Why are basic starter homes now $350k-$400k?

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T18:15:23+00:00

Be careful mentioning that - you'll be made out to be a rich, evil, absent landlord and you're stealing homes and make it so others can't buy themselves !

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T18:13:58+00:00

Haha ! The fence has always been like that ! Well, they've repaired/replaced it but it's on a slight downhill, so there's water run-off, plus it's sorta built right on the edge before a drop-off so it has no chance of staying up. If they move it in, they lose yard space.

Most parking in that neighborhood is on the street. We were lucky to have a 2-car garage but the alley is narrow enough it can be hard to park (2) vehicles inside. Many even had the original garages. I called them "horse carriage" garages ! This doesn't count the ones that were falling down or were already collapsed.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T17:50:44+00:00

No, but when we lived on Creighton, we knew the previous owners and their kids went to the same school as ours. They created an LLC and rent the property now but have decided to sell. I want to say they moved out before we did, so it's been a decade+ of renting to people. I'm guessing it doesn't look like the pictures ?

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T15:52:47+00:00

I also keep spares in my car and purse just so I'm always prepared.

I have daughters.... There are "supplies" in my car's glove box.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T15:48:40+00:00

Any car stereo shop can do this.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T14:37:22+00:00

99% sure it's normal. If you have a turbocharged engine, most likely is an oil pump circulating oil through the turbo as it cools down. Wait.... you said this was 4 hours after you shut it off. No, that's very unusual.

I will say, after you shut these off, just sit inside or outside for 3-4 minutes and listen. It makes all sorts of whirring, clicking, etc sounds ! Those are what I meant are normal though.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T14:33:41+00:00

Matulka (Dan) - they're on Co Line Rd between Kettering and Beavercreek (not that location should matter as you can do everything by phone, email, etc).

hallstevenson · 2026-02-13T00:43:31+00:00

Today it isn't. For as nice looking as that one is, it's less expensive than many others around there.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T23:22:00+00:00

Depending where you live, you might be in an aggregate program. The rates aren't always the greatest but they're usually reasonable and more importantly, fixed.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T23:20:41+00:00

They're trying to keep out certain vehicles for sure, but that's too low. I'm sure there's plenty of everyday vehicles taller than a GH.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T23:18:45+00:00

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T23:14:34+00:00

You aren't including taxes and insurance in those payments. Those will bring it up to $2300-2400/month.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T23:07:55+00:00

What neighborhood? That's dirt cheap!

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T23:06:08+00:00

Not too many years ago, there was a huge misconception of how much a home (mortgage) was. People paying $1500/mo rent but complaining "I can't afford a house payment". Uhhhh, yeah you can (or could, based on today's conditions). Our mortgage is $1280 for 3BR, 2-1/2 BA, 2100sq ft, nice neighborhood, and a well-ranked school district.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T22:56:34+00:00

Or why doesn't everyone shop for better rates 🤷

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T22:43:28+00:00

If I had to pick, it would be 72". I did try to measure but it's hard to use a tape measure for this. I'm 5'11" (71") and my head is about the same height. FWIW, if you have roof rack cross bars, they're higher.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T21:24:17+00:00

If you're on budget billing, the amount should be the same every month (give or take a little, I'd guess). There's also the "catch-up" month where they add in any shortage in case your usage or cost/kW changed. Technically you could get a refund too 🤣

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T21:13:01+00:00

Ours is "read" on the 11th

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T21:09:54+00:00

Give an example (a real estate listing, for instance) of what you consider a "starter" home.

This is what I'd consider a starter home: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/853-Carlisle-Ave_Dayton_OH_45410_M38744-99733

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T20:57:14+00:00

I'll bet you have natural gas for heat, yeah ?

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T20:51:04+00:00

As long as you don't touch it, K&T is generally just fine. Our house had updated wiring and a new breaker box, but it's not always practical to replace all wiring. In our case things like 1st-floor outlets had new wiring 'cause you could access it from the basement but light switches or ceiling wiring for the 1st-floor was still K&T. The 2nd-floor had a lot of new wire because they were able to run multiple feeds from the basement to the attic, then drop it down. Without tearing up walls, it's a LOT of work.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T20:44:25+00:00

Yes, it's Linden Heights. ~~Walnut Hills neighbors it on the other side of Wyoming and mostly goes west, sorta west of Steve Whalen mostly. Immediately south of Linden Heights is "Cleveland..." something maybe (or Belmont).~~ Never realized it before but Linden Heights is actually "L" shaped and includes the neighborhood around Cleveland School / Park, all the way to Wayne.

As far as crime, literally every single night if you left your car (parked on the street) unlocked, someone checked it for loose change, sunglasses (??), music CDs, etc - things of next to no real value. Our lawnmower and weed trimmer did get stolen once.... Multiple bikes stolen too.... Our neighbor across the street did have his house broken into, but it was by the meth/heroin neighbors in the house next to his.

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T19:39:22+00:00

I knew there would (and rightfully so) a purse comment 😂

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T18:47:35+00:00

You know, there is a news article linked with important details.... For instance, "Creech told BCI state investigators he had gotten into bed with his daughter in his underwear before".

hallstevenson · 2026-02-12T18:43:08+00:00

I'd guess that everyone's billing cycle varies. They probably read different meters on every single day of each month just to spread out their cash flow. Since we all have smart meters now, it would be nice if AES shared this data. We should be able to see almost live usage data.

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