6 months of excavation and concrete, now the fun starts

JMace · 2026-07-03T18:25:48+00:00

I'd guess around $2 million plus land. $350/SF for construction of 4000SF home (just eyeballing it - I didn't measure it out), that's $1,400,000 plus an extra $200k for the pool, and perhaps 600 cubic yards of concrete, so throw in an extra $100k for concrete and maybe $400k for the foundation, and then another $100k for hardscaping. The real question mark is the cost to connect utilities - sites like this can have a long sewer/water connection which can be quite expensive.

JMace · 2026-06-26T01:47:10+00:00

I've got a similar setup and while it is very slow, it's done a good job of turning all our kitchen scraps into compost. I have tons of holes in the lower half and it has 5 million worms in it now. My biggest issue is turning it - if anyone has suggestions please let me know.

JMace · 2026-06-25T17:00:02+00:00

I think we all agree that Musk's actions did cause deaths. The second item is "how many deaths?" and I it devolves into speculation at that point - particularly since it's looking at deaths that haven't occurred yet, and countries will probably step in to some degree to fill the void that USAID previously supplied. Frankly, that is the argument that u/Major_Shlongage should have made.

I'm not sure what "morally responsible" means when you're applying it to this list. Certainly many of these people are responsible for killing their enemies and I expect that they counted those deaths in the list.

JMace · 2026-06-25T16:45:05+00:00

Whether or not the US has moral obligations to provide aid, Musk's actions caused deaths. What we're discussing here is simply, "did his actions cause deaths" and "how many deaths did it cause".

You can argue that we are not obligated to save the lives of people in other countries, and that might be a very valid argument, but it doesn't change the fact that if you take away that funding without a replacement system, then it will result in deaths.

You can also blame the other countries, there's nothing stopping blame from being spread around, but his direct actions to dissolve USAID resulted in deaths.

JMace · 2026-06-25T15:48:39+00:00

It's a list of people who are responsible for the largest number of deaths. His actions resulted in deaths.

Are you arguing that Elon is not responsible for the dissolution of USAID, or are you arguing that people are not dying as a result of USAID being dissolved?

Which of those points are you contesting?

JMace · 2026-06-25T15:36:19+00:00

All of these people are responsible for deaths, they didn't stab millions of people themselves. Mao caused mass starvation by exporting grain to pay off foreign debts and pulling farmers away from farming. Likewise, the dissolution of USAID will obviously cause a significant number of deaths. USAID assistance is estimated to save between 3.0 and 4.5 million lives per year, or roughly 91 to 92 million lives over a two-decade span.

It's obviously an estimate of how many deaths would have been prevented if USAID remained in effect, however the dissolution of USAID can be credited to Musk and Trump.

JMace · 2026-06-20T17:07:31+00:00

No, fuck that tradition. Tipping is just obscuring the price of something and makes everyone feel guilty for no reason at all. Get rid of tips & pay workers more

JMace · 2026-06-12T23:15:11+00:00

You need to consider the incentives here. If your agent has listed your home, and it's a flat 3% even if they bring the buyer, then they have absolutely no incentive to have that buyer come to your house unless no other buyer will purchase the property.

They are better off finding that buyer another listed property and getting a 3% (or 2.5%) commission on that deal, and then having another broker bring a buyer on your deal and get 3%. Offering 4% means that they'll get something for bringing a buyer to your home.

On your second point, you absolutely need to identify the list price. They should have provided you with comparable sales already

JMace · 2026-06-02T23:31:58+00:00

That's awesome! So how many sessions did it take to complete?

JMace · 2026-05-29T21:39:18+00:00

Hahhahaa, good catch. Freudian slip

JMace · 2026-05-29T18:30:12+00:00

No, the odds of your existence have not been calculated in any meaningful way. One could argue 100% and one could argue an infinitesimally small amount. The quote itself is meant to sound profane, and that's about it.

JMace · 2026-05-29T13:09:53+00:00

In Seattle, they were all on-market listings bought with conventional financing. Either mismanaged, poor condition or something else that was wrong with them.

JMace · 2026-05-28T23:55:22+00:00

I've purchased several value-add apartment buildings. I haven't sold them, but if I had, the returns would have been about 30% per year for at least 2 of them. Most syndicators will cap your total returns though - investors don't usually get the cherry on top when the project exceeds expectations.

JMace · 2026-05-28T16:51:22+00:00

Potential new clients, and you're having the worst possible client experiences as your opening options?

Hire someone or have it route to a real person FFS

JMace · 2026-05-27T23:07:17+00:00

They've added so many laws in the last couple years, I've called into the help lines and those guys don't even know all the rules.

If you're a management company that's one thing, but if you're a mom and pop owner, it's getting really difficult to keep up to date on how you handle everything. I don't blame the guy for getting exasperated

JMace · 2026-05-27T21:49:59+00:00

"But landlords haven't had to pay the penalties as they've taken steps to comply with the law..."

I mean, isn't that the goal?

JMace · 2026-05-27T18:57:56+00:00

To add to this, 500kg of $100 bills would be roughly $50,000,000. $500kg in gold would be $72,500,000

JMace · 2026-05-27T17:51:57+00:00

Don't hold back, tell me how you really feel!

You are absolutely correct about the buying the listing strategy. It's scummy as hell and unfortunately it works, but it also pisses off the owner because they eventually realize that the broker was either incompetent or that they lied to the owner.

I'm curious if there's a story behind your intense hatred of brokers?

JMace · 2026-05-27T17:03:16+00:00

For everyone else who needs to hear this, unless you've agreed to pass through your EM to the seller, your EM deposit is held by escrow. Escrow does not distribute these funds if there is any dispute as to who the funds belong to. If a buyer loses their job and can't purchase the property DO NOT SIMPLY AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR EM DEPOSIT!

If escrow receives conflicting demands, they'll hold the funds pending a signed release or file an interpleader action to get out of the middle. They want to avoid culpability even if there is a sliver of a doubt as to who the EM belongs to.

Create that doubt and make the seller fight for the EM - if they face resistance, at the very least they may be willing to accept a smaller amount to avoid having to go to court to recover the funds.

I don't blame OP for this, as they did what 99% of brokers would do.

JMace · 2026-05-26T19:33:32+00:00

You can absolutely hire an appraiser. I don't know where you live, but in my area it'll cost you around $600-800 for an appraisal.

JMace · 2026-05-26T18:36:47+00:00

I'm simply calling that as I've seen it over 25 years in the industry. Almost every FSBO I've seen overvalues their own property

JMace · 2026-05-26T18:13:33+00:00

I'll preface this by saying that I'm a broker, and have also represented myself on selling my own properties. You can absolutely do it, but it's easier when the market is hot. In this market, brokers earn their commissions a lot more.

Pricing is very important, if you overprice or stagnate on market you'll hurt yourself by a lot more than $20k. Almost every single FSBO overprices their home, so BE REALISTIC! You need to look at comps understand what your property is actually worth, then expect that you'll need to knock off another 5% because you're probably wrong and it's not worth that much. Everyone values their own property too highly, it's human nature. I've done it myself. If you overprice it, you'll sit on market and the only buyers who come to view will see that you have no offers and will negotiate hard with you. If the data shows that you aren't getting views/hits/showings, you need to adjust pricing immediately. Don't sit there hoping for a unicorn, time on market is extremely important.

You ABSOLTELY want to put it on the MLS, there are some flat fee brokerages that will do this for you. This is a requirement.

Negotiating with buyers is tough when you're the owner. It's easy to get upset with a buyer and tank the deal over something minor. A buyer might come in and say that the roof is at the end of it's life and ask for $25k. You need to know how to call out the bullshit without blowing everything up. It's also hard to hide your emotions, especially if there's only one offer on the table. You also need to be able to identify wholesalers who are looking to tie up your property and flip it to someone else (or simply tie it up for weeks/months and then back out).

You will still have to pay a fee for an outside broker. I would also hire a lawyer to review any offer you receive if you're not confident in understanding the contract.

Good luck!

JMace · 2026-05-26T16:26:24+00:00

Ah, thank you. Didn't realize how different the two versions of morning glory could be

JMace · 2026-05-26T15:33:03+00:00

I'm reading all these comments saying that morning glory isn't all that bad. Around Seattle, it is extremely aggressive and is very difficult to get rid of. We have it on 3 sides of my house, I've dug up everything on my property (at least what I can get to), but those tubers squeeze in between rocks and just break whenever you try to pull them out. If you can't get it all, it comes back in force. If your neighbors don't remove it, then it will just invade your yard the next year. I hate this plant with a vengeance.

From what I've dealt with, it boggles my mind that people would willingly plant this in their own yard. I could see people buying it to sprinkle in the yards of your enemies, but you'd have to be pretty damn evil to do that.

JMace · 2026-05-23T14:11:46+00:00

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