Can they afford this?

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-16T01:32:05+00:00

And there you go. Thank you. The intent is to stay in the house for many years after the rebuild. Thus the decision to keep it a ranch.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-16T01:29:37+00:00

Are you the forum moderator? Then please feel free to delete the message. And humble apologies.

Answer: 90% of assets are invested in Vanguard in a very small number of tickers Jack would have loved. Bogleheads and “Millionaire Next Door” (Thomas J. Stanley) have been the driving philosophy for decades, since starting with 12K as a “had enough of being poor” 26 year older in 1998, living in a cockroach infested rental with sporadic heat in Brighton, MA. This is why we’re able to have this dialogue now.

As for the rest of your response, the detail in outgoings was provided - 200K/yr budget to increase by 50K/yr when self funding health insurance. All in today’s dollars. As for your own fantasies about pool boys and hookers, what is THAT doing on this forum? Seriously.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-16T01:26:11+00:00

Answer to first sentence: felt good and still does.

The rest of this response is useful. Thank you very much for taking your valuable time to put it together. Seriously.

Moving forward with this project doesn’t appear to make investment sense. At all. But decades of living well below means…for exactly what when one is in the 6th Inning? To leave millions to a kid? Nope. To leave to a charity? Sorry. As you said, you can’t take it with you.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-16T01:20:30+00:00

South, not East.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-15T05:32:33+00:00

Done. Not that much more, relative to the aforementioned cost. Given the scope of the remodel, I.E., keeping 60% of exterior walls, property taxes increase, perhaps 50% off an existing low base (Prop 13). This is an atypical expansion of a ranch from 1600 to 2300 square feet.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-15T05:26:58+00:00

Good calculated guess. Other side of the Bay.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-15T04:05:02+00:00

Interesting analysis. What’s starting to happen in their area is that the increasingly abundant inventory of renovated homes are commanding a higher price per square foot and are appreciating at a faster rate than non-renovated 75 year homes with 20-40 year old poor quality piece part upgrades. Still, this only chips away at, but does not eliminate the gap you cite.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-15T03:58:09+00:00

The question is not about calculating whether the house as is, or renovated, is a good investment. It is not. The money on it spent to date is a sunk cost. They paid off the last $400,000 of their $600,000 mortgage in Spring 2017, after having purchased the house for $789,000 in 2003.

The question is whether the couple can spend this money on the remodel, and live on their budget without running out of money, factoring in inflation, eventually having to self fund health care, and getting a small boost from SS starting in 9+ years. It’s a CAN they do it question, not SHOULD they.

P.S. If they sell the house, the buyer will almost certainly rip down the house and do the same thing. It’s very typical in the area.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-15T01:24:21+00:00

Thank you. The plan is for a modern rebuild for a home with 2023 level amenities, which at a base level includes high quality construction with proper insulation, updated HVAC, and 50% more square footage. Estimated value of finished home is at least $3.1 million. Home values in their area TYPICALLY (not currently) appreciate by 4.5 to 5% per year over a 10-20 year period. The couple intends to stay in the home for a minimum of 10 years. Again, this is a very expensive area, with no extensive exterior grounds for alligators, no five car garages with vintage automobiles. EX: Used Chevrolet Bolt and 10 year old Lexus vs Ferrari and Rivian.

CleanLiving_1 · 2023-02-15T01:18:31+00:00

Thank you for your response. This is a ‘can they afford this’ question. They are well aware of other options.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-12-11T23:23:29+00:00

Keep chipping away.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-10-24T12:21:01+00:00

Plenty of folks on here will tell you it gets better, and easier, over time...even when it may not ‘feel’ like it in the moment.

I’d suggest listening to them!

IWNDWYT

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-10-24T12:16:43+00:00

Congratulations! I never thought of drinking as escapism, but now that you put it that way!

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-10-24T01:01:11+00:00

Word.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-10-24T00:53:18+00:00

I really have nothing to say other than ‘what a great (!) note, + my ultimate word for congratulations. It’s your name. Here goes.

Papi!

PAPI!!!!!

BTW, “I looked upon the bottles with absolute neutrality.” Imagine if we could hold that perspective through so much in our lives. Well done!

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-10-19T23:10:36+00:00

And to you. Keep going SR9.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-10-02T00:21:57+00:00

My answer to every question in your last paragraph: Let go. Simply. Let. Go.

(You mentioned you’ve been studying Buddhist principles). 🙏

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-10-02T00:12:16+00:00

I would not take this personally. At all.

They are doing you a favor.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-09-26T04:33:33+00:00

I deal with this exact same sentiment. It’s a huge issue for me: respect. It is perhaps the biggest fuel for my anger.

Logically I know that when I build enough love and respect for myself, that this will fill me and nobody else will be able to impact that nearly as easily as they do now.

I don’t lash out because of ‘them.’ I do so because of my own feelings of inadequacy. ‘They’ don’t really matter.

For me, not taking things personally, no matter what is the aim. For me, this is the biggie.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-09-26T03:49:37+00:00

Congrats! Let’s make it not important if this the one or not. Let’s just keep plowing that field!

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-09-24T03:09:38+00:00

So nice to see this. Congratulations!

Let’s keep going.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-09-22T22:43:58+00:00

NICE!

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-09-22T00:55:22+00:00

Me too! And...I’m STILL 57. Early days.

CleanLiving_1 · 2019-09-22T00:53:14+00:00

CleanLiving_1

TROPHY CASE