My toilet is sinking into hell

1800 square feet finished is massive for a family of 4, on an absolute basis. Don't let western standards dictate what is or what isn't reasonable. I love in 1900 square feet finished and I'm all alone. It's way too big.

I wouldn't see a home as rent control but rather, as Shellhead mentionned, a retirement investment vehicle. One that is less liquid than an actual retirement savings account and one that you could lose if interest rates move against you, or your circumstances change.

It's not for everyone, that's all I'm saying. Sag can pay off his mortgage in 20, then it's certainly for him. Most people don't actually get to realize the value of their home as an actual investment ever. They just keep borrowing against it.

cranberries wrote: I like having a shed and a place to put the kayaks. I haven't done anything in the shed for the last couple of years except store tools to repair things that have gone wrong with the house. I'd like to put a space heater out there so I can hide from the family.

I'll check the ceiling, but it is covered by drywall.

In case you want to recover room in the shed, I did something different for our kayaks. I planted two 8' metal fence posts in the ground about 10' apart. Then, I got some stage scaffolding clamps to hold 4' posts perpendicular. They ended up being loose on the posts, but that was a happy accident. The arms can be swung in to save room or raised/lowered easily. the weight of the arms locks them in place. For kayak covers, we are making 'socks' for them made out of heavy duty tarps from Harbor Freight.

We've got four kids in 1324 sq ft. We bought in a high market for $370k. Let that shit sink in. It's been 14 years, and the house is worth almost $600k now. FOR 1324 SQ FT! What I am trying to convey is that your market and anyone else's might be quite distinct. Home ownership doesn't always make sense. Renting doesn't always make sense. Add on things like fees, dues, maintenance, utilties, hours, &c &c. It's a complicated mess that can't be sussed out in five lines of a forum post. This is a good resource:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/...calculator.html?_r=0

very robust model, i like.

I don't think it accounts for the liquidity problem a house represents but it certainly covers almost everything else. pretty cool.

After we bought our house in 2014, the rental prices in Missoula have skyrocketed. Our total cost per month is still only 70-80% of the closest comparable housing-only cost, we'd still need to cover utilities. Using the NY Times tool, we'd have to find something roughly 60-70% of our payment to make it even trade.

Black Barney wrote: Most people don't actually get to realize the value of their home as an actual investment ever. They just keep borrowing against it.

Maybe they shouldn't do that, then.

yup. But it's being presented to them as a good option from their bank (who's main financial backbone are its customers mortgages). Home ownership is a very dangerous thing for people with poor financial management practices.

We bought at a low in prices in my area and the prices went back up pretty well. I was able to refinance, keep my payment the same, and pay off all our debt. It added about 3 years onto the mortgage, but since we do not anticipate moving and since we turned down their offers to refinance to the full appraised value of the house, I felt like it was a good deal.

The floor is getting softer. I think the shower is leaking. I'm pulling the toilet this weekend to look at it. Stay tuned.

jesus...the floor getting softer sounds terribad
good luck man

cranberries wrote: The floor is getting softer. I think the shower is leaking. I'm pulling the toilet this weekend to look at it. Stay tuned.

It is never better to wait in a situation like this. What's the surface of the floor? Tile? Vinyl?

The floor is cheap vinyl. It's the end of the semester, I have 78 papers to grade and no money to pay someone else, so I don't want to think about it. I talked to my wife and she realizes the toilet will be non-functional for a month or two.

If time is an issue call someone or kill the water and use another dumpster. It will wind up costing you more.

I just wish i lived closer. I’d remodel your shit for free in all tile for under a grand. Well under. In 3 Days.

Look up Schlüter Kerdi.

I took the toilet out and tore the floor back. The particle board flooring is damp and turning to sawdust. I'm not sure if water is leaking from the floor of the poorly caulked adjacent shower, or if the wax ring around the base of the toilet was somehow leaking. I'm going to pull off the rest of the vinyl tile and see if I can figure it out. Judging from the darkness of the water damage, it looks like it was coming from the base of the admittedly old toilet.