I'm still around, just busy.....

[mwilson]

Haven't had much free time over the last two months but my interest in the TDR has not diminished!!

Dealing with property and winter prep, but things will calm down soon!!

A surprise opportunity to purchase an adjacent property that was a VA Repo has kept us hopping for the last month or so but we close on it today!!!

Other than a nervous tic and a hit to the savings we are unscathed..

In the words of a native Mainer..."They ain't gonna' make anymore land!!"

 

[TFucili]

Good to hear, Mike. Funny, we are also about to close on an adjoining lot. I hope to finally build the garage/workshop I have been hankering for since we built our last house in '94.

 

[NIsaacs]

How are you going to retire in Mesa, AZ if you keep buying land in Maine

 

[TFucili]

How are you going to retire in Mesa, AZ if you keep buying land in Maine

Easier to "cash out" of an upgraded property... just saying.

 

[mwilson]

This property has two garages, one relatively newer 24' x 24' on cement pad / floor with two 8' x 9' overhead doors and the other is an older 24' x 30' on a cement pad / floor with two 7' x 9' overhead doors and a SECOND FLOOR for storage.....can't wait to fill that full of crap that we must have.....

The house is a two bedroom (used to be three but one bedroom converted to laundry / sewing room), one bath ranch with a full 8' basement. Hot water baseboard heat with hot water maker zone and a companion wood boiler all plumbed in. Not sure of the condition as everything drained, some stuff unhooked. Just gonna' dive in...

House built in 1957 and just as straight and solid as can be. Needs refurb and cleaning, a few windows have been replaced but the rest need to be changed at some point.
This may be our retirement home in the future....

I will get the heating system back online this weekend if possible. Plan to fill with antifreeze so we can run the heat on a whim and then shut it back down.....be handy if we have a few days in the winter to work on the inside....

 

[mwilson]

How are you going to retire in Mesa, AZ if you keep buying land in Maine

My mother told me this was the first summer in Mesa that she did not enjoy at all. Too hot even for her....

But that still doesn't we wouldn't wander out there in the winter. This house will be designed to be winter prepped in a hurry. I'll rig it up to drain quickly with a few valves and some air pressure!!

 

[mwilson]

Good to hear, Mike. Funny, we are also about to close on an adjoining lot. I hope to finally build the garage/workshop I have been hankering for since we built our last house in '94.

Hope the closing goes as planned, mine is today at 3.00 and we'll be some kinda' glad to get that behind us....!!!

 

[NIsaacs]

Nice! I thought it was just land.

 

[mwilson]

It's probably gonna' set me back a couple fifths of Crown Royal to get my furnace guy to come in a hurry, I'll even up the ante to three if needed......

 

[TFucili]

It's probably gonna' set me back a couple fifths of Crown Royal to get my furnace guy to come in a hurry, I'll even up the ante to three if needed......

View attachment 109044

Well, you did say "antifreeze", but...

 

[mwilson]

Now there's a thought!!!

Probably don't lose the 10% heat transfer when converting from straight water if one were to use Crown Royal instead of Propylene Glycol...with my luck the price is probably similar as well....

 

[mwilson]

But there might be some loss of product when the system was bled........you know, "Evaporation"......

 

[TFucili]

But there might be some loss of product when the system was bled........you know, "Evaporation"......

Yes, yes, boiler water must be frequently tested so the chemistry does not damage components.

 

[mwilson]

Yes, yes, boiler water must be frequently tested so the chemistry does not damage components.

Exactly!!! Gotta' keep the system up to par!!

 

[mwilson]

It all needs paint but guess what??

I married a painter!!! Yes!!!!!

 

[DavidC]

My mother told me this was the first summer in Mesa that she did not enjoy at all. Too hot even for her....

But that still doesn't we wouldn't wander out there in the winter. This house will be designed to be winter prepped in a hurry. I'll rig it up to drain quickly with a few valves and some air pressure!!

She is right, or getting older. The older I get the hotter it is. We spent the Summer here awaiting the radiation treatments and I have let anyone involved to get this show on the road as come the end of April I am out of here, standing or laying. The heat is suppose to only get worse and there is talk of water rationing by 2020 as the reserviors are pretty low. Maybe that will clear this place out some. How is the air compressor working out ?.

Dave

 

[mwilson]

Air compressor is working well, I still need to roll the tank 90 degrees and move the pressure switch...but with all of this other stuff going on it will get pushed to spring for sure. No worries as it will go into storage shortly...

I did learn to shut the compressor power off before a cold start....the air pressure is down after it sets for a week or better and mornings are colder now....so what happens is the compressor and pre-heater grid touch off at the same time...not good....

 

[Tuesdak]

In the words of a native Mainer..."They ain't gonna' make anymore land!!"

Congrats on your purchase!

After the Great Depression V2.0 in 2008: even my Grandmother who said this often is rolling in her grave. Land is a liability if some fool hurts themselves on it (insurance expense), Taxes are an expense, upkeep, and may loose value like any investment. Yeah, we have to have a place to live. Watching interest rates rise makes land less affordable to buyers.

My Grandmother said this because they could buy undeveloped land for $600 per lot 60-70 years ago. It's worth six figures today. But you can't buy the same developed lot today and expect the same value increase. Nevermind the use of the land. There was even Natural Gas found on some of the land in the 80's, but, that's all but worthless today as to what it used to pay per month by a factor of 10.

 

[mwilson]

Well, it's official. We own it!!

Start moving stuff from offsite paid storage to the garages tomorrow. Yeah!!

 

[Ozymandias]

Great!!