This past week - we've met with and ordered from our plumbing contractor a new bathtub and surround, which will run about $1610 installed. Had to do it - the vinyl bathtub has been cracked for awhile (whoever installed it before we bought the house did not get the concrete base down correctly) and the tape job Hubster did to keep it from leaking was an okay short-term fix, but it's been needing doing, so we're biting the bullet. One less thing for potential buyers to balk at.
I went earlier in the week and bought the new hardware for the shower and replacement matching faucet for the sink, new towel hooks, toilet paper holder, new toilet seat, flush handle, valves, doo-whichies and doo-ma-bobs, etc. to the tune of $400.
Waving bye-bye to $2000 not so fun necessarily, but something we have saved for, so nothing debted for.
While I was at the big-box lumber store I was happy to see that to just buy the stuff to do the tub & surround in the materials we chose? $1474 plus tax, so it is very much to our advantage to have someone who knows what they are doing being the wrecking crew & installer instead of us. Cost difference is minimal - $136!
http://www.onyxcollection.com/onyx-shower-wall-panels.html
Boys and Hubster working hard on the yard this week. We got another load of the ice storm firewood to Dad, and there are probably 8 or more loads left! I bought my crew ice cream sundaes last night to the tune of $11 and change. Ordered a birthday DVD gift for $25ish yesterday off ebay.
August 28th, 2010 at 12:49 pm 1282999795
August 28th, 2010 at 01:01 pm 1283000487
We are hoping to move because my house is three stories, the acreage is heavily treed and takes a lot of maintenance to keep looking nice. The house we have now has sheltered parking on a concrete pad under trees but no garage. My husband is aging. I am aging. He's 13 years older than me. We want to move to a one level home w/minimal outside maintenance and more limited groundskeeping and a garage. I'm voting for a condo, him for a house w/a smaller yard. Our last move unless it's to the ol'folks home or taking the elevator class to heaven.
We are planning on having to put approx. $15K into the pot to make a move, but basically more of a swap w/very little to no mortgaging involved. Possibly a two to three year note might do it.
The house we bought served the purpose we bought it for at the time which was to give our kids a chance to learn a work ethic as there was much to be done here to bring it up to better standards. That job has been done. We are looking to the future where we'll be in aging bods that don't want to go out and weed-eat for 8-10 hours a week or worry about what pipes are leaking in the basement that we're too feeble to go down and check on, etc., etc., etc.
I want to do this NOW while I still have Hubster around to help me in making the financial decisions and we both have the energy and stamina to make a move under our own speed!
We may list it and it not sell, so no harm no foul if that's the case. The $15K+ we'd spend to make a sale and make another purchase will pay for groundskeeping for a number of years. If it doesn't sell? It's just that much nicer w/the updates for us to live in.
August 28th, 2010 at 01:56 pm 1283003780
August 28th, 2010 at 04:44 pm 1283013864
I want an attached garage again so that I can go outside and get in my vehicle and drive out of it w/o experiencing the weather first hand when I'm 70 or so. We could build a raised floor to solve the bathroom step problem on one end and then make the steps lead outside on the other side, we could also build a garage here, but the acreage will not go away and with it comes a huge amount of limb & leaf removal each fall and winter and lots of mowing and weed-eating all summer.
The stairway that lead to my basement are not built to normal standards and are therefore somewhat dangerous to an older individual and I know that once we reach a certain age we'll be at service men's mercy when they say our whangdoodlechitfroblemister is broken down there and needs replaced. I also don't want to have to nag my sons to come mow my yard or whatever, so then it'll be trying to find someone to mow regularly and trust that they got the back 40 like they're charging me for, etc.
Seems the better plan to move to more manageable property that I can visually get to at least when I'm older. That's why a condo sounds the better plan for me. I've lived in one before and loved the no outside maintenance portion of the program. I also wouldn't mind moving back closer to the metro area where more docs & hospitals are located. We've got some decent walkable neighborhoods here to choose from.
August 28th, 2010 at 05:16 pm 1283015769
August 28th, 2010 at 09:35 pm 1283031324
August 29th, 2010 at 06:48 am 1283064499