OT: Moving

[Maxman]

1 minute ago, RutgersJetFan said:

They were cute at the time. Now the older one is almost a threenager and we just didn’t see that coming. 

It happens. You should have messaged me, I could have helped you. 

[Maxman]

20 minutes ago, Bleedin Green said:

I just moved a couple of months ago and as others have said, using this as an opportunity to clean out any old stuff that you'll never again use and easily accumulates when you stay in the same place too long will make things so much easier on you, both for the move and again for settling into the new place.

If considering hiring professional movers, I just used Piece of Cake based on recommendations and they were fantastic, with options for every tier (including having them do a full pack and move for you, if your attention needs to be elsewhere) and I thought they were totally reasonably priced.  I admittedly underestimated my move load to them when not considering a bunch of things and when realized it only on the day of, the movers were more than happy to accept cash to cover that and avoid all the additional taxes and fees that would have otherwise come.

Of course, regardless of how you choose to tackle all of this, wish all the best to you and Lauren.

Thanks. I did one of those online estimators and I agree it isn't easy to figure out. I don't know how much stuff is in the dining room, Stop asking me all these tough questions. That is how I felt two rooms in.

[Maxman]

34 minutes ago, jeremy2020 said:

I've moved a lot for most people and I can tell you.. take the saving and pay a moving company to come in and pack everything. They'll put it in boxes, move it and unpack it. Sure, it's expensive, but the amount you save in mental anguish is worth it.

The Pods that people have mentioned are a good option too. I've used PODS and a collegue moved to Hawaii last year with he uhaul ones (which are smaller, but cheaper). He liked the uhaul ones being smaller because they packed up one a couple months ahead of time and it went over to uhauls storage facility in Hawaii so when his wife went over and was ready, it was able to be delivered the next day.

Ah, I agree that would be the best plan. I would absolutely love that. Looking at all this stuff is stressing me out. Lauren and I always have done everything together. She is limited now so having someone pack would be a life saver.

Really just isn't an option for a few reasons. The new house needs a bunch of work. I think we will sell for more than we paid but it is going to be 50k minimum of stuff that we want to do to it. But also, Lauren is kind of stuck in the living room. Having people here gets tough right now, especially when nature calls. So packers here would be great for me, but would probably stress her out. Plus we have to purge so much crap.

[Maxman]

26 minutes ago, Darnold Schwarzenegger said:

Hire movers. Worth the cost to not blow out your back moving couches and sh*t when you can just point and say right there please. 

My son and his girlfriend are personal trainers. All of his friends are former football players in their early 20s. Believe me, I won't be lifting anything heavy haha.

[Bleedin Green]

1 minute ago, Maxman said:

Thanks. I did one of those online estimators and I agree it isn't easy to figure out. I don't know how much stuff is in the dining room, Stop asking me all these tough questions. That is how I felt two rooms in.

Yep, I can totally get that.  Although one thing to consider is when I talked to them when booking, they said if it was a bigger load to move they would be willing to send one of their people out to look things over and put the estimate together themselves.  I'd have to imagine that's something most moving companies should offer, so saves you any time or effort of having to figure that out for yourself if that's a way you wanted to go (or simply consider).

[Maxman]

36 minutes ago, Wit said:

Every time you update about your life it makes me realize what amazing husband you are and how much you love your wife. You also always seem to positive and make the best of it, and I’m sure Lauren does too considering what she has been through. I wish you much success with the move and hope your wife gets fully better.


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

Thank you, I appreciate that. Met Lauren when I was 17 and we have been together ever since.

We are 54 now, I think she got cancer for the first time at 42 (somewhere around there). She really hasn't been limited to this extent physically until the last two months. But they are making this custom leg brace for her that they think will have her walking again very soon. Had a very encouraging visit with a sports doctor last week. He was pumped sketching this thing out.

We are blessed, have had no problems in life, amazing families. Incredible kids. So, I will do anything I can to make things better for her. She would do the same for me.  Probably not, but I tell myself that so I don't feel bad about things along the way. 

This is what I have learned, every day is a gift. Every single day. We just try not to waste any of them. Except for packing, that is a total waste of time!!!

[#27TheDominator]

We did it ourselves.  Pretty much the total disaster you would expect, but still better than many moving experiences friends have paid for.  Big family and friends are a huge help.  I am not friendly or nice, but I have a lot of cousins.

[Jetfuel66]

Praying for you bro!

This may be a real blessing for you and your wife.

If i was close by I would offer to help, but it sounds like you have plenty of muscle coming your way!

All the best to you!

[MykePM]

Phil - When I saw a thread created by you with this title, I got excited.  I know you were struggling to land a new home, so I’m so happy you finally got a good one.  Just think of what a relief it will be when all the work is done and you and Lauren are in a place that will make life easier.

If I may add another idea to the “how to get rid of the things you no longer need” conversation, when my wife and I were leaving the east coast, we held an open house for our friends and family, laid out everything we were letting go of, and let them take whatever they wanted.  It was especially nice for us, because it would be the last time we would see some of our loved ones for a while.  But even though you’re only moving a short distance, it might be nice to know that your items will provide things that are needed, or even just wanted, to the people you care about the most.  Then you can get rid of whatever’s left however you’d like.

On a personal note, thanks to my JN brethren who mentioned that U-Haul has their own version of pods.  My wife and I are going to be moving back East later this year, and Pods doesn’t deliver to our current detached neck-of-the-woods.  When we moved here, we had to rent a truck and drive 2+ hours to the nearest Pods location to get all our stuff.  Maybe U-Haul will deliver and pick up to/from our door.

I’m looking forward to being back in Jets country, and I’m hoping there will be another JN tailgate next season that I can attend and meet some of you guys in person.

[Gangrene]

Best wishes to all. Moving after  years in one location can be daunting but the fresh beginning will be wonderful. Excited for you!

[Maynard13]

5 hours ago, Maxman said:

No the site isn't moving. The Sullivan family is moving. 

It wasn't the plan, but with Lauren in a wheelchair right now, our current house doesn't work. It isn't that big, but it has three levels. Laundry and my office in the basement. Living room, kitchen etc on the main floor and the bedrooms upstairs.

Has a few steps getting in and we bought a stair chair to get her in and out (it is amazing). But she has been living on the main floor, and sleeping there.

Big on a ranch when she was in the hospital in NYC, and we were outbid. Then we signed up with a friend who is an amazing realtor and she said hang tight, there is nothing on the market right now. In January, things will pick up. She called it, on January 1st a ranch came on the market and they started showing it on 1/3. By 1/4 we were under contract, she worked her magic because the market is so competitive right now. 

Somehow we avoided a bidding war and got it slightly over asking. This house ended up being a much better fit and 55k lower. So it worked out great.

Moving though? UGH.

We have been in this house for 24 years. Raised our kids here. We have three weeks to get everything packed and moved out.

The new house is very close, less than ten blocks away in the same town. We are taking out a bridge loan so that we can move in, empty this one out and then clean it up quickly before we list it.

Wish me luck and if anyone has any moving advice I am all ears.

Rent a truck, contact your local Mormon church. The kids who live there will help you - free. They don’t take money. They just do it to be of service. They’ve helped me several times all over the country. They won’t even take money for lunch. You’d have to treat them. Amazing kids. Best of luck. 

[neckdemon]

8 hours ago, Maxman said:

No the site isn't moving. The Sullivan family is moving. 

It wasn't the plan, but with Lauren in a wheelchair right now, our current house doesn't work. It isn't that big, but it has three levels. Laundry and my office in the basement. Living room, kitchen etc on the main floor and the bedrooms upstairs.

Has a few steps getting in and we bought a stair chair to get her in and out (it is amazing). But she has been living on the main floor, and sleeping there.

Big on a ranch when she was in the hospital in NYC, and we were outbid. Then we signed up with a friend who is an amazing realtor and she said hang tight, there is nothing on the market right now. In January, things will pick up. She called it, on January 1st a ranch came on the market and they started showing it on 1/3. By 1/4 we were under contract, she worked her magic because the market is so competitive right now. 

Somehow we avoided a bidding war and got it slightly over asking. This house ended up being a much better fit and 55k lower. So it worked out great.

Moving though? UGH.

We have been in this house for 24 years. Raised our kids here. We have three weeks to get everything packed and moved out.

The new house is very close, less than ten blocks away in the same town. We are taking out a bridge loan so that we can move in, empty this one out and then clean it up quickly before we list it.

Wish me luck and if anyone has any moving advice I am all ears.

if you can afford to do it, get movers, unless you know a few young people to help. moving is physically demanding if you do it yourself. i've moved dozens of times. it sucks. congrats on the new house

[Creepy Lurker]

12 minutes ago, neckdemon said:

if you can afford to do it, get movers, unless you know a few young people to help. moving is physically demanding if you do it yourself. i've moved dozens of times. it sucks. congrats on the new house

I don’t trust movers. Got screwed over the one time they were hired for me as a gift for my first house. After I screamed at them and threw them all out, the rage alone was enough to plow through moving everything with my buddy. Never again. I just helped my buddy move his whole house 2 times in one year this and last October due to a job not working out and going back to his house back in PA. It’s a lot of work but it’s doable if you stage things and have a plan. 

[Anthony Jet]

9 hours ago, Maxman said:

Very good advice. We have an attic in the new place and we don't have one now. So we have been lean on the storage items. But there is plenty to throw out \ give away.

I have several nice items that we can't bring, no room etc. Going to do a Free Garage Sale. We live on a main street. Anything we put outside goes. Will put everything out. Then post on the town page. Free garage sale. See what goes.

Everything else is going in a dumpster. Renting one soon. Time to purge for sure.

 

Agreed on throw out. Last time I moved I paid big wood to move and store stuff, then when we finally got in the new place. Brought it up to the attic. As the kids get older been cleaning out the attic and realized A LOT of the sh*t I paid to move and store we never touched again and ended up in the garbage anyway 

[OilfieldJet]

10 hours ago, slimjasi said:

Pods are amazing

Great business idea.

[OilfieldJet]

5 hours ago, Maynard13 said:

Rent a truck, contact your local Mormon church. The kids who live there will help you - free. They don’t take money. They just do it to be of service. They’ve helped me several times all over the country. They won’t even take money for lunch. You’d have to treat them. Amazing kids. Best of luck. 

Or grab several high schoolers and pay them a modest amount, plus pizza. Lots of strong backs and arms. Win,win.

[Jet_Engine1]

10 hours ago, Maxman said:

Interesting. I looked at that over the weekend, but I am not sure it works for us. We are having work done to the house, so it will be at least two weeks after we close before we can move it. It needs to be painted, and all new floors. But we are having several door ways widened so you can get through them with a wheel chair.

I think that might give us the opportunity to move some stuff in slowly. Like my office, once the floors are in I can bring all that over in a truck.

Was originally hiring a moving company but none called me back. Now I am thinking of us doing it with the help of our three kids friends group who are all in their 20s.

It is funny but true, I come from a long line of moving men. Humble brag, I know. Grandfather that I never met was this Irish guy who put couches on his back and carried them upstairs. And my cousins owned a moving company.

So might be doing it ourselves. Originally didn't want to but now that the quotes are coming in, I am thinking saving 5k might not be bad. 

I used PODS last move. We had an interim short term place between houses for about 3 months. They showed up with the POD, loaded everything,  and stored it in a climate controlled warehouse until we were ready. Called them up and the ods showed up and got unloaded. Easy and wound up cheaper than a moving company.  

 

We have moved probably 10 times over the last 20 years, bought and sold 4 houses. This move was our easiest by far.

[The Crusher]

10 hours ago, Maxman said:

No the site isn't moving. The Sullivan family is moving. 

It wasn't the plan, but with Lauren in a wheelchair right now, our current house doesn't work. It isn't that big, but it has three levels. Laundry and my office in the basement. Living room, kitchen etc on the main floor and the bedrooms upstairs.

Has a few steps getting in and we bought a stair chair to get her in and out (it is amazing). But she has been living on the main floor, and sleeping there.

Big on a ranch when she was in the hospital in NYC, and we were outbid. Then we signed up with a friend who is an amazing realtor and she said hang tight, there is nothing on the market right now. In January, things will pick up. She called it, on January 1st a ranch came on the market and they started showing it on 1/3. By 1/4 we were under contract, she worked her magic because the market is so competitive right now. 

Somehow we avoided a bidding war and got it slightly over asking. This house ended up being a much better fit and 55k lower. So it worked out great.

Moving though? UGH.

We have been in this house for 24 years. Raised our kids here. We have three weeks to get everything packed and moved out.

The new house is very close, less than ten blocks away in the same town. We are taking out a bridge loan so that we can move in, empty this one out and then clean it up quickly before we list it.

Wish me luck and if anyone has any moving advice I am all ears.

Wow, good luck Boss! Crusher moving advice is, “ if you throw it out, you don’t have to move be it!” 

[fltflo]

Good luck Phil,
Moving is such a pain in the tookis, but keeping the wife safe and independent is crucial to both her physical and mental health. Which in turn helps the healing process and allows her to not feel like a burden. God bless you both and give you the strength to keep on keeping on.
An for God sake lose some weight man, having to expand the door opening every year is a pain


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

[Biggs]

Good luck.  Don’t rent a place to store stuff.   If it doesn’t fit sell it or give it away.   I’ve unloaded two storage rentals into dumpsters after paying monthly fees for 10 years.   It adds up.   Go into the new place with the bare minimum.  It gives you room to fix stuff and figure out what you need to make it home.   
 

Don’t be overwhelmed it will get done.  Even though your leaving memories behind and the future is scary it’s also an adventure.  Embrace the future and go with memories not baggage.  

[#27TheDominator]

2 hours ago, Creepy Lurker said:

I don’t trust movers. Got screwed over the one time they were hired for me as a gift for my first house. After I screamed at them and threw them all out, the rage alone was enough to plow through moving everything with my buddy. Never again. I just helped my buddy move his whole house 2 times in one year this and last October due to a job not working out and going back to his house back in PA. It’s a lot of work but it’s doable if you stage things and have a plan. 

Mike?  Is that you?

[nj meadowlands]

Congrats Phil.  Same town?  Driveway space for the RV?

[Sperm Edwards]

11 hours ago, Maxman said:

 

Actually, are they weather proof? Like can I put one in the driveway, load it up now and everything will be dry when they move it to us?

If so, that could work. There is so much stuff we don't need right now that is in the house that we can get out of the way ahead of time. Would actually let us list this house even sooner possibly since we can start cleaning things up earlier.

It doesn’t have to go directly from house 1 to house 2 if you don’t want. They can also take the pod to one of their local facilities and have it dropped at the new house when you’re ready. Other advantage is a single moving day isn’t as stressful if another storm gets predicted for that day to slow down and mess everything up; you can load it up over several days or more, which you’ll probably want with Lauren unable to help as much. The kids can come home on back to back weekends to help load it. A lot less stuff goes missing, too. Just don’t pile boxes all the way up unless you’re loading furniture that high to tightly wedge it in place or your boxes tower will topple in transit. Buy extra ratcheting belts from Home Depot to secure everything tightly; they’re cheap.

Call them asap, though. Sometimes they can take days to get delivered to your house, depending on demand that week.

[Green DNA]

11 hours ago, Maxman said:

Thanks. That is the living room first, kitchen in back of it and the family room to the back left.

Garage is behind the fireplace and the bedrooms or off to the right. Very accessible floorplan. Once the doorways are opened up this is pretty much ADA compliant. Makes life easier.

 

Plenty of room for an 80" tv above the fireplace.

[Integrity28]

10 hours ago, Maxman said:

Did that happen to you?

Yea man. I fought like hell to get our contractors to include staining the floors and finishing them. They came out beautiful. We were out because we remodeled. House had to be empty. Total gut job. I moved all our sh*t back in from the pod and garage, but we had movers (my wife insisted) do the ‘big furniture’ from the apartment. 

Nothing I did was or caused damage. Those guys were turds. 💩

They offered to pay to repair, but floor guy said we’d have to empty the first floor out and we couldn’t moved back out. So, we live with it. 

[faba]

Good luck Phil glad you found a place  quick God bless

[thebuzzardman]

Worked as a mover back in the day, local 814 for the commercial moves (when places still had lots of paper) but the company also did long distance corporate moves (large houses) and local moves. Have relocated myself several times, either by myself or hiring movers. Most recently from Northern Va to the north Dallas suburbs. 

Since the government, in general, besides the military, does NOT pay for relocation, we sold or donated nearly every damn thing we could. I'd advise to take this path. Cherished items? Move them. The really good furniture you can use in the new place? Move that. That stuff you are on the fence about? Sell it or donate it. 

Facebook Marketplace is GREAT for listing stuff, and if it's any good at all, you will be inundated with offers. The first few ones will be scams. 

As usual, if you hire any movers, if the price is too good to be true, then they are FOS. I took my eye off the ball and my wife went and booked movers at a suspiciously low quote, and sure enough, by the time they were done, the price wound up in the area I thought it would. 

Not sure they exist in NJ, but Greendrop is a good place to donate stuff to; I'm sure you know of places in your area. 

Packing boxes sucks ass. I know because I packed EVERYTHING that we took to go to Texas and some stuff I sent to NYC for storage (own a building there). If you shop for boxes at Lowes or Home Depot, pay the extra 1$ for the thicker boxes. They won't cave in like the thinner ones. 

However many boxes you think you need, double the amount. Everyone always severely underestimates how many boxes they will need. 

Amazon has pretty good deals on the blank newsprint paper that you'll want to use to pack China etc, but since you are local, you might be able to get away with shuttling over dishes etc you don't need. Leave out the minimum to day of the move, pack all the rest and shuttle to the new place.  Get the largest newsprint paper they sell. The small stuff doesn't cut it. 

Considering the number of strapping young lads you have available, pods is the way to go. I'd also rope them into helping with some shuttling of goods to the new house since it's local, will take some hours and stress off the "big day". 

Good luck, it sucks to move years of stuff. We  pruned some stuff moving from NYC to Manassas Va, but had 15 years and my kids growing up in Va and had a TON of stuff to get rid of, including some tough decisions around what was sentimental and what got tossed. Oddly, I'm the sentimental one and my wife is ruthless. Lol. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Larz]

I heard @T0mShanehas a Ram 3500 with a crew cab 😉

[FootballLove]

16 hours ago, Maxman said:

It is an estate sale and I don't think the people getting the estate live close (no kids). So squatting it is. 

This was going to be the house. Was thinking of making some improvements to open the floor plan before any of this happened. Lauren has been fine walking up and down the stairs. She had a fall in November and that kind of changed things. We put handrails in the bathrooms and things like that. But the layout here isn't open. Was great to raise kids in, plenty of spaces to hide lol.

But the open floor plan is what we need. Although trading out 2.5% mortgage in for something new, ugh.  This one has an inground pool, so at least I can post sexy photos of myself here over the summer. The extra ad revenue will pay for the higher interest rate haha.

Ya I get the high int rates. My son, daughter in law and 2 kids (3 & 6) have been looking. First COVID spiked house prices 2x, now high int rates are a real killer. They've been looking for 2+ years. During COVID if they couldn't make an offer $20K over the asking price, the relator told them to keep looking. They looked at a dump (well, not really a dump but the lady lived in it for 80 years and changed nothing!). Smallish house, zero updates, they want $189K. yikes. I feel bad for them. Our house (5bdrm, 2bath) we got for $66k.

But that;s a good idea about the pool. You should start a OnlyFans account...rack up the big bucks!

[Maxman]

13 hours ago, MykePM said:

Phil - When I saw a thread created by you with this title, I got excited.  I know you were struggling to land a new home, so I’m so happy you finally got a good one.  Just think of what a relief it will be when all the work is done and you and Lauren are in a place that will make life easier.

If I may add another idea to the “how to get rid of the things you no longer need” conversation, when my wife and I were leaving the east coast, we held an open house for our friends and family, laid out everything we were letting go of, and let them take whatever they wanted.  It was especially nice for us, because it would be the last time we would see some of our loved ones for a while.  But even though you’re only moving a short distance, it might be nice to know that your items will provide things that are needed, or even just wanted, to the people you care about the most.  Then you can get rid of whatever’s left however you’d like.

On a personal note, thanks to my JN brethren who mentioned that U-Haul has their own version of pods.  My wife and I are going to be moving back East later this year, and Pods doesn’t deliver to our current detached neck-of-the-woods.  When we moved here, we had to rent a truck and drive 2+ hours to the nearest Pods location to get all our stuff.  Maybe U-Haul will deliver and pick up to/from our door.

I’m looking forward to being back in Jets country, and I’m hoping there will be another JN tailgate next season that I can attend and meet some of you guys in person.

Awesome on the move back home. There will most likely be at least two big tailgates next year, I put two deposits down for tickets.

I am thinking of doing tailgates every week, but we will see how the offseason goes. Definitely join us though! Thanks.

[Maxman]

7 hours ago, fltflo said:

Good luck Phil,
Moving is such a pain in the tookis, but keeping the wife safe and independent is crucial to both her physical and mental health. Which in turn helps the healing process and allows her to not feel like a burden. God bless you both and give you the strength to keep on keeping on.
An for God sake lose some weight man, having to expand the door opening every year is a pain


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The new openings are 36 inches. I think that will cover things for some time. But maybe we should have just gone with sliding glass doors in every room to be safe!

[Maxman]

5 hours ago, Larz said:

I heard @T0mShanehas a Ram 3500 with a crew cab 😉

I wonder what @T0mShane drives. I am thinking a Tesla. Definitely not a truck.

I will let you know when he comes over for a BBQ this summer. He christened my last house, might as well let him have at this one too.

[Maxman]

6 hours ago, thebuzzardman said:

Worked as a mover back in the day, local 814 for the commercial moves (when places still had lots of paper) but the company also did long distance corporate moves (large houses) and local moves. Have relocated myself several times, either by myself or hiring movers. Most recently from Northern Va to the north Dallas suburbs. 

Since the government, in general, besides the military, does NOT pay for relocation, we sold or donated nearly every damn thing we could. I'd advise to take this path. Cherished items? Move them. The really good furniture you can use in the new place? Move that. That stuff you are on the fence about? Sell it or donate it. 

Facebook Marketplace is GREAT for listing stuff, and if it's any good at all, you will be inundated with offers. The first few ones will be scams. 

As usual, if you hire any movers, if the price is too good to be true, then they are FOS. I took my eye off the ball and my wife went and booked movers at a suspiciously low quote, and sure enough, by the time they were done, the price wound up in the area I thought it would. 

Not sure they exist in NJ, but Greendrop is a good place to donate stuff to; I'm sure you know of places in your area. 

Packing boxes sucks ass. I know because I packed EVERYTHING that we took to go to Texas and some stuff I sent to NYC for storage (own a building there). If you shop for boxes at Lowes or Home Depot, pay the extra 1$ for the thicker boxes. They won't cave in like the thinner ones. 

However many boxes you think you need, double the amount. Everyone always severely underestimates how many boxes they will need. 

Amazon has pretty good deals on the blank newsprint paper that you'll want to use to pack China etc, but since you are local, you might be able to get away with shuttling over dishes etc you don't need. Leave out the minimum to day of the move, pack all the rest and shuttle to the new place.  Get the largest newsprint paper they sell. The small stuff doesn't cut it. 

Considering the number of strapping young lads you have available, pods is the way to go. I'd also rope them into helping with some shuttling of goods to the new house since it's local, will take some hours and stress off the "big day". 

Good luck, it sucks to move years of stuff. We  pruned some stuff moving from NYC to Manassas Va, but had 15 years and my kids growing up in Va and had a TON of stuff to get rid of, including some tough decisions around what was sentimental and what got tossed. Oddly, I'm the sentimental one and my wife is ruthless. Lol. 

 

 

 

 

 

Great advice in here. Definitely going the Pods route for sure.

100% on the low mover rate. If it is too low, it is a scam for sure! Thanks!

[Maxman]

7 hours ago, The Crusher said:

Wow, good luck Boss! Crusher moving advice is, “ if you throw it out, you don’t have to move be it!” 

We are buying a new Fridge, I will text you for advice!

7 hours ago, fltflo said:

Good luck Phil,
Moving is such a pain in the tookis, but keeping the wife safe and independent is crucial to both her physical and mental health. Which in turn helps the healing process and allows her to not feel like a burden. God bless you both and give you the strength to keep on keeping on.
An for God sake lose some weight man, having to expand the door opening every year is a pain


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

YES. This is a great point. That is such a big part of the healing journey. Feeling safe, creating a routine that minimizes stress.

The new normal can change, but so can we. We just might go bankrupt in the process. 

[Maxman]

1 hour ago, FootballLove said:

Ya I get the high int rates. My son, daughter in law and 2 kids (3 & 6) have been looking. First COVID spiked house prices 2x, now high int rates are a real killer. They've been looking for 2+ years. During COVID if they couldn't make an offer $20K over the asking price, the relator told them to keep looking. They looked at a dump (well, not really a dump but the lady lived in it for 80 years and changed nothing!). Smallish house, zero updates, they want $189K. yikes. I feel bad for them. Our house (5bdrm, 2bath) we got for $66k.

But that;s a good idea about the pool. You should start a OnlyFans account...rack up the big bucks!

Prices are crazy. We are lucky in that we are buying and selling so it masks things a bit. We only paid 12k over asking price, not sure how she pulled that off for us. The earlier one we bid at sold for 35k over asking and was a much higher list price.

Everything that was true about buying a house twenty years ago can go out the window. The process isn't even remotely the same.