Iowa Tacomas (Idiots.Out.Wandering.Around)

Against the demons?

 

Yeah I’ve also got old house problems. It’s drafty as fuck. It’s got new windows in it even but they seem to be extra cheap so they don’t do a good job of keeping cold out.

the HVAC also leaves a lot to be desired, it’s undersized and the duct work doesn’t have the airflow. I can have it 70 on the main floor and have 45 on the upper level. I had to invest in some radiant heaters last year.

it’s a rental though so I can’t really “fix” anything..

 

Ahh. We are lucky with the heating/cooling setup. The Central Air was 6 months old when we moved in and we have a boiler, which was only a year old when we moved in. The boiler is super efficient. Upstairs is almost always warmer in our house. Our windows are our only real problem. They are almost all sand cast original units. So they leak pretty good. Not water, but air. Overall, we got lucky with our house.

 

We shall see

 

Yeah. Considering what I pay in rent, I can’t really complain, even if it costs me an extra chunk in utilities during the winter.

 

Yeah. I'm pretty comfortable where I am and I'm not "expecting" anything. Just keeping my eyes open for opportunities.

PS. Thanks again.

PPS. How you doing?

 

Fair. Our mortgage, including insurance and property taxes, is what most people are paying for a two bedroom apartment around here. So I'm super happy about that. Having a 2 car garage, that is nearly 3 car sized, is a real benefit.

 

Still here, one way or another life should prove interesting over the next few months.

 

That's an understatement.

 

I lived in Muscatine for about a year, then bought a house when they decided to jack up rent another $100/month. My house was only slightly more than that for way more space. I was there for just shy of 5 years until I got fed up with the developer of the subdivision and their bs. Stumbled into a rental house that is well under half what I was paying for either.

 

Very nice. Not having the responsibility of the up-keep would be nice. I'm looking at a new roof, fence and deck in the very near future. However, even with that all said and done our house has appreciated enough to cover those costs and very likely the down payment on a new place when we are ready to move.

 

I still laugh cuz all my friends told me it was a terrible idea and I shouldn’t do it. They all finally bought houses like 4 years later when the market had recovered. Then I sold mine for ~20% gain. Paid off the rest of my college and then some so it worked out pretty well.

 

Over the past year I have read a lot of books on personal finance and finance in general. Houses that you live in are no longer to be thought of as "good investments", meaning assets, almost universally by all the "experts" that have written the books I've read. Rental properties and the like are a different story. 90% of the time you only break even on a house that you live in. In the past it wasn't like that, but since the first bubble burst just counting your house as an asset is generally regarded as a bad idea. Renting may not be ideal, but if you are saving a lot of money and your long term plan isn't to stick around in any particular location anyway, I don't see how it is a bad decision.

 

Yep for sure. Plus most people buy way more than they need / afford.
Last time I figured it up, I’m saving about $1000/month which is pretty significant

My buddy is a “collector” - cars / tractors / etc and always talks about how valuable they are. He seems to forget its only as valuable as the buyer, if no one wants to buy it, its not worth anything lol

 

i sold some collectibles to a native Iowan from Mills county, Glenwood area, that i worked with to make the down payment on my truck
sure wonder if he is still holding onto those to this day, they are 'worth' a boatload on some fleaBay places last time i checked
shoulda bought some extra sets of them when i did, $20 or $30 each then iirc. and are now worth more than my tacoma is to the right buyer

 

Got Muh black plates.

 

Geez does everyone have black plates? It’s starting to seem like it

 

I got my regular plates in the mail and went and got the black ones. It's $35 and then $10 extra a year. I think it's worth it considering how much better it looks on the truck. We are getting them on the GX470 as well.

 

I got the personalized plates for my tundra just before the black ones were a thing. I apparently missed the memo

the GX is sweet. I’m surprised more people don’t get them

 

Scott is your county name?