This weekend has been a little slow. We didn't do anything on Friday but I had not got much sleep the night before so I was fine with that.
Then saturday we just worked around the house all day. We touched up some paint on the walls, painted the ceiling in areas, caulked things, and cleaned/organized the entire basement throwing a lot of stuff out. This was all in a hope that we'll sell our house soon. We're looking around but haven't found much to spark our interest. We want to move but Chattanooga is just a hard place to find a decent house. We'd love to live close to church but North Chatt is just a rip off, New York prices with a Chattanooga feel. You can only get in there if you want a fixer upper that will eat you alive.
So we'll probably just stick it out here till we can get some sort of RV that we can tour the country in.... that's a joke.
But it was nice to get the basement cleaned up, makes it look reputable.
Tried to get the mower running by training the carbarator but that didn't work so I went to Home Depot and got a spark plug and spark plug wrench. Why is it that every stinkin thing on an engine has its own wrench? O2 sensor, oil filter, spark plug, johnson rod... they all have their own special wrench. And they make it so you can't cheat and just use plyers by placing the thing so far up in the engine that nothing can reach it. But anyway I might try and tinker with that today and if it doesn't fix the problem then I'm gonna be furious becuase I'll have to take it to HD to have them look at it, they'll charge me 70 bucks to fix whatever's wrong with it which then I'll be like, "well for 30 more bucks I can just get a new mower and get a better work out when i mow...." but i complain too much.
This just better fix it or I'm shipping the thing back to Japan. Wonder how much that would cost to ship a mower to japan???
In other news I'm thinking of selling my gamecube. I haven't played it much and what with those new fangled machines comin out I figure its time has come to an end. I won't get a WII, or PS3 or anything but I figure maybe sell the thing and pump the money into games for the DS or something. I'm not sure if I'll sell it to MCKAYs or Rhino or Ebgames. Rhino's given me good credit before they bought my super nintendo for like 50 bucks in store credit and they sell new games so they have a nice selection. Other things I'm selling: Beatles Greatest Hits 1 and 2... just don't listen to them enough to warrant owning them. A few other CDS i never listen to. All our VHS (VCR broke so no reason to keep them--we'll get 2 nickels for the lot of them probably). Street Fighter 2 for the GBA, it doesn't play well on the DS because the DS has extra buttons that don't register with the game so you're pushing buttons instinctively and nothing happens, that and I'm bored of it.
About this...
We want to move but Chattanooga is just a hard place to find a decent house. We'd love to live close to church but North Chatt is just a rip off, New York prices with a Chattanooga feel. You can only get in there if you want a fixer upper that will eat you alive.
I'm not sure how long you've been looking in North Chatt. A lot of it depends on who you know as well as luck. There is such a thing as low bidding. But, definitely who you know is a big factor. Also, what do you mean by "eat you alive", or what kind of expense are you talking about? Do you take into account how the value of the house will likely increase more compared to other areas of Chattanooga? So, you might put more money than normal into it but, get more equity in return IF you live in the house long enough. I guess that's really the seven thousand dollar question.
All I'm saying is don't write it off. You ought to see some of the people around here. If they can manage it, you can. Plus, you'll be so much closer to everything.
It's all of matter of knowing what to plan for. It's not Lookout Mtn. It's not St. Elmo. It's not Big Ridge or whatever. You're going to find more older houses and if nothing else, will probably need a new roof. There's definitely expenses to plan for and there's no mystery about it. Everyone around here knows what it involves. You should keep looking though. I just like the pace around here a whole lot better than anywhere else. It's hard not to get used to it and like it. But, maybe this is because I'm still single.
Posted by: Chris T. at October 2, 2006 09:53 PMHow long have I been looking in North Chatt?? oh about three years.
A house goes up in value? really? How does that work?
Posted by: holton at October 3, 2006 08:50 AMWho is your realtor? Maybe that's the problem.
North Chatt houses will increase in value more as a % compared to other areas...I'm not sure about how it compares to Lookout Mtn. Yes, it's more expensive up there but, I would tend to think it's more fixed due to the exclusiveness and so on. So, maybe it doesn't go up as much as a %...just my guess. That's what I was getting at. You may benefit more in the long run in North Chatt from making home improvements.
But, if we step back for a moment, you live on Lookout Mtn and yet are complaining about North Chattanooga.
If you're just saying it's a rip-off then, that's one thing. But apparently you're still trying to get a house there...so, what's your real complaint?
Posted by: Chris T. at October 3, 2006 12:09 PMChris, first off your first paragraph is total crap. You have nothing to back this up with. You can't just make statements without any sort of fact behind them. If you have some facts or websites that support this theory than please post them.
Now northshore is a popular area, it is growing, its prices are going up. This is all obvious. My complaint is the prices are inflated to a level that is not indicative of what the true value of the home is. Now this being said its an opinion. What I value a home in north chattanooga is not the same as what someone else might value a home in north chatt. What I'm not willing to pay in north chat someone else might. That's true anywhere, capitalism.
Lookout mtn prices aren't necessarily inflated, its a popular area like north chatt, so that makes the prices more. But look at the size difference in house in north chatt vs lookout. There aren't too many 2 bed 1 bath houses on the mtn. Also the schools on the mtn are much better than those in north chatt. Crime is probably another big factor, the crime rate on the mtn vs north chatt probably differs to a noticeable degree. Also look at the socio economic difference in the two areas.
My argument is still valid and is still the same: North chatt is overly priced for what you get. Now some people are willing to pay it and all the power to them. But those people could find bigger, newer homes in areas comparable to North Chatt for the same price or cheaper. North chatt is a great place to live but you're paying more for the mystique of north chatt and the image than you are for the actual property and house. There comes a point when location location location is no longer logical.
I could buy a brand new 3 bed 2 bath in North chatt for way over 300,000 or buy one in hixson for 200,000 or one in highland park for 180,000.... which is the more sound financial decision?
Posted by: holton at October 3, 2006 01:02 PMCrap,huh? You mean what I said about luck? Or equity? There's a lot of contingencies, I'll give you that.
Posted by: Chris T. at October 3, 2006 02:16 PM