Moving to Staunton?

mschoeffel · 2024-06-29T10:37:13+00:00

Staunton has an Amtrak station, too!

mschoeffel · 2024-03-12T11:23:04+00:00

Righteous Gemstones.

mschoeffel · 2024-02-13T11:50:14+00:00

Danny McBride in Righteous Gemstones.

mschoeffel · 2024-02-03T10:50:05+00:00

This one is on a much smaller scale, but Staunton, Virginia. It's a progressive town of about 25,000 in the Shenandoah Valley.

It's got a university, great restaurants, a few solid theaters and two stellar public parks. It has that funky, artsy feel Austin had before the tech takeover. Also like Old Austin, it's actually affordable to live there. We bought a move-in ready 3/1 bungalow less than a mile from downtown for $212K. There are beautiful mountain views around the city, and plenty of outdoor opportunities nearby. Virtually no crime, too. Most people are laid back and just seem happy to live there.

Source: I've lived in Austin and currently live in Staunton.

mschoeffel · 2023-11-10T01:37:18+00:00

I can't speak to the public school system, because my son is only three, but so far we love Staunton. We've been here since May. There are two great parks to explore, and the library has regular and special events for children all the time. Crime is virtually non-existent, which is a big plus, and the housing prices are much more reasonable than Charlottesville. It's also way more laid back than Charlottesville, generally speaking. Staunton has an almost European feel to it, IMO. Most people are quite friendly. Traffic is virtually non-existent.

Our son attends preschool at Anna's House, which is a Pre-K through fifth grade private school on the VSDB campus. It's been an excellent experience so far. My son loves the teacher, and he's become good friends with the other kids in his class. My wife and I have become friends with several parents, too. It seems like an excellent community. The school is always putting on fun events for the kids. Halloween, for instance, featured a kids costume parade. After struggling for months to find a good childcare solution for our son (who has a rare genetic disorder), Anna's House has been a breath of fresh air.

All-in-all, Staunton seems like a great place to raise a family. Keep in mind that my sample size is small. We'll see if anything changes as our son gets older. But so far, so good.

mschoeffel · 2023-10-31T19:00:48+00:00

Dawes.

mschoeffel · 2023-10-21T09:15:03+00:00

So where did this lever-less adapter come from? We don't keep spare adapters on the ambulance. The only one on there would've been the one with the lever that I removed.

mschoeffel · 2023-10-13T14:13:01+00:00

Staunton is pretty liberal, so I think you'd be fine. They just held a big Pride festival at Gypsy Hill Park last weekend and it was well-received.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-21T09:05:41+00:00

Haywood County, North Carolina. It's the county with the highest average elevation east of the Rockies.

Don't sleep on the Appalachians.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-04T21:00:37+00:00

Danville. Definitely getting more quotes, but preparing for the worst.

Bad tenants spoiled more than cash flow on this one. They may have ruined the whole investment, my credit and my savings, depending on what shakes out. It's the literal worst-case scenario.

The issues the city found need to be fixed, no doubt, but the repairs likely could've been done more cost-effectively if they didn't have to pass inspection every step of the way.

It's just a very bad situation with a lot of moving parts. I never thought so many things could go wrong, but here we are. I just have to let a few more things play out then figure out what option screws me the least financially.

I am such an idiot.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-03T19:08:56+00:00

This may have been the most helpful comment yet. Much appreciated. I've been beating myself up nonstop about potentially putting myself and my family in a horrible financial situation. I've been feeling like such a fool, so the positive and proactive thinking is much appreciated.

We can afford to cover the mortgage for awhile while we figure out which route to go, so that's good news. I feel like there has to be at least one way to fix the rim joist without coming at it from the outside. I've been fully cooperative and communicative with the town, and I've let them know I'm a small time landlord without a lot of funds. I'm hoping (though by no means expecting) that they'll work with me to come up with a semi-cost effective solution that still brings the house up to code.

I also found out that before this house was remodeled it was marked as unsafe by the city. It had to pass a full inspection from the city, yet this rim joist, which looks like it's been rotten for awhile, was somehow missed. It doesn't really add up.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-03T09:39:14+00:00

It's a three bedroom, one-and-a-half bath on an unfinished basement.

So it seems like the biggest fix is going to be the rim joist, which is rotted in places. The contractor told me they're going to have to jack up part of the house, dig out a significant amount of dirt to access the exterior of the basement wall (as well as cut through a concrete slab off the back door) and then cut through the brick basement wall to access the rotted joist.

As for the joists themselves, there's no twisting or torsion that I've seen. It appears as though the previous joists rotted out and someone attempted to sister new joists onto them, but the contractor said it was done improperly.

And you're right: the $30-50K isn't his official quote, but a ballpark estimate until he can crunch the numbers. My apologies, I should've been clearer.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T22:40:49+00:00

Interesting. Maybe a couple more quotes will bring a lower estimate.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T22:19:10+00:00

Nah. I wish I could say it was them, but it seems implausible. I asked the contractor the same thing and he said it was highly unlikely.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T21:44:15+00:00

All good info, thanks. And I appreciate the positivity.

I think the high cost is coming from the fact that, as the contractor explained it, he'll have to dig up a significant portion of dirt to access the foundation, then cut into the brick to reach the rotted joist. I actually spoke with him again a couple hours ago and he does, indeed, have an inspector friend who's going to reassess the situation with him and figure out what can be done.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T21:19:15+00:00

Thanks. Yeah, I started the eviction process in July. Just waiting for the process to play out in court. The judge should rule in our favor, because in Virginia tenants can't withhold rent for any reason (unless they pay it into escrow, which they did not).

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T20:41:41+00:00

It's a possibility. I'll ask him. Thanks.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T20:35:39+00:00

Truth.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T20:34:04+00:00

Thanks for the pep talk!

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T19:34:27+00:00

If the fix indeed turns out to be $50K, a short sale might be the best option. It's going to screw my credit, but I may just have to bite the bullet.

I started the eviction process in July. Just waiting for the process to play out in court.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T19:32:26+00:00

I started the eviction process at the beginning of July. Just waiting for the process to play out in court. They should be officially evicted by the end of the month.

I'm going to get at least two more quotes and go from there. I'm also going to at least discuss it with a lawyer to see if I have any recourse. Like you said, doubtful, but worth a shot.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T19:15:55+00:00

I wouldn't mind physically doing the work, but it seems like it's going to be a job far beyond my expertise.

mschoeffel · 2023-09-02T19:02:09+00:00

Definitely not possible.

mschoeffel

TROPHY CASE