I'm not some HMO Karen,, but whats going on in Rural Lane County Oregon just seems crazy.

[D&D]

One neighbor, down the hill from us and not on F2, just added another "RV." This brings the total to 5 RVs, plus the house. A 40's era, two bedroom, one bath house. They are running romex 120v and garden water hoses to each of the trailers. I've been in the area long enough to know that every 6 or 7 years, this property experiences flooding, 6 to 8 inches deep for several days. There is no porta-pot. I know the widower that still lives there. Her husband died last year. I know it isn't any of my business, but every time I see her, while collecting the mail, I want the ask "what the hell is going on?" Other folks down the road, graveled over 4 acres of pasture land. Out door storage area for heavy equipment and boats. This too is turning in to a RV Park. People are living in these as the lights are on at night as I drive by.

Well, if you really don’t like it, turn them in to your state dept of the environment for illegal sewage disposal. Even if they tied into the existing, they would be over on total # of bedrooms.

 

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There has been a real trend within a few miles of me; a Home Depot handi house, and old travel trailer, and a Honda whisper style small generator. I assume they bring home jugs of water, and probably have. $10/month gym membership for showers. I dont honestly know if they pick up a $9k lot, or if they are squating? But, within 3 or 5 miles as the crow flies, I can probably find 8 setups like this; if not more. I think it's a statement of the home prices/credit/ect more than anything.

We also had a tiny house (Styrofoam igloo) built down the road.

Throw this in with the "stealth camping" trends, and all; we are looking at a huge class of people who are half a set above homeless, trying to make things work.

I try not to judge, as I've lived in worse. As a kid we lived in a couple places with outhouses, bucket wells, and no power ect; including a 1 room tin shack.

I lived in a school bus - what they call a "schoolie" these days - in the '70s. We'd "just park" somewhere. Ideally with permission, but occasionally we'd be somewhere for a few months before someone asked us to leave. It's an ok system if the vagabond is respectful (we didn't trash anything and left promptly when encouraged) but definitely not for me. I've overnight camped on the side of a road (ages ago) when the car broke down but I make it a strong point to have good cars ever since!

Bathroom was a 5 gallon bucket lined with a plastic bag with a hole in the lid, tied off the bag when you were done and chucked it under the bus. Went to the dump every few weeks to dispose. Water came in big jugs from the city fountain or whatever nearby spigot.

Personally I didn't care for it at all, but my mom was trying to find herself (while emotionally losing her kids).
I think she managed to at some point, bought land and built one of the stranger houses. Luckily it was built using big timbers bought from when they were tearing down an old lumber mill.

 

[paulsharvey]

I lived in a school bus - what they call a "schoolie" these days - in the '70s. We'd "just park" somewhere. Ideally with permission, but occasionally we'd be somewhere for a few months before someone asked us to leave. It's an ok system if the vagabond is respectful (we didn't trash anything and left promptly when encouraged) but definitely not for me. I've overnight camped on the side of a road (ages ago) when the car broke down but I make it a strong point to have good cars ever since!

Bathroom was a 5 gallon bucket lined with a plastic bag with a hole in the lid, tied off the bag when you were done and chucked it under the bus. Went to the dump every few weeks to dispose. Water came in big jugs from the city fountain or whatever nearby spigot.

Personally I didn't care for it at all, but my mom was trying to find herself (while emotionally losing her kids).
I think she managed to at some point, bought land and built one of the stranger houses. Luckily it was built using big timbers bought from when they were tearing down an old lumber mill.

My mom refused to do camping after years of living in places without power/running water/ect. Although we never did the school bus thing; when we were in WVa, I did have several neighbors and friends that did live in old school busses. My little brother (not so little, he's like 36 now) had bought an old ambulance that he and his wife planned to live in; until they had their kid.

If I was single, and struggling, I'd take a HD handi house over 2 or 3 roommates...

 

[paulsharvey]

Dad was a bit of an odd character. At the age of like 21, he told the world to kiss his butt; and moved to central WVa and hand build a log cabin, with a spring and bucket water system, outhouse, and no power. We moved to PA for a bit, then back to a 90 acre piece in North central WVa, in the tin shack. Builds character.

 

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Dad was a bit of an odd character. At the age of like 21, he told the world to kiss his butt; and moved to central WVa and hand build a log cabin, with a spring and bucket water system, outhouse, and no power. We moved to PA for a bit, then back to a 90 acre piece in North central WVa, in the tin shack. Builds character.

Personally I'm fine with having to deal with off-grid issues, but I don't want to worry about someone knocking and saying I've got to move on.

 

[NHBX]

 

[Larry Caldwell]

You do you, I'm just saying that it doesn't often make financial sense. If you buy a $300k old (we are talking OLD) and spend $200k in retrofitting, you don't necessarily have a $500k home (although you might), you very well could have a $400k home. Yes, you can do a lot of the stuff yourself, if you have the skills, but the truth is; not many people are framers/trim carpenters/drywall hangers/drywall finishers/plumbers/electricians/AC guys/insulators/masons/concrete guys. If you are a journeyman skill level in 2 or 3 of those, that's fantastic, few people are in more than 1 or 2; let alone 5 or 6 trades.

Also, I do agree that in many cases, you can get 80% towards a modern home, with 20% of the effort; but to get to that equal level, it's a lot of expense. Not all old homes are worth retrofitting. My mom's house is a 1949, but was very high end/forward thinking for 1949; with large rooms, many large closets, and 3 bathrooms. Many old homes aren't. Even still, to install central AC would be enormously expensive, not just for the HVAC, but the need to add dropped cielings to fit duct work, wall repairs, ect. The walls are all wire lathe and plaster. After decades of window units, she did have several mini splits installed; but you still have annoying old home problems/design issues; like ungrounded outlets, only 1 outlet or maybe 2 per room, plumbing fixtures that parts are no longer made for, something like a R-5 in the cieling; maybe R-3.5 in walls; and non-standard window/door openings.

Many of the old farm houses have like 24" doors, Itty bitty rooms, 1 bathroom, 100 amp electric services, ect. I'm not beating them up, you just have to know what you're up against; and make a decision that is smart for You. Frankly the 1950s/60s homes are generally better than the 1970s; and all of them, even brand new construction have issues.

If you plan on selling your house, your arithmetic might be relevant. Otherwise, you trade money for lifestyle. I installed a new service panel, replaced the resistive electric furnace with a heat pump (twice), new roof (twice), skylight in the guest bathroom, new energy efficient windows and doors with Hunter-Douglas blinds, an addition to expand the master bath to be handicap accessible with curb-less shower, refinished the guest bath, replaced all doors with 3-0 doors for wheelchair access, built a new kitchen with a 6' bay window behind the sink, removed a wall to open up the floor plan, replaced vinyl in kitchen with ceramic tile floors, tiger oak floors in the living room, installed a front projection TV system, removed a pantry to open up the family room, built a retracting screen front projection home theater in the living room (with THX sound system), rebuilt the rotting deck with a trex deck, replaced the septic tank, built a full RV hookup next to the garage, replaced the roof twice, built a gazebo overlooking the creek, built large dog kennels, added a large water feature fountain in the front yard, paved the circular driveway, built a 400 amp electrical service split 200 amps to the house, 200 amps to the new 36x60 shop with office and bathroom, rebuilt the water system, and am getting set to cover the cruddy old wood siding on the barn with painted metal.

It's a 53 year old, pre building codes, ranch style with no particular architectural virtues. I have spent more fixing it up than I paid for it. I don't care. It sits on 90 acres of dark sky site with a creek in the back yard and it fits my, and my wife's, lifestyle like a glove. Thanks to the new water system and the old fireplace insert, the comfort level of the house doesn't change when the power goes out. I have a generator with (new) transfer switch, but we rarely use it because it is so noisy.

Some people live where they don't want to be, then spend their retirement cash on cruises and stays in 5 star hotels. I travel last class and luxuriate at home. I'm planning on leaving here toes up, so don't care what it sells for.

 

[paulsharvey]

That's a 1971 home; the post I was responding to was 1920s farm houses; but your logic does hold true; as long as you know what you're getting into, it's fine. For most people, they might look at spending $50k on a renovation, and it morphs into much more. For the Vast majority of the general public, they are going to contract our 80%+ of that remodel work; and it really would be better to just demo and start over for them.

On the DIY, in FLa at least, you can do your own asbestos abatement (or atleast could, rules change over time) as long as you keep the home for 1 year after the work; and that can be a Huge cost savings. Asbestos really isn't that scary. You can pull your own permits, and do the work; but you are subject to all the normal permit fees, and inspections as any other contractor.

 

[paulsharvey]

I dont really know how people can afford to hire everything out; my roof cost be $2000 in materials, and a coil roofing nailer, and a new chalk line; but it would have been over $9000 to hire it done. I'm Not saying the average homeowner should take on a re-roof; but imagine if you hired an electrician every time you replaced a cieling fan, outlet, switch, or light fixture; or a plumber; or any other trade?

On newer (and some old homes), I've seen places where the average homeowner would need to hire someone to replace light bulbs, with 18 ft entryways. Houses now and in the past, aren't really build around ease of maintenance... and with that, the average level of basic handyman skill has dropped.

I also have/had friends that had handyman businesses; and some of the work they did, for paying customers, I'd be ashamed of.

 

[Eagle1]

Seen $1000 to install 2 shower heads. No plumbing just unscrew and screw the new one on, times 2......