, what's the average household income?

Myself: Late 30's, bought a 250K house, but now probably about 300 after finishing the basement, and housing is about 25% of our income. That's pretty conservative by most places, not so conservative if you're a Dave Ramsey follower...but along Dave lines, we have no debt besides our house, and we both do 401k and a little extra investing on the side.

I'm 30. Mortgage, taxes, and insurance are about $1,000/month which puts us at about 17% of net and 12% of gross. We have loans of about $500/month for car and vacant property and save/invest about $400 per week in our cash and retirement accounts. My wife wants a kid and a new house so I'm fretting because I may be out of a job in a year or two so I'm trying to save a lot.

 

[cowgirl836]

I'm 30. Mortgage, taxes, and insurance are about $1,000/month which puts us at about 20% of net and 15% of gross. We have loans of about $500/month for car and vacant property and save/invest about $400 per week in our cash and retirement accounts. My wife wants a kid and a new house so I'm fretting because I may be out of a job in a year or two so I'm trying to save a lot.

I don't think the baby would hurt your budget the way a house would. Everyone says how expensive they are, but it seems like when they are little - they're only as expensive as you let them be.

The job thing would stress the hell out of me though, I get that. Makes it hard to plan for the future if you aren't reasonably confident in having full-time work.

 

[00clone]

I don't think the baby would hurt your budget the way a house would. Everyone says how expensive they are, but it seems like when they are little - they're only as expensive as you let them be.

The job thing would stress the hell out of me though, I get that. Makes it hard to plan for the future if you aren't reasonably confident in having full-time work.

Says the woman without a house or kids.

:wink:

 

[ImJustKCClone]

so if I think I have figured out all this house stuff, and it involves building.......building on a lot that is just a bit downhill from the neighbors and looks like it is set up to be the drainage area for that section....and at one point last week (after a lot of rain - street flooding and flash flood warnings) may have had a bit of water (can see some silt on grass, not too deep or too much) toward the back of the lot...how big of a problem is that? Our current soil condition is "unusually moist" so I take it as a good sign that it was absolutely dry when we looked at it.......just could see evidence that some water had been there long enough to drop the silt.

We lived on a mountain growing up so it's something I have no experience with. I can't tell the difference between "you'll barely notice the little bit of water that sits for an hour after a 3 inch downpour and grass will be just fine there" and "you're going to have a mud pit in your yard".

I've devoted way too much of my day to thinking about this, so I guess it really isn't a passing random thought!

Rural or in-town?

 

[cowgirl836]

Says the woman without a house or kids.

:wink:

ha! true. But friends have babies - one of them got all her onesies + non essential baby things (not like the carseat) from a garage sale in an upscale neighborhood. She saved hundreds over buying all that stuff new. It seems like people just "make it work" with a baby. House is harder to do that with, I think.

 

[cowgirl836]

Rural or in-town?

ummmmm ruralish. It's a newer subdivision (probably about a good 1-2 miles removed from the city itself), good amount of mature trees and empty land all around.

 

[MeanDean]

so if I think I have figured out all this house stuff, and it involves building.......building on a lot that is just a bit downhill from the neighbors and looks like it is set up to be the drainage area for that section....and at one point last week (after a lot of rain - street flooding and flash flood warnings) may have had a bit of water (can see some silt on grass, not too deep or too much) toward the back of the lot...how big of a problem is that? Our current soil condition is "unusually moist" so I take it as a good sign that it was absolutely dry when we looked at it.......just could see evidence that some water had been there long enough to drop the silt.

We lived on a mountain growing up so it's something I have no experience with. I can't tell the difference between "you'll barely notice the little bit of water that sits for an hour after a 3 inch downpour and grass will be just fine there" and "you're going to have a mud pit in your yard".

I've devoted way too much of my day to thinking about this, so I guess it really isn't a passing random thought!

I've known several people who've gone through the building their house. Because of my observations I've always determined to buy an existing house. Plus, I'm probably not the choosiest person when it comes to a house. Something that's close enough is close enough for me. And I always just figure I can change or add to it over time to make it closer to perfect.

 

[cowgirl836]

I've known several people who've gone through the building their house. Because of my observations I've always determined to buy an existing house. Plus, I'm probably not the choosiest person when it comes to a house. Something that's close enough is close enough for me. And I always just figure I can change or add to it over time to make it closer to perfect.

and we've talked to a couple people who built (one locally) and it went very well for them. But the horror stories are why we had stayed away for the most part. We'll see what happens but there are some definite potential positives for us if we go this direction

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Have you considered a percolation test to determine drainage capabilities? Standing water and/or silt rings on grass indicate pooling, which indicates high saturation. Developers are out to sell lots; they won't always tell you about the suitability of the lots for building purposes.

If you build with a basement on ground that stays saturated, you'll want a really REALLY good sump pump. The reason I asked about rural is if it's "undeveloped", you can look up the soil type online and find out what the properties and suitability ratings are for that soil type. I'm not sure how to do that for Wisky soils...maybe contact the DNR? That information is less useful if the developers moved all the topsoil around (or away) because they have effective changed the properties of the soils.

 

[cmjh10]

ummmmm ruralish. It's a newer subdivision (probably about a good 1-2 miles removed from the city itself), good amount of mature trees and empty land all around.

For now.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

How do people my age afford 250k houses? We make double the average household income and could never fathom spending that much on a house. My current house will be paid off when I am 41 and I like that.

I've wondered that myself. My nephew (26) just built a house that was around $250K (and that's what he told me so I know it was actually higher).

IMO, too many people get wrapped up in the bigger = better when it comes to a house. I won't say that I don't get a little jealous when I see the nice elaborate houses, but my 3 bedroom house with a finished basement is actually more house than I need with just the wife and daughter.

We really need to rename Iowa "The Practical State" and get rid of that other crappy slogan.

 

[cowgirl836]

For now.

trees are staying (the lot we are looking at is one of the last without a house on it, any trees getting taken out have already been removed) and the land behind the lot is farmed and in no plans to be developed for the next 10+ years. Yes, it will probably get developed at some point down the road.

 

[00clone]

I've wondered that myself. My nephew (26) just built a house that was around $250K (and that's what he told me so I know it was actually higher).

IMO, too many people get wrapped up in the bigger = better when it comes to a house. I won't say that I don't get a little jealous when I see the nice elaborate houses, but my 3 bedroom house with a finished basement is actually more house than I need with just the wife and daughter.

We really need to rename Iowa "The Practical State" and get rid of that other crappy slogan.

250K isn't always about bigger=better, sometimes it's market. My 250K house in Johnson county was a 3BR without a finished basement.