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Random Musings from ECBB


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2013 Mar 5, 4:35am   4,105 views  14 comments

by EastCoastBubbleBoy   ➕follow (2)   💰tip   ignore  

In case anyone cares… I haven’t written much, but have been lurking.

So on a rare day off I sit here on my new back porch (see photo below) – still adjusting to the good and the bad of home ownership I’ll take a few minutes to let you all know how its been going.

So far, it has been the right decision for me and my family given our circumstances. I realize not everyone can be so fortunate, and that certain regions are still somewhat overvalued (although less than before). At this stage in my life I’m in this for the long haul – come what may.

A few observations.

My plan was to 1) paint then 2) refinish the floors. Looking back on it I should have had the electrician in first. There’s a few places where I’d add switches and/or outlets, or do other minor patches, such as hardwiring in a smoke detector or two or adding vent fans in the bathrooms. Now that the place has already been painted I’d really hate to have to rip and tear too much.

Taxes suck. I knew this going in, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still gripe about paying them. Biggest surprise was at my closing. Certain taxes due Jan 1 needed to be paid at the closing table – no big deal in the grand scheme of things – it just caught me off guard.

While I’m on the subject, I’m in the process of challenging the assessment but “short sales and foreclosures are not a valid sale” so it remains to be seen if there are enough comps in this area to get my valuation decreased a notch or two.

Other than that, all is more or less as expected. Heating system has been fixed twice. (And of course, both times we were out of town when it crapped out – I’m just thankful the pipes did not freeze). At least I finally have the “I did it myself” feeling that comes with doing ones own repairs. Lets hope it keeps running well from here on out.

Bills are more or less what I expected so far. If anything, my initial budgets were intentionally high. Electrics only half as much as I thought. Apparently – even though I have twice the space as I did in the apartment, I only use about 20% more electric.
Septic pump out was half as much as I had thought, and thankfully there were no unexpected issues – so I should be good for the next couple of years at a minimum.

Heating season has been tough – but I knew that before I bought. Two fill ups from the oil company so far this season. Here’s hoping I can get to spring before I have to have them come out again. This summer when prices are lower I’ll shop it around and probably just get a contract – but for now I’m fine paying market rate if that’s what it takes to keep the place warm.

That’s about all to report. Oh, and my mortgage servicing rights have been bought and sold twice already. No surprise there. At least I have a fixed rate that, although wasn’t quite rock bottom, will serve me fine going forward. I’m already starting to pay a bit extra to principle every month, and will defiantly have this paid off in under thirty years no matter what.

I guess this means my patience has been rewarded.

#housing

Comments 1 - 14 of 14        Search these comments

1   anonymous   2013 Mar 5, 4:54am  

If memory serves me, you live in NJ. If so, good luck with those obsene taxes,,,,you might pay more in taxes then I pay for the whole piti here in PA. Also, heating oil is pouring salt in your wounds, if I were you id steer clear of gauranteeing these kinda prices with a contract,,,like anything, shop around

Congrats on joining the ranks, now that spring is here, you'll have plenty to do

2   EastCoastBubbleBoy   2013 Mar 5, 5:33am  

Picture of the backyard. I was sitting typing this post when all of the sudden...

A deer was staring right at me.

3   curious2   2013 Mar 5, 5:40am  

EastCoastBubbleBoy says

A deer

I see two deer - am I that drunk already?

4   EastCoastBubbleBoy   2013 Mar 5, 5:49am  

No.. there's a second one back there.

There's a family of six or seven that come around at least a couple times a day. Given that the backyard hasn't been mowed in who knows how long, its not all that surprising. They munch on that tall grass you see in the foreground.

5   EBGuy   2013 Mar 5, 5:59am  

ECBB, some folks have successfully converted from oil to a ground source heat pump. While the author of this Scientific American blog post found a ground source heat pump retrofit wasn't right for him, the comments section show that many folks have had success 'kicking the oil habit'. See this comment from RickH5253 :
I installed a geothermal heatpump in the fall of 2010...
The system cost $51,500, or ~ $36000 after the Federal Tax Credit. I estimate we avoided buying and burning ~1000 gallons of heating oil. Based on a recent quote, that amount of oil would cost about $3800 this winter. We spent an extra $800 in electricty to run the system last winter. So, we can expect to save ~$3000 running the system this winter…giving us a breakeven period of 12 years.

6   EastCoastBubbleBoy   2013 Mar 5, 6:16am  

Ironically enough, I'm certified as a GSHP installer - and as an added benefit, can do most of the design work myself. It wouldn't replace oil entirely, but it would subsidize it for sure.

Part of why I went with oil this year was to get a cost basis.
So far I've used about 650 gallons and hope to get through until spring without topping off.

Going forward all options are on the table. I want to be as "self-reliant" as possible - but want to be smart about how I go about getting there.

So many projects, so little time. It's going to be a busy spring.

7   leo707   2013 Mar 5, 6:43am  

Thanks for the musings. It is always nice to hear a little bit of the after purchase feelings/experiences.

EastCoastBubbleBoy says

I want to be as "self-reliant" as possible - but want to be smart about how I go about getting there.

Looks like you have a good meat source that walks itself right to your house.

8   seaside   2013 Mar 5, 8:38am  

Good to hear what's going on. Looks like things keep you busy as a new home buyer.

Haven't thought about oil heater, I thought it is relatively new construction. It can be a pain in the rear when you needed it gutted to replace it with something else, so keep eyes on it, make sure there's no spill.

Deers in backyard reminds me of lovely old days back in pennsylvania. The darn thing popped out from nowhere, almost got my car wrecked one time in the night on route 220, then the honda actually totalled later in Erie due to the darn thing.

I knew you wanted your own piece of land, but I do want to hear about what you're gonna do with it because I have no idea how to take care of that much land with trees and wild animals. Buying a ATV would be a start, maybe?

9   CL   2013 Mar 5, 8:50am  

Congrats ECBB.

10   Bigsby   2013 Mar 5, 10:37am  

EastCoastBubbleBoy says

Picture of the backyard. I was sitting typing this post when all of the sudden...

A deer was staring right at me.

Those little buggers walk right up to my front door and have, almost without fail, eaten every supposed deer resistant plant I've placed in the garden. I prefer my squirrels.

11   Eman   2013 Mar 5, 1:12pm  

EastCoastBubbleBoy says

Picture of the backyard. I was sitting typing this post when all of the sudden...

A deer was staring right at me.

ECBB,

What a lovely scene. Definitely put you at peace.

Once you have built up enough equity, get a HELOC. The HELOC is a great rainy day funds. It's free to get, and you don't have to pay any interest on it if you're not using the money.

12   Facebooksux   2013 Mar 5, 1:44pm  

EastCoastBubbleBoy says

Picture of the backyard. I was sitting typing this post when all of the sudden...

A deer was staring right at me.

Plenty of free protein for the killing.

Lots of acreage to plant yams.

Ample spots to hide gold.

I like what I see.

13   REpro   2013 Mar 5, 1:54pm  

E-man says

The HELOC is a great rainy day funds. It's free to get, and you don't have to pay any interest on it if you're not using the money

Equity is your money. Ironically you pay interest on it, when you use it. Super safe for banks (at list in those days).

14   JodyChunder   2013 Mar 5, 3:19pm  

E-man says

Once you have built up enough equity, get a HELOC. The HELOC is a great rainy day funds. It's free to get, and you don't have to pay any interest on it if you're not using the money.

I'd wait to open a HELOC until that proverbial rainy day. Besides, it can be closed out on you at any time. If you can help it, avoid opening a HELOC altogether, unless you're treating this not as your primary residence, but more as a source of capital for experimental gambits.

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