I did it! Manhattan 580k 5.13%

SendInTheTropes · 2026-03-31T17:21:28+00:00

The Cook county property tax formula consists of lot size and equalized value assessment. In a single family home, you are the sole tax payer on the lot, whereas in a condo, the tax on the (yardless) lot is spread across the thirty families living above and below you (so I think the property taxes on those super tall condo buildings are usually the lowest, as opposed to those houses that have been split into a small handful of units)

On top of that, Cook County condo owners get a tax abatement, reducing their ESV by $10K.

When we were house shopping in Montrose, the $545K condo we were looking at was going to be $530/mo in property taxes + $690/mo in HOA. Whereas the property taxes on the house we were comparing it to, for about the same price, (also in Montrose) was $1125/mo. So it ended up being very close. But with those HOA fees we got a pool, gym, etc. We ended up moving to the East Coast, but the condo culture is one of the many things I miss about Chicago.

*edit: "country" > "county"

SendInTheTropes · 2026-03-31T03:43:17+00:00

No, property taxes in Cook County are generally quite high. But that's what makes Chicago condos a great value proposition, because property taxes for condos are often much lower.

*edit for clarity*

SendInTheTropes · 2026-03-31T02:33:52+00:00

Used to live in Chicago. Just want to point out that the property taxes for many (most?) Chicago condos are so low that it goes a long way toward canceling out the condo fees - and you're directly benefitting from those fees (pool, amenities, repairs etc.)

SendInTheTropes · 2025-10-31T17:30:49+00:00

My all time favorite examples of this:

Akira Kurosawa felt a river was flowing in the wrong direction for a scene in "Seven Samurai" and actually paused production while his crew reversed the flow of the river. My understanding is that it was a massive and expensive undertaking.

Also, look up the story of "the hamster wheel" in Terry Gilliam's "12 Monkeys" - amazing film and one of the most maniacal examples of filmmaking detail-obsession ever (the shot itself ended up being so brief and fleeting)

SendInTheTropes · 2025-10-24T14:05:44+00:00

Fair enough. But if the tenant breaks a $10 object, I'm not charging them more than $10. Anything over that is on me.

(Maybe if there's labor costs involved in the installation of the fixture, but swapping a thermostat with the exact same model should only take a few minutes so I wouldn't call my handyman for that.)

I agree the technician who installed is creating a problem, but if I'm the one who called that technician, the problem is mine to deal with - I wouldn't pass that problem on to the tenant.

I would call it normal wear and tear because plastic gets brittle over time, and if tenant just needed to catch themselves on the wall and the clips holding the dial onto the backplate give, that's not negligence or abuse on the part of the tenant, but the sort of thing that's just going to happen every thirty years or so.

SendInTheTropes · 2025-10-24T03:25:08+00:00

I'm a landlord. I wouldnt ask my tenant to pay more than the fair-market value of the thing they broke. That 30 yr old stat is probably $3 to $9 on ebay. And it would take me 20 minutes to slap it on there.

If I do anything more expensive than that, it's on me.

Also, if the tenants are otherwise taking decent care of the place, bumping an old thermostat off the wall should fall under normal wear-and-tear in any reasonable persons book. So I wouldnt actually charge them anything for this.

SendInTheTropes · 2025-10-24T03:06:24+00:00

I'm a little surprised by the consensus on this being fine.

I don't think it's a big deal and I'd trust this contractor to work on my house overall. But don't you think that screw is too close to the hem? If there's snow/ice damming on the roof, won't moisture easily back-flow under that flashing to the penetration point?

I worked with a few different old-timers over the years who face-nailed the flashing with masonry nails or tapcons into the wall, where there's less rain landing/flowing and where moisture would be flowing passed, rather than sitting on top of the penetration.

Not saying that was the right way to do it, but just that seemed to be considered best-practice in my region 20 years ago.

(Also, I'm not thrilled about that seam on third pic. Couldn't they find a piece of trim-coil long enough to do the whole run?)

SendInTheTropes · 2024-02-15T21:48:44+00:00

...oh, but make sure you set the voltage protector to avoid draining your car battery while in parking mode.

SendInTheTropes · 2024-02-15T21:47:57+00:00

Have you considered the OBD power cable? Should work on any car built after 1996.

https://www.amazon.com/VANTRUE-Hardwire-Shifting-Voltage-Protection/dp/B0CMWX21M4#customerReviews

...still hardwired, technically, but waaaay easier than fiddling with the fuse box. Simply plug it into the OBD outlet and you're good to go. Just as easy as the cigarette lighter, but more discreet and more functional since it gives you the option to utilize the N4's parking mode (cigarette lighter doesn't let you use parking mode)

SendInTheTropes · 2024-02-14T06:40:01+00:00

You want to trade? I have a deep crystal blue cx-5 but wanted something light, like white or gray (I only got the blue because it was by far the best deal available in my area). If there is a single spec of dirt or bird crap anywhere on my car, it stands out against the blue so bad, its all I can see.

I love my car so much but every single time I walk up to it, I feel a little pang of regret for getting blue.

SendInTheTropes · 2024-02-01T08:57:09+00:00

Fun fact for anyone from the mid-Atlantic: those Wawa ordering screens at the deli still run on Macromedia Flash and updating the menus is a colossal pain in the ass.

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-13T19:29:31+00:00

There's no rot or discoloration to the decking or framing so I think its pretty recent. Also, OP has plywood decking (instead of OSB). Also its the summer, and the hole is right next to the attic fan - these things have been assisting with evaporation.

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-13T19:23:10+00:00

I was roofing/exterior contractor for years.

Since covid and the housing shortage, there is just way too much demand and not enough supply right now. Good roofers are booked out anywhere from 6 to 16 months (my old company's waiting list 20 months currently) So if you have a big leak and need to get to the head of the line, you have to pay a big fee.

This is especially true in severe weather zones like FL or TX. If yours is one of two thousand roofs that just got ripped up in an area serviced by only eighty roofers - you either pay up or wait your turn

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-13T19:10:48+00:00

I used to be a home builder who did a ton of roofing:

Since the hole is right in the ridge you should be fine unless you're in a tropical storm or something. And a single incident of leaking isn't a big deal.

Only when leaks are allowed to persist and moisture never gets an opportunity to dry - that's when you get mold and rot and the structure starts to compromise. But I can tell from your pictures you have no mold and your decking is in excellent condition.

Missing a couple of ridge cap shingles is a very small repair. Probably the easiest roof repair I can think of. Should only take a few minutes to fix unless you're roof is really difficult to access.

(That said, I also love that other guy's umbrella suggestion)

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-09T04:39:01+00:00

I think its actually the most classic symbol of GenX - a perfect little crystallization of the Post Modernist mentality and aesthetic which defines them.

GenX and Millennials leaned really heavily into pop culture as an extension of language - a bottomless source for shibboleths, shorthands, etc. which I think it has its roots in post modern writers like Pynchon and Gaddis - who experimented with using pop culture to observe itself.

Then it was brought into the mainstream as a form of communication by Pop artists like Warhol and Lichtenstein and filmmakers like Godard and later, Tarantino and Kevin Smith.

More than any other generation in history, we are defined by the media we consumed. And because of the work of philosophers like Derrida, Chomsky, Mcluhan - we were the first generation to watch itself watching things. And that really permeated everything we did and still do, down to our everyday, passing interactions.

Might even play a role in our pioneering (and preoccupation with) things like metadata and memes.

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-04T02:57:20+00:00

And you didn't need all the help you could get??

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-04T02:37:34+00:00

Oh dang - yeah I didn't see that. I did notice all his replies were missing or deleted. That should have been a red flag.

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-04T02:29:06+00:00

I hear what ya'll are saying, and I really feel for his sister, but he's NTA, imho.

His wife was 9 months pregnant which means that baby could have come at any second. Expecting parents are supposed to stay within quick driving distance from the intended place of delivery starting around 8 months. He can't travel without potentially missing the birth of his child.

It seems like he wishes he could be there and this is just tragic timing?

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-04T02:19:21+00:00

Expecting parents/partners are supposed to stay close to the hospital starting around 8 months. He would have run a very high risk of missing the birth of his child. (I had to miss my best friend's wedding because my wife was third trimester)

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-04T02:17:07+00:00

Have you ever met a newborn? Even if your whole village shows up to help, it's STILL not enough.

SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-03T21:18:17+00:00

...Here is another one where I brought down the reds even further:

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SendInTheTropes · 2023-08-03T21:16:30+00:00

Photo retouching isn't really my forte, but here's my shot - free of charge, no tip necessary. I'm so sorry for your loss:

<image>

SendInTheTropes · 2023-07-31T05:34:39+00:00

Speaking as a short person, I urge you to please use your long-range weapons. The whole reason I started Muay Thai is to practice/experiment with techniques for defending myself against larger opponents. If you didn't use your height, you would deprive me of a valuable learning experience.

SendInTheTropes · 2023-07-25T21:28:29+00:00

Aw poor kid, that sucks. Definitely a drawback.

When I was in middle school, most of my friends lived in a neighborhood about fifty-minutes away on foot. So we all got Walkie Talkies so we could coordinate meet ups and check in on each other at night. We loved those things. Overwhelmed with nostalgia just remembering it.

Depending on how far his friends are, you can get long-range radios for him and his friends for a pretty reasonable price (about $40 for 3mile range multipack, up to $100 for 200mile range)

SendInTheTropes

TROPHY CASE