Sold?

[f6john]

My ongoing saga of moving to be close to my grandsons is getting closer to an end. I decided to put a for sale sign in my front yard while I have been putting the finishing touches to upgrades in the house and garage. I have sold 3 houses in years past without a realtor involved and that would mean a significant savings to me on this transaction.

Within a few days I had two interested parties and both were trying to get me to cut the price before even making a true offer. I held steadfast on the price and one, who is a neighbor has decided they want the property and they have been approved for the money. He told me athat his wife had told him years ago that if our house ever came up for sale she wanted it! My wife was his fourth grade teacher so we have known him since he was a little boy and we are happy that they are getting something they have wanted for a long time.

Of course there are still a few hurdles such as the appraisal and inspections but I don’t expect any problems. Im just thankful that this is happening so quickly as having two homes and all the expenses with keeping them up would get to be a real drain if I had to keep the house through the winter.

The Valkyrie made its move to the new place in Richmond last week, only the third time it has been on a trailer in 18 years. It will have to sit in the corner until bigBF makes his way to central Kentucky in the spring.

Been here almost two generations



The house is in those trees somewhere. I’ll miss calling it home.






I’m going to miss my shade but not the leaves





The main reason for picking this house, a second garage in the basement



My plate will still be full when I arrive in Richmond, hardwood flooring and tile work which could involve reworking the kitchen plus all the other sundry maintenance items that pop up. No recliner for me in the near future.

[Rams]

Looking forward to that house/shop warming celebration!    Just let me know if I can assist in any meaningful manner....   

Rams

[cookiedough]

either one has a lot of grass to mow for sure.

I like the huge storage barn in the old smaller house much better though that is what I would want.  Fancier, bigger house is not my cup of tea to clean, etc., and need more enclosed storage nowadays vs. bigger house....

The new house is very nice though well upkept and am sure needs nothing done to it.

[f6john]

Believe it or not the newer house is not that much bigger than the one I’m leaving. My current abode is 3000+ square feet, the walkout basement is finished. The house I’m moving to includes the two garage spaces which makes it look bigger than it is, that and steep roof pitch. The attics are huge in these houses. The new house was owned by a couple in their eighties and they let a few things go so there are issues to be resolved!

Bottom line, the proximity to my grandsons was the reason for the move. We would have been happy with something smaller but that puts us in competition with first time home buyers and that got old quick.

[cookiedough]

wow, 3000 sq. feet, you could almost fit 3 of my houses at 1104 sq. feet (unfinished full basement need that for storage of stuff) .  I would hate to clean it.... 

Not many 3000 sq. ft homes in my neck of the woods nor yard like yours, very nice!!!!

Do you have a riding mower or do you pay someone to mow all that grass or buy a few goats...   

A few neighbors up my hill have over 2500sq. ft. homes and I think they are mansions and only 1-2 very old people live in them, never understood that paying near or over 10000 dollars in property taxes  per year vs. mine being 3100 bucks which I think is crazy high enough for what I got.  One year when the village decided to raise my property taxes by near 400 bucks for no apparent reason I fought it and won my case lowering it to say 100 bucks increase.  They overvalued my house for sure. 

[f6john]

Property taxes are plenty high here but my tax bill for the house and 20 acres was less than $1500.00 this year. The bill will just about double with the new house as rates are set by the county where you live. For 12 years I used my Honda Rincon atv to pull a 60 finish mower which I thought was a good way to get the grass mowed and have another toy for other things. I never really used the atv for much of anything else but when the mower started giving trouble, I bought a Scag Turf Tiger 60” zero turn about 3 years ago. It’s much faster and infinitely easier to maneuver around trees etc. My yard in Richmond is only 1.3 acres so the mowing will be quicker but a lot of trimming and edging to keep up with. I never lived anywhere with sidewalks and since my house is on a corner lot I have hundreds of feet of sidewalk to edge and maintain.

Hopefully when I am too feeble to keep the yard up, my grandsons will pitch in and help Papa!

[Rams]

I never lived anywhere with sidewalks and since my house is on a corner lot I have hundreds of feet of sidewalk to edge and maintain.

Never understood "edging sidewalks".     But then, I have always lived in a rural area without such amenities.    I have my own concrete patio, walkways and quite a bit of concrete driveway(s) but they won't get edged.  

Rams

[f6john]

I will now be in one of “those” neighborhoods. I was in trouble after closing on the house because I wasn’t keeping the grass at the proper height. Had to hire having the grass mowed at $65.00 a week, I’ve never done that before either. Edging won’t be every week thing but I will have to keep my eye on it.

[Gavin_Sons]

I will now be in one of “those” neighborhoods. I was in trouble after closing on the house because I wasn’t keeping the grass at the proper height. Had to hire having the grass mowed at $65.00 a week, I’ve never done that before either. Edging won’t be every week thing but I will have to keep my eye on it.

Any neighborhood like that is not for me. No one will ever dictate how my property looks. Well, except the wife.

[Jess from VA]

The way I edge to make it last, is to take a gas trimmer on edge and make 3-4" wide trenches (cut the sod); and over the years, more dirt gets thrown and the trenches get deeper (eye protection a must).

This not only lasts much longer between edging, but helps a lot with water dispersal, since my house sits higher than the street (and also a corner lot with a lot of sidewalk to maintain).

I don't live in a high end neighborhood, but many here do their best to keep things decent, and I had a bus stop on my corner for many years, so I always went the extra mile to keep it clean and safe for multiple age groups of kids.  (snow included)

PS: Both your old and new homes look nice.  I especially like the new one's fortress-F6John look.  

I've also had landscape grow huge around my house, and the trick is to get between it and the house with a big hedger and hack it straight down so you can walk all the way around the house inside the landscape.  Bushes, shrubs and trees still look round on the outside, even if cut off flat on the inside. Termites may not affect brick like wood, but landscape laying on a house is a good way to invite them (and other bugs) in.

Also, that dark mulch looks great, but mine never stayed dark, and always got rotty and mildewy over time (in muggy VA), and I got tired of paying to put it down, only to rake it up and throw it away to put more down.  I ended up spending for natural river-stone, and big flag-stone in places, and with weed-block underneath, that is a solution that lasts over time.  Just don't use pea gravel, as it ends up everywhere and is slick even when dry.  Three quarter to one inch river stone stays put.  The cheaper white crushed marble looks too industrial.

Another trick:  Never use a (gas) power washer to clean your concrete, it burns off the surface float and exposes the underlying aggregate which leads to quicker aging and spalling.  Instead, wait for a day with mild on-off sprinkling rain, and use a two-gal pump sprayer full of bleach and just walk around putting a fine mist on all concrete surfaces.  The light rain keeps it wet and working/cleaning all day, and it doesn't hurt the grass or scape at all.  Presto, clean white concrete, and no scrubbing.

[f6john]

I will now be in one of “those” neighborhoods. I was in trouble after closing on the house because I wasn’t keeping the grass at the proper height. Had to hire having the grass mowed at $65.00 a week, I’ve never done that before either. Edging won’t be every week thing but I will have to keep my eye on it.

Any neighborhood like that is not for me. No one will ever dictate how my property looks. Well, except the wife.

Famous last words! I always said that too, but after two years of looking for just the right spot and the prospect of having to continue 400 mile weekly round trips from my home to my sons home, I gave in to the best compromise I could.